Xfinity Series drivers point to Nashville

NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers will begin a 12-race run to the playoffs June 25 at Nashville Superspeedway.

The 250-mile Nashville race (3:30 p.m. ET, USA) finds only seven drivers qualified for the Xfinity playoffs, with five spots vacant. The playoffs are scheduled to begin Sept. 24 at Texas Motor Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET, USA).

The Xfinity Series has been idle since June 4, when AJ Allmendinger won at Portland.

Other race winners this season (and virtually certain to make the playoffs) are Ty Gibbs, Noah Gragson, Justin Allgaier, Josh Berry, Brandon Jones and Austin Hill.

Three of those winners — Gragson, Allgaier and Berry — drive for JR Motorsports, and Sam Mayer, another JRM driver, sits in the first points-qualifying position (eighth) below the seven race winners. Ninth through 12th on that list are reigning series champion Daniel Hemric, Landon Cassill, Riley Herbst and Ryan Sieg.

Anthony Alfredo is the first driver outside the playoff cut line. He is 58 points behind Sieg. Alfredo won the pole at Portland. He’ll be racing at Nashville for the first time.

Gibbs, grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs, has been the controversial star of the series this season with victories at Las Vegas, Atlanta and Richmond and three poles, although he hasn’t won in the past seven races.

Gibbs has raced with an aggressive style and has had incidents with several drivers this year. The biggest occurred in April at Martinsville Speedway as last-lap friction on track led to Gibbs and Sam Mayer brawling on pit road. Gibbs bumped Mayer’s car on pit road (an action which later resulted in a $15,000 fine from NASCAR) and then confronted Mayer. After a brief discussion, Gibbs punched Mayer twice in the face before NASCAR officials and others got