The Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway marked just one race to go until the 2020 Xfinity Series Playoffs begin at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this Saturday.
Many eyes were on Justin Allgaier who previously swept both of the Richmond races, while Chase Briscoe uncharacteristically struggled and was looking for a rebound at Bristol.
Early on in the race, it looked like it was going to be the Allgaier Show again as the JR Motorsports driver won both stages and led the most laps of 126. However, after the second stage, Allgaier never contended for the win as his car stabilized behind the leaders and new contenders emerged such as Briscoe, Austin Cindric and Ross Chastain. Ultimately, it was Briscoe who grabbed the checkered flag after moving race leader Cindric out of the way cleanly with just six laps to go.
While Briscoe is looking like the championship favorite in the Xfinity Series, a few other drivers had notable nights and we’ll detail that in this week’s Xfinity Series Power Rankings.
- Justin Allgaier – Allgaier won both of the stages and led the most laps before coming home with a disappointing fifth-place finish. He has been on fire as of late and if he can keep the momentum going into Las Vegas this week, the JR Motorsports driver might be an easy favorite for the race victory as it appears he is peaking at the right time.
Previous Week Ranking – First - Ross Chastain – Another top-five finish for Chastain who came oh so close to his first Xfinity Series victory of the season. The Floridian almost made the bump and run to pass Cindric in the remaining laps but was unsuccessful in his attempt. As Chastain couldn’t pass then race leader Cindric, this allowed Chase Briscoe to not only go by Chastain for second but ultimately take the race win by passing Cindric. Chastain finished second, led 117 laps, finished fifth and fourth in both stages respectively, and now will be seeded eighth in the Playoffs.
Previous Week Ranking – Third - Chase Briscoe – After a disappointing finish the week prior at Richmond, Briscoe rebounded nicely to score his seventh victory of the 2020 season after passing Cindric with only a few laps remaining. Previous to winning the race, the Indiana native was successful in Stage 1 and 2, finishing third in each segment. Briscoe is now one win away from eight, the goal he set out to achieve at the beginning of the season.
- Austin Cindric – Before Cindric finished third in the running order, he led 42 laps and was out front late in the going before being passed by eventual race winner Briscoe. In addition, Cindric placed fourth and third in both stages after a solid night at Bristol. Certainly, a great turnaround for Cindric who crashed out in the spring race at Bristol earlier this season.
Previous Week Ranking – Fourth - Harrison Burton – Even though he led no laps in Friday’s race, Burton, like Briscoe, rebounded to score a much needed fourth-place finish prior to the Playoffs starting this upcoming weekend at Las Vegas. Burton ended up 10th in Stage 1 and seventh in the second stage. It was a great points night for Burton and the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team.
Previous Week Ranking – Fifth
Fell Out
- Justin Haley – Haley had a great Stage 1 finish of second but it all went south in Stage 2 when right-front problems plagued the No. 11 Chevrolet. Haley continued to fight these conditions, before finishing 16th in the running order, one lap down.
Previous Week Ranking – First
