It’s a nice mix of youth and experience in the XFINITY Series top 10, all chasing after points leader Elliott Sadler.
The west coast swing for the NASCAR XFINITY Series is over, and not much has changed at the top. Elliott Sadler has held his own against the influx of Cup Series competitors — no surprise considering his own experience at the top level of stock car racing — but there are both up-and-comers and fellow veterans in pursuit.
Only one is really within striking distance of the points lead should Sadler experience some misfortune at Texas Motor Speedway in two weeks. That would be rookie William Byron, who just happens to be his JR Motorsports teammate.
The man in third place is Justin Allgaier, also driving a JR Motorsports Chevrolet. The Roush Fenway Fords of Ryan Reed and Bubba Wallace round out the top five, making it something of a two-team affair so far.
Perhaps more importantly, no one outside those teams has a win yet in 2017. Only Allgaier and Reed have visited the Winners Circle among the drivers running for the XFINITY Series championship, putting them in excellent shape when it comes to the playoffs.
Next: Kyle Larson claims XFINITY Series Service King 300 victory in California
One thing that’s for certain is that the standings won’t change this weekend, as the series takes a break before heading to Texas. Can someone make a run at Sadler during April?
2017 NASCAR XFINITY Series standing after California (race 5 of 26 in the regular season)
- Elliott Sadler, 189 points
- William Byron, 172 points, -17
- Justin Allgaier, 143 points, -46, 1 win
- Ryan Reed, 143 points, -46, 1 win
- Darrell Wallace Jr., 140 points, -49
- Brennan Poole, 133 points, -56
- Daniel Hemric, 131 points, -58
- Michael Annett, 113 points, -76
- Matt Tifft, 111 points, -78
- Blake Koch, 106 points, -83
- Dakoda Armstrong, 101 points, -88
- Cole Custer, 86 points, -103
- Brandon Jones, 80 points, -109
- Brendan Gaughan, 78 points, -111
- Garrett Smithley, 71 points, -118
- Harrison Rhodes, 70 points,-119
- J.J. Yeley, 70 points, -119
- Ryan Sieg, 69 points, -120
- Ross Chastain, 61 points, -128
- Spencer Gallagher, 61 points, -128
- Joey Gase, 54 points, -135
- Ray Black Jr., 51 points, -138
- Tyler Reddick, 50 points, -139
- Jeremy Clements, 47 points, -142
- Drew Herring, 35 points, -154
- Mario Gosselin, 33 points, -156
- David Starr, 33 points, -156
- Scott Lagasse Jr., 31 points, -158
- B.J. McLeod, 27 points, -162
- Brandon Hightower, 26 points, -163
- Timmy Hill, 26 points, -163
- Casey Mears, 23 points, -166
- Jeff Green, 21 points, -168
- Martin Roy, 17 points, -172
- Anthony Kumpen, 15 points, -174
- Brandon Brown, 14 points, -175
- Chris Cockrum, 12 points, -177
- Benny Gordon, 10 points, -179
- Mike Harmon, 9 points, -180
- Matt Mills, 7 points, -182