The NASCAR XFINITY Series heads to the third leg of “The West Coast Swing” moving on to Phoenix Raceway for the fourth race of the 2020 campaign. While some teams have started to get thier seasons on track, others continue to scramble to try and find any ounce of speed they can find. Owner Points position becomes more and more important now, as provisionals are now handed out based on 2020 NXS Owners Standings. It becomes more important to get going in the right direction to ensure that your team is able to qualify for all thity-three races this season.
THE BATTLE TO MAKE THE RACE: PROVISIONAL ORDER
Note: Drivers listed below are found on prelim. entry list released March 2nd.
No. 52 – Kody Vanderwal – Jimmy Means Racing – 20th in NXS OP
No. 90 – Dillon Bassett – DGM Racing – 21st in 2020 NXS OP
No. 4 – Jesse Little – JD Motorsports w/ Gary Keller – 22nd in 2020 NXS OP
No. 13 – Chad Finchum – Motorsports Business Management – 23rd in 2020 NXS OP
No. 15 – Colby Howard – JD Motorsports w/ Gary Keller – 24th in 2020 NXS OP
No. 6 – David Starr – JD Motorsports w/ Gary Keller – 25th in 2020 NXS OP
No. 51 – Jeremy Clements – Jeremy Clements Racing – 26th in 2020 NXS OP
No. 0 – B.J. McLeod – JD Motorsports w/ Gary Keller – 27th in 2020 NXS OP
No. 47 – Joe Nemechek – Mike Harmon Racing – 28th in 2020 NXS OP
No. 61 – Timmy Hill – Hattori Racing Enterprises – 29th in 2020 NXS OP
No. 99 – Mason Massey – B.J. McLeod Motorsports – 30th in 2020 NXS OP
No. 74 – Bayley Currey – Mike Harmon Racing – 31st in 2020 NXS OP
No. 5 – Matt Mills – B.J. McLeod Motorsports – 33rd in 2020 NXS OP
No. 44 – Tommy Joe Martins – Martins Motorsports – 34th in 2020 NXS OP
No. 08 – Joe Graf, Jr. – SS Greenlight Racing – 35th in 2020 NXS OP
No. 66 – Stephen Leicht – Motorsports Business Management – 49th in 2020 NXS OP
No. 89 – Landon Cassill – Shepherd Racing Ventures – 2 Attempts in 2020
MUST QUALIFY IN TOP 31 IN SPEED TO MAKE FIELD
No. 36 – Alex Labbe – DGM Racing – 1 Attempt in 2020
No. 54 – Kyle Busch – Joe Gibbs Racing – 0 Attempts in 2020 [PCP 2 AVAILIBLE]
No. 12 – Brad Keselowski – Team Penske – 0 Attempts in 2020 [PCP 1 AVAILIBLE]
Note: PCP 1 – Brad Keselowski [’10], PCP 2 – Kyle Busch [’09], PCP 3 – Jeff Green [’00]
Looking at the list above Brad Keselowski & Kyle Busch are almost certainly going to make the top thirty-one on qualifying speed, barring something catastrophic, most likley putting Landon Cassill and Stephen Leicht in the uncomfortable position of having to make thier way into the top thirty-one in qualifying Saturday Morning.
Other drivers who could be in trouble include Joe Graf Jr, Tommy Joe Martins, Matt Mills, Bayley Currey, Mason Massey & Timmy Hill.
For Joe Graf, Jr. and Matt Mills, difficult starts to the season have mired them far down the order in the 2020 NXS Owners Standings, and both will be looking to secure a spot in the race, and try to dig themselves out of the extensive holes they are in.
For Tommy Joe Martins, a DNQ at Daytona set the team back substantially from an Owners Points perspective to start the season, but encouraging speed from the entire No. 44 Martins Motorsports team seems to tip the scales in Martins’ favour, probbaly having enough speed to find themselves safely in the field on Saturday Afternoon.
Tune into Qualifying for the NASCAR XFINITY Series LS Tractor 200 at Phoenix Raceway on Saturday, March 7th @ 1:05PM/EST on Fox Sports 1
