Making The Field: NXS Pit Boss 250 at Circuit of The Americas

This weekend, the NASCAR Xfinity Series will make their 11th stop on the 2021 calendar for the inaugural Pit Boss 250 at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas. A total of 43 cars are entered for 36 spots in the field, which will be decided in multi-round group qualifying on Saturday Morning.

NOTE: In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, provisionals are handed out based on the highest number of race attempts first, which means that teams that have attempted all 10 events so far in 2021 will be ranked above those that attempted less than 10, even if they’re ranked lower in 2021 NXS Owner Points.

This weekend, the NASCAR Xfinity Series  will be making their first stop in Austin, Texas for Saturday’s inaugural running of the Pit Boss 250 at Circuit of The Americas. The newest addition to the NASCAR National Series calendar for this season, Circuit of The Americas is an extremely technical 3.41-mile, 20 turn road course in the Lone Star State.

A total of 43 cars are entered for the highly-anticipated event for only 36 spots on the starting grid, meaning seven trucks will be leaving Austin, Texas empty-handed. The series will run a multi-round group qualifying session on Saturday at 11:00am – on FOX Sports 1 — to determine the starting lineup for the event, as well as who will fail to qualify.

Round one will be 25 minutes in length and will be open to each of the 43 vehicles that are set to make a qualifying attempt. At the conclusion of the session, the fastest 12 cars will advance to the second and final round, which will determine the polesitter for the inaugural Pit Boss 250.

After the first round has been completed, the fastest 31 cars will automatically be locked into the event through their lap times, while the remaining five spots will be given out through 2021 Owner Point Provisionals and the Past Champions Provisional (if needed, otherwise another OP Provisional).

In the event of precipitation at any time throughout the qualifying session, NASCAR will allow teams to use wet weather tires to make their qualifying runs. However, if the precipitation becomes too heavy, or a lightning strike is reported within a eight-mile radius, then NASCAR will be forced to put the session in a holding pattern.

MATHEMATICALLY LOCKED IN:

Only five drivers are 100-percent locked into Saturday’s Pit Boss 250 at Circuit of The Americas, with the series only giving out four 2021 Owner Points Provisionals, as well as a Past Champions Provisional (if needed). Therefore, the top-four trucks in Owner Points, as well as the most recent champion currently not in the top-four, are locked into the event. Only Austin Cindric is eligible for the Past Champions Provisional and because he sits top-four in Owner Points, fifth-place in Owner Points – Jeb Burton — is locked into the event.

• No. 22 – Austin Cindric – Team Penske – 10 Attempts and 1st in 2021 NXS OP
• No. 18 – Daniel Hemric – Joe Gibbs Racing – 10 Attempts and 2nd in 2021 NXS OP
• No. 20 – Harrison Burton – Joe Gibbs Racing – 10 Attempts and 3rd in 2021 NXS OP
• No. 16 – AJ Allmendinger – Kaulig Racing – 10 Attempts and 4th in 2021 NXS OP
• No. 10 – Jeb Burton – Kaulig Racing – 10 Attempts and 5th in 2021 NXS OP

REALISTICALLY LOCKED IN:

Teams sitting between 5th and 20th in Owner Points, usually don’t tend to DNQ from events with practice and qualifying, as barring an extreme on-track incident or mechanical issue, they are all able to post a speed inside the top-31. However, as the weekend approaches and the possibility of precipitation hangs in the balance, there may be a team or two on this list that hasn’t totally ruled out a DNQ.

• No. 7 – Justin Allgaier – JR Motorsports – 10 Attempts and 6th in 2021 NXS OP
• No. 9 – Noah Gragson – JR Motorsports – 10 Attempts and 7th in 2021 NXS OP
• No. 54 – Kyle Busch – Joe Gibbs Racing – 10 Attempts and 8th in 2021 NXS OP
• No. 11 – Justin Haley – Kaulig Racing – 10 Attempts and 9th in 2021 NXS OP
• No. 2 – Myatt Snider – Richard Childress Racing – 10 Attempts and 10th in 2021 NXS OP
• No. 51 – Jeremy Clements – Jeremy Clements Racing – 10 Attempts and 11th in 2021 NXS OP
• No. 8 – Miguel Paludo – JR Motorsports – 10 Attempts and 12th in 2021 NXS OP
• No. 1 – Michael Annett – JR Motorsports – 10 Attempts and 13th in 2021 NXS OP
• No. 02 – Brett Moffitt – Our Motorsports – 10 Attempts and 14th in 2021 NXS OP
• No. 19 – Brandon Jones – Joe Gibbs Racing – 10 Attempts and 15th in 2021 NXS OP
• No. 68 – Brandon Brown – Brandonbilt Motorsports – 10 Attempts and 16th in 2021 NXS OP
• No. 98 – Riley Herbst – Stewart-Haas Racing – 10 Attempts and 17th in 2021 NXS OP
• No. 39 – Ryan Sieg – RSS Racing – 10 Attempts and 18th in 2021 NXS OP
• No. 44 – Tommy Joe Martins – Martins Motorsports – 10 Attempts and 19th in 2021 NXS OP
• No. 26 – Kris Wright – Sam Hunt Racing – 10 Attempts and 20th in 2021 NXS OP

FEELING SLIGHTLY UNEASY:

While the following seven teams – sitting 21st to 25th in Owner Points — will more than likely find themselves in Saturday’s Toyota Tundra 225, the high-volume of competitive entries sitting below them in Owner Points, could potentially send a team on this list home, if the perfect storm brews.

• No. 4 – Landon Cassill – JD Motorsports – 10 Attempts and 21st in 2021 NXS OP
• No. 17 – Cole Custer – SS Greenlight Racing – 10 Attempts and 22nd in 2021 NXS OP
• No. 92 – Josh Williams – DGM Racing – 10 Attempts and 23rd in 2021 NXS OP
• No. 5 – Kevin Harvick – BJ McLeod Motorsports – 10 Attempts and 24th in Owner Points
  • Internal Transfer from BJ McLeod Motorsports No. 99
• No. 66 – Timmy Hill – MBM Motorsports – 10 Attempts and 25th in Owner Points
• No. 36 – Alex Labbe – DGM Racing – 10 Attempts and 26th in Owner Points
• No. 23 – Andy Lally – Our Motorsports – 10 Attempts and 27th in Owner Points

THE DANGER ZONE:

In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, ‘The Danger Zone’ usually is comprised of less cars in this case, just because of the fact that this portion of the field isn’t as competitive as it is in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The high-volume of competitive entries that are listed below in Owner Points, could legitimately send someone on this list home. In order to ensure their spot in the 36-car field, the drivers will have to notch a lap inside the top-31.

• No. 0 – Jeffrey Earnhardt – JD Motorsports – 10 Attempts and 28th in 2021 NXS OP
• No. 47 – Kyle Weatherman – Mike Harmon Racing – 10 Attempts and 29th in 2021 NXS OP
• No. 61 – Stephen Leicht – Hattori Racing Enterprises | MBM Motorsports – 10 Attempts and 30th in 2021 NXS OP
• No.  48 – Jade Buford – Big Machine Racing –  10 Attempts and 31st in 2021 NXS OP
• No. 74 – Bayley Currey – Mike Harmon Racing – 10 Attempts and 32nd in 2021 NXS OP
• No. 90 – Caesar Bacarella – DGM Racing – 10 Attempts and 33rd in 2021 NXS OP
• No. 15 – Colby Howard – JD Motorsports – 10 Attempts and 34th in 2021 NXS OP
• No. 07 – Joe Graf Jr – SS Green Light Racing – 10 Attempts and 35th in 2021 NXS OP
• No. 99 – Ryan Ellis – BJ McLeod Motorsports – 10 Attempts and 36th in 2021 NXS OP
  • Internal Transfer from BJ McLeod Motorsports No. 78

MUST QUALIFY INTO THE TOP-31 | NO POINTS PROVISIONAL AVAILABLE:

These seven drivers and teams must all qualify inside the top-31 in Saturday Morning’s qualifying session, as they don’t have enough owner points to fall back on to get a provisional.

• No. 6 – Spencer Pumpelly – JD Motorsports – 10 Attempts and 37th in 2021 NXS OP
• No. 78 – Jesse Little – BJ McLeod Motorsports – 10 Attempts and 38th in 2021 NXS OP
  • Internal Transfer from BJ McLeod Motorsports No. 5
• No. 52 – Gray Gaulding – Jimmy Means Racing – 10 Attempts and 39th in 2021 NXS OP
• No. 13 – Boris Said – MBM Motorsports – 10 Attempts and 40th in 2021 NXS OP
• No. 77 – Austin Dillon – Bassett Racing – 10 Attempts and 41st in 2021 NXS OP
• No. 31 – Tyler Reddick – Jordan Anderson Racing – 10 Attempts and 42nd in 2021 NXS OP
• No. 91 – Preston Pardus – DGM Racing – 2 Attempts and 43rd in 2021 NXS OP

EXCESSIVE RAIN | LIGHTNING | CANCELLATION PLAN:

NXS: 9.6.2.3 INCLEMENT WEATHER AFTER THE COMPLETION OF RACE THREE

The following will be the procedure for determining eligibility for and assigning the 40 starting grid positions for a NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Event:

• If one or more Qualifying rounds are complete, but the final Qualifying round is not completed due to weather or other adverse circumstances, the starting positions will be determined based on the most recent completed Qualifying round.
• If the first Qualifying round was not completed due to weather or other adverse circumstances, all starting positions will first be assigned to those Team Owners who have ENTERED IN THAT EVENT BY THE ENTRY DEADLINE using the following sequence of procedures, provided the entered vehicle has passed inspection in a timely manner.
•  Positions will first be assigned to the highest 30 vehicles in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Team Owner Point standings.
• The next eligible starting position(s), if any, will be assigned to any Team Owner(s) who has won at least one Championship Race, in the NASCAR Xfinity Series during the current calendar year or the previous year, with the vehicle licensed by the Team Owner, provided they have not already been assigned an eligible starting position. NASCAR Xfinity Series Team Owner Points standings for the calendar year will determine the starting position(s).
• The next starting position(s), if any, will be assigned to any driver(s) who has entered that Event in that vehicle by the entry deadline and has won at least one Championship Race in the NASCAR Xfinity Series during the calendar year or the previous year, provided they have not already been assigned an eligible starting position. NASCAR Xfinity Series Team Owner Points standings for the calendar year will determine the starting position(s).
• The next position(s), if any, will be assigned to any Team Owner(s) whose driver listed on the Official Entry Blank/List for that Event by the entry deadline is a past NASCAR Xfinity Series Champion driver, within the last ten seasons, is eligible for NASCAR Xfinity Series Driver Points, and who participated in the NASCAR Xfinity Series as a driver in the previous year. In the event of more than one eligible past Series champion driver, available positions will be assigned in descending order starting with the most recent Series champion.
• The next eligible starting position(s), if any, will be assigned to the Team Owner(s) who has made the greatest number of Qualifying attempt(s) during the calendar year, with the vehicle licensed by the Team Owner for this year, in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Team Owner Points standings in the NASCAR Xfinity Series shall prevail. In case of ties, ties will be broken by the current Team Owner Points standings as set forth in Section 17.6.1.2 Ties.
• Performance Metrics Based Line-Ups will be used after eligibility is established.

Expected Starting Lineup if Qualifying is Cancelled:

1. No. 22 – Austin Cindric
2. No. 7 – Justin Allgaier
3. No. 16 – AJ Allmendinger
4. No. 20 – Harrison Burton
5. No. 18 – Daniel Hemric
6. No. 1 – Michael Annett
7. No. 10 – Jeb Burton
8. No. 9 – Noah Gragson
9. No. 51 – Jeremy Clements
10. No. 39 – Ryan Sieg
11. No. 68 – Brandon Brown
12. No. 2 – Myatt Snider
13. No. 02 – Brett Moffitt
14. No. 98 – Riley Herbst
15. No. 44 – Tommy Joe Martins
16. No. 54 – Kyle Busch
17. No. 8 – Miguel Paludo
18. No. 36 – Alex Labbe
19. No. 0 – Jeffrey Earnhardt
20. No. 19 – Brandon Jones
21. No. 47 – Kyle Weatherman
22. No. 74 – Bayley Currey
23. No. 66 – Timmy Hill
24. No. 11 – Justin Haley
25. No. 23 – Andy Lally
26. No. 17 – Cole Custer
27. No. 15 – Colby Howard
28. No. 4 – Landon Cassill
29. No. 26 – Kris Wright
30. No. 92 – Josh Williams
31. No. 78 – Jesse Little
32. No. 48 – Jade Buford
33. No. 07 – Joe Graf Jr.
34. No. 5 – Kevin Harvick
35. No. 52 – Gray Gaulding
36. No. 6 – Spencer Pumpelly
37. No 90 – Ceasar Bacarella
38. No. 61 – Stephen Leicht
39. No. 99 – Ryan Ellis
40. No. 13 – Boris Said

DNQ’s: No. 77 – Austin Dillon, No. 31 – Tyler Reddick, No. 91 – Preston Pardus