The Xfinity Series returns to Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend to kick off the Round of 8 of the playoffs.
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This is the second race at the 1.5-mile track this season for the series. John Hunter Nemechek, who won't be in the lineup on Saturday, won the first race while driving for Joe Gibbs Racing.
This race is the first of three opportunities for one of the remaining eight playoff drivers to punch their ticket to the Championship 4. Achieving this goal would be significant as the driver would have two extra weeks to prepare for the most important race of the season.
Las Vegas Motor Speedway Xfinity playoff race info
Weather: The WeatherUnderground forecast calls for mostly sunny skies throughout the day, a high of 75 degrees at the start of the Xfinity Series race, and no chance of rain.
Green flag time: The command to fire engines will be at 7:24 p.m. ET. The green flag will wave at 7:35 p.m. ET.
Starting lineup: Brandon Jones wins pole, full starting lineup
Pre-race: The Xfinity Series garage opens at 3:30 p.m. ET. Driver introductions will take place at 6:55 p.m. ET. Pre-race coverage begins with "NASCAR Countdown Live" on CW at 7 p.m. ET. Race coverage continues on CW at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Stages: The race will consist of three stages. The first stage ends at Lap 45. The second stage ends at Lap 90. The scheduled end of the race is Lap 201.
Playoff picture: The Round of 12 of the playoffs ended last weekend at the Charlotte Roval. Parker Kligerman, Riley Herbst, Shane van Gisbergen, and Sheldon Creed were all eliminated from championship contention.
Once the points reset, Justin Allgaier took the top spot in the standings. He is 18 points above the Championship 4 cutline.
Defending champion Cole Custer is 11 points above the cutline. Austin Hill (+9) and Chandler Smith (+8) are the other two drivers currently in on points.
Roval winner Sam Mayer is eight points below the cutline heading to Las Vegas. Jesse Love is 12 points below the cutline while AJ Allmendinger is 18 points below. Sammy Smith is last in the playoff standings at -19.
Past winners: Multiple drivers on the entry list have Xfinity Series wins at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Herbst won last season's playoff race at the intermediate track after leading 103 laps and building up a lead of eight seconds.
Hill won last season's spring race at Las Vegas. Allmendinger won the 2021 spring race. Both of these Chevrolet drivers are still in championship contention.
