How the Xfinity title contenders stack up at Texas

No, Justin Allgaier, William Byron and Elliott Sadler are not locked into the Championship 4, but just 11 points separate the teammates. Fourth-place Brennan Poole trails Sadler and the No. 1 One Main Financial crew by 17 points. But only three points separate the drivers below the cut line. 

After cutting a tire with three laps remaining at Kansas Speedway, Cole Custer finds himself in the cellar with two events to decide the Championship 4 for the NXS.

“It's just about doing everything right and trying to get as many points as you can,” said Custer, who trails series leader Allgaier by 36 points. “I think everyone has seen how important stage points are in these playoffs. It's really important. You can’t make mistakes. If you want to solidify your spot in the Championship 4 here, you have to try to make sure you don’t take yourself out of it. You can’t win it here but you can take yourself out of it for sure.”

Christopher Bell played spoiler by winning the first race in this round at Kansas. Only Texas Motor Speedway and Phoenix Raceway remain as opportunities for the drivers to transfer into title contention at Homestead. 

So how does the NXS Round of 8 fare at Texas Motor Speedway: 

• Justin Allgaier — Allgaier has been running at the finish in each of his 14 starts at Texas. He has seven top 10 results but is still searching for his first top-five finish. Allgaier enjoyed a career-high sixth-place run here last April.
• William Byron — Byron made his Texas Xfinity Series debut in April. He qualified fifth, led 17 laps and finished seventh. Byron has enjoyed early success in the Lone Star State. He won his first truck race and finished sixth in his second start. Byron, fourth, was the fastest of the NXS regulars in Happy Hour.
• Elliott Sadler — Sadler has been Mr. Consistency all season. His 19-career Xfinity starts at Texas tops the tour among series regulars. Sadler has two poles, three top fives and 12 top 10s in NXS competition on the 1.5-mile track. One of his three Cup wins came here in 2004 while driving for Robert Yates Racing. He was fifth in single-lap runs in final practice and third in Best 10 Consecutive Lap Averages behind Kyle Larson and Erik Jones.
• Brennan Poole — Poole had his best Texas result in this race last year when he led two laps and finished eighth. His best qualifying effort was fifth here in the 2016 spring race. Poole, who was born outside of Houston, is the only native Texan in the Round of 8. He completed 17 laps in Happy Hour and ran 20th among 36 drivers.
• Matt Tifft — Tifft posted a pair of ninth-place finishes in his last two starts at Texas Motor Speedway. His best qualifying effort here was third in this race last year. In three starts, he’s completed all but three laps of competition. Tifft ran 10th quick in final practice and fourth in the Best 10 Consecutive Lap Average category.
• Ryan Reed — Reed still seeks his first top 10 result at the 1.5-mile Fort Worth track after seven attempts. He posted a career-high 11th in the spring. Reed was 13th on the speed chart in Happy Hour.
• Daniel Hemric — Hemric is pulling double duty this weekend, which is good considering he has just one NXS start at Texas and wrecked after his first 12 laps in the race. He shook down the No. 27 Richard Childress Racing Chevy for Paul Menard on Friday. Menard is on maternity leave and expected to return for Cup Happy Hour and Sunday’s race. When Hemric returned to his Xfinity car, he was 11th-quick before wrecking in the closing minutes of Happy Hour. Hemric will qualify in a backup car on  Saturday.
• Cole Custer — Custer was the fastest Ford (eighth) in final practice among the Xfinity regulars and fifth overall in Best 10 Consecutive Lap Averages. He had a solid fifth-place result in his first NXS race at Texas. Custer completed all 314 laps of competition in two truck starts at TMS and posted a career-best finish of ninth in his second start.