The NASCAR Xfinity Series continues the Round of 8 of the playoffs with a Saturday afternoon race at Homestead-Miami Speedway (3 p.m. ET on USA).
Ryan Newman (2005) and Cole Custer (2017) are the only previous Homestead winners in the Xfinity lineup. Dale Earnhardt Jr., who makes his second start of the season, has a career-best finish of second at the 1.5-mile track in Xfinity.
No playoff drivers have locked up a spot in the Championship 4. Riley Herbst won the Round of 8 opener at Las Vegas.
John Hunter Nemechek enters the weekend in the best position to contend for a spot in the Championship 4. He is 47 points above the first driver out of the final transfer spot. Justin Allgaier (+21), Austin Hill (+19) and Cole Custer (+15) are the other three drivers above the cutline.
Details for Saturday’s Xfinity race at Homestead
(All times Eastern)
START: The command to start engines will be given by Colonel Roger Young, executive director of the Florida Wildlife Commission, at 3:09 p.m. ... The green flag is scheduled to wave at 3:19 p.m.
PRERACE: Xfinity garage opens at 12 p.m. ... Driver introductions begin at 2:30 p.m. ... The invocation will be given at 3:01 p.m. ... The national anthem will be performed by the Palmetto Ridge High School Choir at 3:02 p.m.
DISTANCE: The race is 200 laps (300 miles) on the 1.5-mile oval.
STAGES: Stage 1 ends at Lap 45. Stage 2 ends at Lap 90.
STARTING LINEUP: Homestead lineup
TV/RADIO: USA Network will broadcast the race at 3 p.m. … Countdown to Green starts at 2:30 p.m. on USA … Motor Racing Network coverage begins at 2:30 p.m. … SiriusXM NASCAR Radio coverage begins at 3 p.m.
FORECAST: Weather Underground: Sunny skies with a high of 88 degrees and a 7% chance of precipitation. High of 86 degrees and no chance of precipitation at the start of the Xfinity race.
LAST TIME: Trevor Bayne started from pole and led 46 laps before finishing sixth. Noah Gragson started second, swept the first two stages, led 127 laps and won the race. He moved on to the Championship 4. Ty Gibbs, AJ Allmendinger, Daniel Hemric and Sam Mayer rounded out the top five.
