Just as a heads-up, this is the second in a series where I will be taking a (brief) look back at NASCAR’s Top 3 series and also look ahead towards the 2021 season. Recently, I covered the NASCAR Cup Series and this time out, we will look backwards and forwards at the Xfinity Series.
The Xfinity Series was a lot like the Cup Series: a couple of races from the end you expected Stewart-Haas to be taking home two championship trophies. Instead, they came up empty. Kevin Harvick was unexpectedly (to make the NASCAR understatement of 2020) eliminated before the Cup Series Final 4 at Phoenix and Chase Briscoe came up short in the Xfinity Series Finale.
But Chase Briscoe, to me, was the highlight of 2020 in the XFINITY Series. His win at Darlington in the Toyota 200, a day after announcing his wife had suffered a miscarriage, should be on every year-end highlight reel. This was one of those…I won’t say “feel good” story because I don’t think winning a race somehow eliminated the pain he and his wife were suffering … but it was definitely an emotional win, one that you watched and thought “How does that happen in real life?”
And for once, having Kyle Busch in the Xfinity Series field actually added to the moment. Here was Briscoe, in a tragically horrible place, defeating the guy who shouldn’t even be in the race. As an aside, all of the NASCAR media had to say that he’d defeated Kyle Busch, conveniently forgetting he’d also defeated Justin Allgaier, Noah Gragson, Justin Haley, Ross Chastain, Harrison Burton and a host of other Xfinity regulars. (But in the words of at least one NASCAR TV host, that doesn’t really count, right?)
Ironically, Briscoe was also the winner of another highlight of 2020: the Indianapolis Road Course. Now, I’ve seen the attendance at Indy for Xfinity races in the past and initially I thought that if Xfinity can’t draw at what is thought to many as being the World’s Most Famous Racetrack on it’s traditional configuration, then why bother? Having said all that, the Xfinity race on Indy’s road course was just fun to watch. It wasn’t one driver leaving the field behind. There were four drivers all in contention to win. It was going to be Briscoe. No, it was going to be Justin Haley. No, it was going to to be Noah Gragson. No, it was going to be A.J. Allmendinger. Well, you get the idea.
Speaking of Haley and Allmendinger, (along with teammate Ross Chastain headed to a full-time Cup ride in 2021), if we want to talk highlights of 2020, you have to mention Kaulig Racing. I know they’d had some success previous to this season so I can’t say they were the “Where did they come?” team. However, I think in 2020 they proved themselves to be on the same level as JR Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing and other teams with ties to Cup teams.
What I liked about watching Kaulig Racing was the comradery between Haley, Allmendinger and Chastain, especially after Haley’s win at Talladega. Of course, Chastain is off to Cup but he’ll be replaced by Jeb Burton and, earlier this week, it was announced Allmendinger now has a full-time ride in Xfinity for 2021 with the team.
Giving Burton and Allmendinger full-time rides for next season will certainly be great news for those drivers but I think it will also be a positive move for Kaulig as a whole, as it will give the team a solid platform on which to develop that comradery. At the same time, I think Allmendinger will adapt the same role that Elliott Sadler was in, a guy with Cup experience that other drivers will be able to learn from and test themselves against.
I’m expecting some good things out of Kaulig Racing in 2021 and it wouldn’t surprise me if all three drivers make at least the Final 8 or even the Final 4.
Another announcement I’m excited about comes from the Joe Gibbs Racing camp: Daniel Hemric has signed on for a full-time ride with JGR. I have to be honest, I would have liked to see him get a full-time at JR Motorsports or Richard Childress Racing but giving Hemric a full-time ride in good equipment as JGR can is going to let Hemric prove to NASCAR what he is capable of.
Hemric is going to join JGR teammates Harrison Burton and Brandon Jones and, may I say, with three wins in 2020, I think Brandon Jones was one of the real surprises in the Xfinity Series. (I’ll mention another in a paragraph or so.) I think he’s really starting to come into his own.
JR Motorsports will have all three of their full-time drivers (Justin Allgaier, Noah Gragson and Michael Annett) back for 2021. I think this is a great move because it will give the organization a sense of stability. Even at Kaulig, there will be that period of adjustment with Jeb Burton coming in but at JR Motorsports, these three drivers already know the organization and each other.
Another pleasant surprise in the Xfinity Series in 2020 was Ryan Sieg who advanced (I believe) to the Round of 8, which was a lot further than many probably expected. It’s always good to see smaller teams hit above their weight class. Not only does it provide a good underdog story, but it helps to showcase what these drivers and teams that don’t get a lot of the spotlight can do.
So here we are, multiple paragraphs in and we haven’t really discussed 2020 Xfinity Series champion Austin Cindric. I was surprised Cindric didn’t get a Cup ride -at least a full-time one -for 2021 but he will be driving for the Wood Brothers full-time in 2022 before, you have to assume, heading to Penske at a time to be determined in the years ahead.
My question is: how does this effect Cindric in 2021? Does it provide him with something to focus on or does it distract him from the week-to-week races? What I mean is: does he use 2021 to gain momentum for his 2022 Cup ride by having a strong season and trying to win back-to-back championships or, with a Cup ride already secured does he not think he has anything to prove or does he end up looking too far down the road and have an off-year?
I am going to make a not very bold prediction and say at some point in the next 10 years, the Cup Championship battle comes down to Cindric and Briscoe. Speaking of Chase Briscoe, with his move to Cup, it leaves an open ride with Stewart-Haas Racing’s Xfinity program. At the same time, I think RCR needs to really nail down one or two full-time drivers and focus them on competing for a championship. I know Ty Dillon is still searching for a full-time ride and while I’m sure he’d prefer a Cup ride, running Xfinity might not be the worst way to spend 2021. It would be an interesting concept to explore seeing Ty race for Stewart-Haas. Obviously, he’s had to have seen and heard the response from critics about he and his brother, Austin, racing for their grandfather. Why not prove the haters wrong by achieving success with another team and, in fact, another manufacturer?
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