2021 Xfinity Series’ Round of 8 playoff tracks

The 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs continue Saturday, as four races remain in the seven-race battle for the championship.

Last weekend, the Round of 12 — Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval — concluded, and the four contenders eliminated were Jeb Burton, Myatt Snider, Jeremy Clements and Riley Herbst.

Up next is the Round of 8, which includes Texas Motor Speedway, Kansas Speedway and Martinsville Speedway. Afterward, the Championship 4 will be set and head to Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 6 in a straight-up race for the ultimate trophy.

Here are the eight drivers (and how they advanced) still vying for the title, in order of their seeding: AJ Allmendinger (win), Austin Cindric (points), Justin Allgaier (points), Noah Gragson (points), Daniel Hemric (points), Justin Haley (points), Harrison Burton (points) and Brandon Jones (points).

RELATED: Hub page for NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs

Now, a Round of 8 track-by-track breakdown:

Location: Fort Worth, Texas
Length: 1.5 miles
Distance: 200 laps, 300 miles
Previous winner: Kyle Busch (June 12, 2021)

NASCAR Cup Series regular Kyle Busch led a race-high 94 of the 171 laps to steal the checkered flag from any NASCAR Xfinity Series competitor. Seven of the top-10 finishers, however, were current playoff drivers — Justin Allgaier (second), Austin Cindric (third), Daniel Hemric (fourth), Brandon Jones (fifth), AJ Allmendinger (sixth), Noah Gragson (seventh) and Justin Haley (ninth). Harrison Burton, meanwhile, was back in 30th after crashing out early.

Allgaier tops all postseason contenders in career starts and top 10s at Texas. Cindric and Burton are the only ones with wins, though. Cindric then pulls through with the most top-five finishes and the best average finish, too.

Story continues

Location: Kansas City, Kansas
Length: 1.5 miles
Distance: 200 laps, 300 miles
Previous winner: Chase Briscoe (Oct. 17, 2020)

Now a regular in the NASCAR Cup Series, Chase Briscoe won the Kansas playoff race last season to qualify for the Championship 4. There were four current title-eligible drivers in the top 10 — Daniel Hemric (second), Justin Haley (fourth), Brandon Jones (ninth) and Justin Allgaier (10th). Haley, Jones and Allgaier were active in the 2020 playoffs at the time, too.

Allgaier once again has notched the most career starts at Kansas out of the postseason field. He also carries the most top fives and 10s, but no wins. Jones is the only driver with Kansas victories to his name. Haley then has the best average finish.

Location: Martinsville, Virginia
Length: 0.526 miles
Distance: 250 laps, 131.5 miles
Previous winner: Josh Berry (April 11, 2021)

Part-timer Josh Berry won the Martinsville event earlier this year, leading a race-best 95 of the 250 laps. Seven of the title options fell in the top 10 — Noah Gragson (second), Daniel Hemric (third), Brandon Jones (fifth), Austin Cindric (sixth), Harrison Burton (seventh), Justin Haley (eighth) and Justin Allgaier (ninth). The only driver outside that group was AJ Allmendinger, but he was just in 13th.

Everyone besides Hemric owns two starts at Martinsville; he has just one. Burton is the sole winner and matches Allgaier, Gragson and Jones in most top 10s. Gragson is the only driver to score a top five in both his starts, and he also has the best average finish.