Eyes On Xfinity: An Off-Week Wish List for Series Regulars

So far this season, a handful of off weekends have peppered the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule.

That ends after this weekend as the series will be on track every weekend beginning May 8 at Darlington Raceway through July 17 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

As teams and drivers get the final off weekend for a while, here’s a wish list for drivers across the series.

Austin Cindric – Another crown jewel win. He has a series title and won earlier this year at Daytona International Speedway. For someone from a racing family such as Cindric, what could be better than a win at two of the most storied venues across the history of both stock cars and IndyCars – Charlotte Motor Speedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway?

Daniel Hemric – Lady Luck. Running up front has not been an issue for Hemric, who has top-10 finishes in all but two races and is second in laps led with 166. Having everything come together at the right time, however, has eluded him so far. Running up front is nice, but having a race win would be a whole lot nicer.

Harrison Burton – Recapture 2020’s lightning in a bottle. Burton won four races last year, but his back-to-back wins late in 2020 on two very different tracks, Texas Motor Speedway and Martinsville Speedway, showed signs of how good he and his team can be. Burton has run well overall and near the front, but a cluster of wins could move him from having a good chance a title to a great chance.

Josh Berry – Some one-off short track events being added to his schedule later in the year.

Jeb Burton – Another race victory — and a post-race interview with his dad, Ward Burton. For an older generation of fans, it’s been a trip down memory lane to see Bill Elliott’s and Jeff Burton’s pride in their sons being able to win races. Seeing Ward do so as well would be icing on the cake.

Justin Allgaier – Fine-tuning as the season goes on. With a playoff spot already sewn up, the pressure to get in for the No. 7 team is over. Now, there’s a full season to put consistent runs together and get in position to capture an elusive series title.

Noah Gragson – A race win. Like anyone on this level, he is here to win. The longer that search continues (he hasn’t won since June 1 last year), however, the more it is worth wondering how much toll will take on him mentally. But when that drought-breaking win comes, the floodgates should open, a la Chase Elliott in the Cup Series.

Kaulig Racing – To make itself an even bigger factor in the series. This team is only a Justin Haley win away from all three of its drivers having a race win this season. With a mix of experience from Burton, Haley and AJ Allmendinger, odds are strong to have all three of its cars in the playoffs. Don’t look now, but the list of top teams in Xfinity includes Kaulig Racing.

Ty Gibbs: Another road-course win. His win on the Daytona road course was nothing short of impressive. It will be nothing short of exciting to see if he can prove that it was no fluke starting at Mid-Ohio on June 5.