Austin Cindric Headlines Xfinity Series Championship Favorites

Getty Austin Cindric will enter championship weekend as a favorite to win.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series season will come to an end on Saturday, November 6, with a trip to Phoenix Raceway. Four drivers — Austin Cindric, Noah Gragson, Daniel Hemric, and AJ Allmendinger — will battle for the championship trophy, but Cindric will likely enter the weekend as the favorite to win.

The driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford Mustang is the defending Xfinity Series champion. He locked up his first title at Phoenix Raceway on November 7, 2020, and then he returned to Victory Lane in the spring 2021 race at the one-mile oval. Now Cindric will have the opportunity to win his third straight at and capture his second title.

Along with his wins, Cindric has contended during every Xfinity Series trip to Phoenix. He has made seven starts at the track and has only finished outside of the top 10 once, a 16th-place finish during the 2018 season. Since that debut race, Cindric has posted six top-10s, four top-fives, and two wins.

The Veteran Only Has 3 Xfinity Series Starts at Phoenix

GettyAJ Allmendinger made NASCAR history at the Charlotte Roval.

Allmendinger, the driver of the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet Camaro does not have as much Xfinity Series experience at Phoenix Raceway as his peers, but he won the regular-season championship after four wins. He has only made three starts at the one-mile track during his time in the series, but he has 19 starts in the Cup Series.

His most recent trip resulted in a fifth-place finish. Allmendinger suited up for the Call 811 Before You Dig 200 on March 13 and started fourth overall. He battled with Ty Gibbs, Brandon Brown, Riley Herbst, and Cindric during the race and ended the day in a solid position overall. Now he will return and try to cap off the best season of his career.

“From 2018 on, I didn’t think something like this would ever happen,” Allmendinger said after the October 30 race at Martinsville Speedway, per Bob Pockrass. “I didn’t think I’d ever win this many races and at the places I’ve won at and get another Cup win and do it at Indy. So all of it’s been a dream come true.

“And no matter what happens and throughout these playoffs, it didn’t change how I felt about the season. Of course, at the end of the day, you just want a shot. You want an opportunity to go to Phoenix.”

The 2 Final Playoff Drivers Have Runner-Ups at Phoenix

GettyDaniel Hemric has yet to win at Phoenix Raceway.

Cindric and Allmendinger will enter championship weekend as the top options to win the title due to their consistency across every style of track, but how will the other two drivers fare? Hemric and Gragson have both turned in strong performances at Phoenix in the past, but they have yet to win.

Hemric started off his Xfinity Series career with strong runs at the one-mile oval. He posted four consecutive top-10 finishes for Richard Childress Racing, including a runner-up behind Christopher Bell in 2018. However, his past four trips to Phoenix — two with JR Motorsports and one with Joe Gibbs Racing — have all resulted in runs outside of the top 20.

Gragson has made five starts at Phoenix during his Xfinity Series career, all with JR Motorsports. He has posted an average finish of 13.8 with three top-10s. His best run was a second-place finish in the 2020 championship race behind Cindric. However, Gragson’s most recent trip to Phoenix ended after 67 laps due to engine issues.

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