Notice anything different about the Xfinity Series this year? Are you paying more attention? Is there more interest? Has the on track competition been competitive and entertaining?
If you answered yes to that series of questions join the club. So far the 2018 Xfinity Series season has been one of the division’s best in years.
Now we’re only 10 races into the schedule and there’s a long way to go before the final checkered flag flies in November at Homestead-Miami Speedway, but NASCAR’s number two series is really hitting on all cylinders.
The recent stretch of Dash 4 Cash races has put an exclamation point on the division’s early season success. Starting at Bristol and continuing on to Richmond, Talladega and Dover, the quartet of races paying $100,000 to the best finishing eligible driver delivered at every stop. Not coincidentally there were no Cup drivers allowed in any of those races, allowing for the Xfinity Series regulars to shine and they did.
Ryan Preece, Christopher Bell, Spencer Gallagher and Justin Allgaier all took checkered flags during the run, which is a much more significant list than if Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Ryan Blaney or Brad Keselowski would have taken those checkered flags. In a series that boasts the slogan “Names Are Made Here,” it’s been refreshing to see those particular names have a chance to earn the spotlight.
Whether further limits are put on Cup drivers’ participation in the series down the road are enforced remains to be seen. But as of now the current recipe seems to be the sweet spot with a cap of seven race on the Cup interlopers with none allowed in the Dash 4 Cash of playoff races.
When you add in this summer’s four stand-alone events with two at Iowa Speedway and visits to Mid-Ohio and Road America where the odds of any Cup drivers making the trek, that’s nearly half the full schedule of races comprised of exclusive Xfinity Series regular drivers.
The arguments against completely eradicating Cup drivers from the series lands mostly in the category of the sport’s business. Sponsorship concerns, attendance and ratings are legitimate reasons to consider before simply making an edict to ban Cup drivers from competing.
The series is off until Memorial Day weekend when it returns to action at Charlotte Motor Speedway. There will no doubt be a huge influx of Cup interlopers in that event as will most likely be the case at the next two races in Pocono and Michigan. The debate will definitely resume as a byproduct.
But for now the Xfinity Series can bask in the glow of finally shaking off its label as “Cup Light.” At least for a while.
The opinions expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the positions of the Motor Racing Network.
