NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs Kick Off Round of 12 at Kansas Speedway

KANSAS CITY, MO (September 27, 2024) – There’s no place like Kansas Speedway to kickoff the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs, especially after Richard Childress Racing placed both the No. 2 and No. 21 Chevrolets in the top-five at the 1.5 mile intermediate track in 2023.

“We are good at mile-and-a-half tracks, not just superspeedways. Our intermediate program is one of the areas that people may overlook too much. If you were to take superspeedway races out of the equation, the mile-and-a-half races are our next strong suit,” said RCR’s driver of the No. 21 Bennett Transportation and Logistics Chevrolet, Austin Hill.

The 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series Regular Season Champion, Hill, will make his third consecutive playoff appearance. RCR’s Sunoco Rookie-of-the-year contender, Jesse Love, driver of the No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet, looks to drive his way to the Championship Four in his inaugural NXS Playoff debut.

Danny Lawrence, director of RCR’s NASCAR Xfinity Series program said confidently, “Luckily, Hill won the first race and that locked him into the playoffs, but we worked all the way through the year for these races. We were on a fact-finding mission through the season and hopefully we will bring out all the best of the best.”

Love punched his ticket to the playoffs after clinching his first career series win at Talladega Superspeedway in April, where the Xfinity Series will return for the second race in the Round of 12 after this weekend’s race at Kansas Speedway.

“We got here by doing one thing (winning), so I’m not sure why we would want to change it up now,” said Love.

Race by race and round by round is what the RCR NXS program has in mind as far as strategy goes.

“We have a really good plan; we just need to minimize issues. Fortunately, we run really well at all the races we have coming up,” continued Lawrence. “We have everything here that we need to win a championship. Of course, you always need a little luck.”

The teammate duo has been prepping on and off the track for these final races all season long. Given the differences in their driving history, Love and Hill are a force to be reckoned with.

“Jesse comes from a slightly different background. He drove sprint cars and Austin came from legends and late-model cars. They do a great job of helping each other. I couldn’t ask for two better teammates. There hasn’t been a time where they work against each other,” said Lawrence.

During moments like these, teamwork truly does make the dream work.

“Both of our cars will be the same going to Kansas and both drivers will be able to communicate about what their cars are doing. Generally, the drivers don’t like the cars to be exactly the same, but it will give us a really good chance of Austin being able to help Jesse and vice versa to try to make both cars better,” said Lawrence.

Another key element to finishing strong is starting strong and having a strong pit crew to lean on. The No. 2 and No. 21 pit crews have maintained and gained spots for Love and Hill all season long.

“Whenever you have a crew where you don’t lose spots, but gain them on pit road, it makes the drivers’ lives way easier. Given that the races are so short, and track position means so much, you don’t want to have to start in the back every time and you don’t want to lose spots on pit road. We have been very fortunate to have the two pit crews that we have at the top of their game in being able to help us gain track position and help us win these races,” said Lawrence.

“We have the best pit crew on pit road. It’s one of our biggest strengths and everybody knows it. Everybody wants to beat them on pit road and that just adds another level of pressure to the playoffs,” said RCR’s pit department manager Ray Wright.

The challenge with being the best? Those in the rearview mirror trying to overtake that title, especially from the No. 21 pit crew.

Playoffs and pressure go hand-in-hand, but RCR hopes to alleviate some of that stress from Love and Hill thanks to their preparations and performance on the track and at the shop.

Danny Stockman, crew chief of the No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet, and Andy Street, crew chief of the No. 21 Bennett Transportation and Logistics Chevrolet, have worked tirelessly alongside their road crews, shop guys, engine tuners and pit crews, to make sure these cars are at their peak performance for each of the playoff races ahead. Strategy is key when it comes to accruing points and crew chiefs, such as Stockman and Street, are the backbones when it comes to navigating drivers to optimal positions during the races.

“We have a lot of positives; we just have to execute and not beat ourselves. We have enough speed in our cars to go to the next round, we just don’t want to get in trouble,” said Lawrence.

That trouble can be avoided with a little luck and a lot of strategy. Love and Hill have the stats from the 2024 regular season to back up their current positions in the standings. Love heads to Kansas ranked sixth in the standings, having one win, 13 top-10’s, six top-fives, and four pole awards. Hill is currently ranked third in the standings with three wins, 15 top-10’s, nine top-fives, and one pole win.

Stats aside, drivers who advance to the next round have a clean slate, resetting the points back to zero after each cut-off race, the first one being Charlotte Motor Speedway’s ROVAL course.

“When we get to the ROVAL, we will be able to see where we are points wise and that’s where we will be able to decide whether we need to race for stage points, or not. It’s hard to get stage points and win a race,” said Lawrence.

Winning a race would take the stress off any team with an automatic advance to the next round, but there’s a master plan that must come into play when luck goes out the window, especially when drivers want their names on the bracket for the Championship Four.

“When you start the playoffs, every point matters. We need to run inside the top five each and every week to not have to dig ourselves out of a hole,” said Hill.

Each point, pass, and position is vital, which makes for the perfect storm of excitement throughout the field.

“We have a lot of confidence on our side, and I feel like I don’t have to think about it too much personally. We have really fast Chevrolets and everyone at RCR and ECR have done a great job. Fast cars make my job easier,” said Love.

A job that will not be easy, but can be done with the non-stop work of all the men and women at RCR and ECR Engines.

The first race of the Round of 12 for the NASCAR Xfinity Series will take place on Saturday, September 28 beginning with practice and qualifying at 11:05 a.m. ET on the NBC Sports App. Love and Hill look to lead the field to green shortly after 4 p.m. ET on the CW, in hopes of racing their way to a championship title.