“I’m not planning on racing next year,” Earnhardt said of the Xfinity Series. “I’ll be foolish to say I’m never going to run again because I don’t know well enough to stay away from it, and I’ll probably miss it next year and be absolutely willing to sign up for anything that might be beneficial to JR Motorsports.”

The NASCAR Xfinity Series playoff field was set after Friday's Food City 300 at Bristol, with Cole Custer winning the race and the regular season points title. But Justin Allgaier comes into the first playoff race as the playoff points leader, 27 points ahead of the cutoff line.

JR Motorsports driver Sammy Smith and Big Machine Racing driver Parker Kligerman would like nothing better than for the status quo to hold firm in Friday night‘s Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway (7:30 p.