2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series - The Best Yet?
Could the 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series season be the best yet? With rule changes and more full-time series drivers, it’s shaping up to be an even more competitive year.
The 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series season is coming to a close, and the first year of the Chase format has created some great competition. With so many new names that are in contention for the series championship, how could these teams and drivers possibly top what they have done going forward? Well, in 2017, they just might be able to.
Big changes are coming to the composition of the series drivers in the new year. Full-time Cup Series drivers with more than five years of experience will be limited to ten races in 2017, and cannot run in the series finale at Miami. That means big names like Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick, and others will have limited starts when they race in the second division. This will also open up a number of new opportunities for drivers at big name teams.
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Already a number of announcements have been made with more drivers racing full-time in the Xfinity Series. Richard Childress Racing will be expanding their team with the addition of Daniel Hemric, while keeping Brandon Jones and Brendan Gaughan. JR Motorsports will also add new faces, bringing in Michael Annett and William Byron. Joe Gibbs Racing will also add a new full-time driver in Matt Tifft in 2017, while Team Penske and Stewart-Haas Racing will also add operations.
More announcements of drivers are expected in the coming months. With teams that run cars with Cup drivers for some races, it is expected that one or potentially more drivers will also share that ride in order to run the full schedule. For instance, should Team Penske continue to run Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano in the #22 Ford, expect another driver or two to fill in the remaining minimum of 13 races those two cannot run.
Are you excited to see the Xfinity Series have more standalone drivers and teams? Will this lead to even better racing in 2017? Be sure to watch the 2016 season close out in the final three races. Next up is the O’Reilly Challenge at Texas, live on NBC on Saturday, November 5.
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