NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff Recap

Michael Annett was the first driver to qualify for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs by winning the opening race of the season at Daytona International Speedway. This gave Michael and crew chief, Travis Mack, plenty of time to plan for the playoffs.

The first race was at Richmond Raceway on September 20. Michael drove his Pilot Flying J Chevrolet across the finish line in 4th place, his 16th top-10 finish of the season. This put him in sixth place in series points and put more distance between him and the cutoff to the Round of 8. The following playoff race on the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval on September 28 didn’t go as well as the first race in Richmond. Despite suffering front-end damage on an early restart, Michael was able to finish the race in 15th place. Even though it wasn’t the top10 placement the team was looking for, they still finished the race ahead of three other big contenders.

The third race on October 5 at Dover International Speedway was Michael’s best performance in the postseason so far. He drove his black and gold TMC Transportation Chevrolet into 6th place, punching his ticket to the Round of 8. The top-10 finish was also his 17th of the season, which tied his career-best season total from 2012.

On October 19 at Kansas Speedway, Michael drove to a fourth-place finish. This moved him up a spot in the point standings with two races left to determine the Championship 4. The following races in Texas and Phoenix resulted in 11th and 9th place finishes. This lead to a season-ending race at Homestead Miami Speedway on November 16, where Michael placed in 11th.

The year 2019 turned into Michael’s most successful season in the series. Along with his victory at Daytona, Michael tied his career-best six top-five finishes and set a new personal record with 19 top-10 finishes. He ended the season ninth in series points.