Five drivers to watch in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race: the Kansas Lottery 300

The NASCAR Xfinity Series’ regular season concludes Saturday afternoon with the Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway, and two postseason berths are still available.

Riley Herbst holds the 12th and final playoff spot based on points, but Parker Kligerman trails by just one point.

Here are five entrants to watch as drivers try to build their points totals heading into the Round of 12 that begins next week at Bristol.

Austin Hill, No. 21 Chevrolet

Hill clinched the regular-season championship with three weeks to go and has four wins — Daytona, Las Vegas, Atlanta and Pocono — as well as a series-most 13 top-five finishes for Richard Childress Racing. Hill, 29, has made two Xfinity starts at Kansas, finishing fifth and 12th. And he won the 2009 trucks race here.

John Hunter Nemechek, No. 20 Toyota

Nemechek, son of former Cup driver and 2004 Kansas Xfinity and Cup races winner Joe Nemecheck, has won a series-best five races for Joe Gibbs Racing. Nemechek, 26, has won seven career Xfinity races, including his first, in 2018, at Kansas. He has also won 13 trucks races, including the 2022 fall event here. He will move to the Cup Series next year with Legacy Motor Club.

Justin Allgaier, No. 7 Chevrolet

Allgaier, who is third in the standings, won at Charlotte for JR Motorsports and owns 20 career victories. The 36-year-old Allgaier owns 21 career wins in 430 Xfinity starts, but he is still looking for his first victory at Kansas, where he has nine top 10s in 12 starts, including second last year.

Cole Custer, No. 00 Ford

Custer, 25, returned to the Xfinity Series this season after spending three years and making 115 starts (with one win) in the Cup series. Custer, who ranks fourth in the Xfinity standings, owns 12 career wins, including Portland and Chicago this season for Stewart-Haas Racing.

Josh Berry, No. 8 Chevrolet

Berry, who will be moving into retiring Kevin Harvick’s No. 4 Ford at Stewart-Haas Racing next year, has yet to win an Xfinity race this season. But he sits fifth in points, with eight top-five finishes and 13 top 10s. He was seventh at Kansas last year.