By: Ashley McCubbin

It’s fun just turning left, but the NASCAR Xfinity Series are about to double down this weekend in being able to do not only go one way, but also turn their steering wheels right with the first road course of 2024. Being a stand-alone event, it will give the regulars a chance to shine, while also bringing forth some interesting faces we are not used to.

JR Motorsports will hope to be at the top of the chart, after coming close at Charlotte Motor Speedway with their drivers ranked second through fourth in the final running order behind Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott.

Brandon Jones was the highest of the trio, scoring a runner-up as he looks to climb back up the standings with being currently ranked 10th. However, he has only finished as high as 11th in his pair of trips to Portland.

Sammy Smith found himself in third at the Charlotte checkered flag, marking his first top-five of 2024 as he begins to join his teammates in contention for wins. He had the consistency before that, notably, with seven top-10 appearances. This will mark his first trip to Portland, though.

Justin Allgaier, meanwhile, has the third best average finish (3.5) with a pair of top-five’s and picked up a checkered flag at Darlington Raceway a couple weeks ago. He was not part of the JRM two-three-four at Charlotte, however, wrecking out while battling for a spot inside the top-five.

Stewart-Haas Racing picked up the win at Portland last season, courtesy of Cole Custer as part of his road to being the series champion. He has been solid this year with six top-five’s and nine top-10’s in the 12 races to be third in the standings, but no trips to victory lane. With the extra motivation behind him to close out the year strong as SHR closes their doors at season’s end, it would be the perfect time to capture a win.

The other winner at Portland? None other than series road course ace A.J. Allmendinger with Kaulig Racing. It doesn’t matter when right turns are involved on the schedule, he is a part of the conversation with having earned 11 of his 17 victories that way. Surprisingly, he has yet to win a race since returning full-time to the series in 2024, currently ranked fifth in the standings with two top-five’s and six top-10’s.

Kaulig has another bullet in the gun for this weekend, with none other than Shane Van Gisbergen. Nobody has forgotten how he won in his NASCAR Cup Series debut on the streets of Chicago quite yet. He has also been having a decent rookie Xfinity campaign, ranked 15th in the standings with a pair of top-10 finishes.

If you were talking about pre-season contenders, Chandler Smith was probably not the driver you highlighted on the list at Joe Gibbs Racing. But he has been impressive to date, just four points outside of the lead with two wins and six top-five finishes. He placed ninth last season at Portland.

His JGR teammate Ryan Truex also knows something about capturing checkered flags this year, accomplishing the feat at Dover International Speedway. With a win and three top-five’s in his five Xfinity appearances thus far in 2024, he is not someone to be overlooked this weekend. It will mark his first trip to Portland, though.

Current points leader Austin Hill and Richard Childress Racing know something about making the lefts and rights at Portland, as evident by boasting an average finish of fourth over the past two seasons. Could he score his third win of the season? His teammate Jesse Love may have something to say about that even with this being his first trip there, as he is currently ranked fifth in points with seven top-10’s in the 12 events.