Daniel Suárez, the 2016 Xfinity Series champion.Elliott Sadler finished second behind Suárez in the championship.Justin Allgaier finished third in the championship.Erik Jones finished fourth in the championship, and was Rookie of the Year.Toyota won the Manufacturers' championship with 19 wins and 1362 points.
This was the first year that the Xfinity Series (and the Truck Series) had a playoff system. Just like in the Cup Series, four drivers competed for the title in the final race at Homestead, also the final round of the playoffs. Those drivers are shown below.
^Austin Dillon was originally scheduled to drive the No. 2 for the Use Your Melon Drive Sober 200. Due to the race being rescheduled on Sunday, RCR tabbed Smith to substitute for Dillon.
^Kyle Busch was originally scheduled to drive the No. 18 in the Use Your Melon Drive Sober 200. However, due to the race being held on Sunday, Joe Gibbs Racing opted to replace Busch with Drew Herring
^Todd Peck drove in the Axalta Faster. Tougher. Brighter. 200 with car number 15. Ryan Ellis crashed in Qualifying and his team could not fix the car in time for the race. Peck, who did not qualify for the race, took over the number 15 and was able to start with his (previously 99) B. J. McLeod Motorsports entered Ford.
^Todd Peck drove in the VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300 with car number 25. Chris Cockrum crashed his Chevrolet in First Practice and his team could not fix the car in time for the race and Cockrum WD. So, they called Peck to drive the 25 backup's car entered Ford in the race.
^Austin Theriault drove in the Virginia 529 College Savings 250 with car number 25. Chris Cockrum crashed in Qualifying and his team could not fix the car in time for the race. Theriault, who did not qualify for the race, took over the number 25 and was able to start with his (previously 77) Obaika Racing entered Chevrolet.
^Timmy Hill drove in the VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300 with car number 13 MBM MotorsportsToyota. Mark Thompson who was initially scheduled to drive the car let Timmy to drive in the race. Hill, initially did not qualify for the race with his MBM Motorsports 72 Dodge.
TriStar Motorsports would downsize to two full-time teams, shutting down the No. 8, No. 19 and No. 24. David Starr would remain in the No. 44 with the No. 14 to be announced.
Rick Ware Racing would field the No. 25 Chevrolet as a second team in celebration of the organization's 25th anniversary.
B. J. McLeod Motorsports would field two full-time Ford cars: the No. 78, which McLeod would drive, and the No. 99, which various drivers would drive. The cars were purchased from Roush Fenway Racing. The No. 99 team shut down earlier this season, due to points being low, and partnered with Rick Ware Racing to share the No. 15 team points.
Justin Allgaier replaced Regan Smith in the JR Motorsports No. 7 with sponsorship from Brandt. Allgaier ran the HScott Motorsports No. 51 in the Sprint Cup Series in 2015.[3] Smith moved back to the Cup Series full-time, driving the No. 7 Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet.
Chris Gabehart replaced Mike Wheeler as crew chief for Erik Jones in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20. Gabehart was the race engineer for Denny Hamlin's No. 11 Cup Series car in 2015.
Richard Childress Racing crew chiefs, Mike Hillman Jr. and Danny Stockman Jr., swapped cars. Hillman Jr. was the crew chief of Brandon Jones in the No. 33 after working with Brian Scott in the No. 2 in 2015. Stockman Jr. moved with Austin Dillon and Paul Menard from the No. 33 to the No. 2.
Zach McGowan replaced Wayne Setterington as crew chief for Ryan Preece in the JD Motorsports No. 01. McGowan was the crew chief for Preece in his 5 races for Premium Motorsports in the Sprint Cup series in 2015.
On January 19, NASCAR announced the introduction of a playoff format similar to the Chase for the Sprint Cup for the Xfinity Series and the Camping World Truck Series.[10] After the 26-race regular season, the top-12 drivers will enter the Round of 12 (Kentucky, Dover and Charlotte), with championship points reset. The top-eight drivers will advance to the Round of 8 (Kansas, Texas and Phoenix). The top-four drivers will qualify to the Championship 4 at Homestead. Race winners will automatically advance to the next round. Additionally, the 16 drivers who qualified for the 2015 Chase for the Sprint Cup are ineligible to race at Homestead.
NASCAR also announced that Dash 4 Cash races would feature two heat races that determine the starting grid for the main event. If a driver is the highest finishing eligible driver in two of the races, they become eligible for the Xfinity Chase.[11]
Schedule
The Ollie's Bargain Outlet 200 at Dover International Speedway in MayThe Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway in AugustThe Use Your Melon Drive Sober 200 at Dover International Speedway in October
Pocono Raceway will host the Xfinity Series for the first time on June 4, 2016. The race will be 250 mi (400 km) in length and will replace the standalone June race held by Chicagoland Speedway.[12]
The four Dash4Cash races—Bristol, Richmond, Dover (all spring) and Indianapolis—will have reduced race distances in order to add additional heat races. The Bristol format is two 50-lap heat races and a 200-lap feature, Richmond will have 35-lap heat races and a 140-lap feature, Dover will have 40-lap heat races and a 120-lap feature and Indianapolis will have 20-lap heat races and a 60-lap feature.
(key) Bold – Pole position awarded by time. Italics – Pole position set by final practice results or owner's points. * – Most laps led. . – Eliminated after Round of 12
. – Eliminated after Round of 8
1 Post entry, driver and owner did not score points.
Owners' championship (Top 15)
(key) Bold - Pole position awarded by time. Italics - Pole position set by final practice results or rainout. * – Most laps led. . – Eliminated after Round of 12
. – Eliminated after Round of 8
