Your confidence is rising, your oval skills continue to mature nicely, and the top-level NASCAR Cup Series beckons. Before that though, just one more step remains on the NASCAR ladder to conquer before collecting them all.
While racers don’t need to compete in the NASCAR Xfinity Series to reach the Cup, as continuous running in the Trucks will easily suffice, why not complete the full set? Besides, the Xfinity car represents a fun and stern challenge when compared to the Truck.
This piece will take you through everything you need to know about the Xfinity vehicle and the series it competes in.
The Xfinity Car
The NASCAR Xfinity car is strange in that it is probably the most old-fashioned of the three top-level NASCAR machines, mainly due to its lack of downforce compared to the Truck and Cup challengers. Despite the lack of downforce, its 5.8-litre V8 provides around 50 hp more than the truck at roughly 650 hp. This puts it about level with the Cup car in the power stakes.
The lack of downforce in the Xfinity car is very noticeable when coming from the NASCAR Truck machine, its driving style is more akin to that of the ARCA Menards Chevy. With the addition of still being pretty heavy at 3,200 pounds, the Xfinity car will give your arms a workout through the bends.
Like the Trucks and Cup offerings, three different body styles are available with the Xfinity. These are the Toyota Supra, Ford Mustang, and Chevrolet Camaro. All three feature very similar physics, so there’s no benefit to running a different body at different tracks. They all need to be bought separately.
Race Series Format
NASCAR Class B Xfinity Fixed
There is a fixed and open setup series available for Xfinity, with both featuring similar event structures. A five-minute qualifying test on ovals, which rises to eight minutes on road courses, gives you two flying laps to secure the best starting slot for the race.
Each contest runs over a set number of laps, with this fixture taking around 25-30 minutes to complete depending on how many cautions there are.
Every race has realistic weather enabled, meaning the temperature and wind are reflected in the sim exactly as it is at the real-life venue. While rain is turned off for the oval encounters, it can affect proceedings at the road courses. Just remember to pack your virtual waterproofs before you hit the track.
- Races run for around 25-30 minutes
- Two qualifying laps with five minutes to complete them, eight on-road courses
- Cautions and Lucky Dog are enabled
- Each event is set to a realistic weather forecast
- Fixed setups are mandated
NASCAR Class B Xfinity Open
The Open NASCAR Xfinity Series has a similar structure to the Fixed races, though the events are double the length. Realistic weather is also turned on. From here, there are a few key differences between the two;
- Open races run for around 50-60 minutes
- The schedule runs to a real-life NASCAR Xfinity Series calendar, off weeks filled in with different tracks
- Full setup tweaking is allowed
- At least one pit stop will be needed due to lack of fuel, a tire change is strongly recommended
What License Is Needed To Race
The Xfinity Series fixtures require a B-Level oval racing license to participate. To achieve this, completing clean races in lower racing classes is essential. Street Stocks can get you nicely into D Class, where the ARCA Menards Series or Late Models represent a good path to C. Once there, running higher-end Late Models or Street Stocks can get you to B, though the Truck Series is also recommended.
As soon as you are granted your virtual B Oval certificate, you’re ready to purchase any content you need to take part in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
Series Costing
The 12-round Fixed Series tends to run a primarily paid-track schedule, with the 2024 Season 3 calendar made up purely of these. Only one of these is an ultra-short track that costs $11.95, with all the others coming in at the full $14.95. To complete the full season, the tracks alone would come in at just over $176. The addition of the car brings the total to a smidge under $190.
Those who have competed in other series on the way up will likely have already bought a selection of tracks, so the total should be lower to complete the full list.
The Open series, like Trucks and Cup, follows the same real-life Xfinity schedule as closely as possible. Any weeks where the series doesn’t race will have a randomly selected track to fill in.
Just one of the 39 tracks is free during the 2024 running of the series, though several are run twice. The total cost for running the full season would be around $400 for the tracks needed, plus the cost of an Xfinity car.
What’s So Special?
While the NASCAR Trucks Series is arguably the closer in terms of driving experience and technique to the Cup Series, the Xfinity is special as reaching success is really rewarding due to how tricky the car is to handle.
The high power, big weight, and lack of downforce combined means it can be easy to overdrive the Xfinity car. The result of this can be chronic understeer through high-speed corners, and possible oversteer under acceleration as the rear tires scrabble for grip.
This makes it easier to make a mistake during the race, which can lead to you either being passed or put under pressure or something more terminal. Even the slightest bit of damage can affect the speed of your vehicle, making it more difficult to run at a competitive pace.
Tire Wear In All Four Corners Needs To Be Kept On Top Of
While looking after your front tire is still important in the Xfinity car, its lack of overall grip means you need to be cautious of all four corners. Trying to dial in too much rotation, or jumping on the throttle earlier to use the power to turn the front, can then lead to severe rear tire wear. This will lead to struggles getting back on the power late in the run, potentially forcing you to pit earlier and suffer later on.
With the lack of downforce, suffering more tire wear than your opponents will completely tank your lap times. Fortunately, the plus side of the Xfinity featuring less downforce means there is less dirty air behind other cars than in the Trucks and Cup. This means the car will slide less, allowing the car to feel more consistent in a variety of situations.
You can also be more patient when behind other cars, allowing you to pick your moment more wisely.
- Having a steering ratio of 12:1 or 14:1 helps to be smoother with the front tires across the run
- Opening the steering as early as possible and using as much track as possible on exit will take pressure off tires
- Dialing brake bias rearward will assist in getting car to turn in, though too much can overheat rears and cause them to wear faster
- Pitting a few laps earlier can help to take crucial track position, though you could pay later on
To Conclude
While being one of the most challenging oval fixtures, the NASCAR Xfinity Series is arguably the most rewarding of the top NASCAR championships when you get it right. It can be a real challenge to find the balance between saving the front and rear tires, but there’s nothing like driving past drivers who have used up their stuff in the closing laps when you nail it.
Being able to survive an Xfinity race competitively will help to build confidence before stepping into the big leagues of the Cup Series. Learning about pit strategy in terms of what works per track is also useful, as this will be one less thing to get used to when moving up to the final step of the ladder.
