The 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series was the 35th season of the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the second national professional stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. The season started at Daytona International Speedway on February 20 and ended at Homestead–Miami Speedway on November 19. Daniel Suárez of Joe Gibbs Racing won the championship, becoming the first non-American to win a title in NASCAR's top 3 divisions.
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.
Teams and drivers
Complete schedule
ManufacturerTeamRace driverCrew chief Chevrolet Chip Ganassi Racing 42 Kyle Larson Mike Shiplett Justin Marks 48 Brennan Poole (R) Chad Norris Derrike Cope Racing with JP Motorsports 70 Derrike Cope Carlos Contreras Danny Ketterman Jr. Timmy Hill Dexter Stacey JD Motorsports 0 Eric McClure Matthew Lewis Danny Gill Garrett Smithley (R) 01 Ryan Preece (R) Zach McGowan Ryan Bell 4 Ross Chastain Brian Berry Jeremy Clements Racing 51 Jeremy Clements Tony Clements Jimmy Means Racing 52 Joey Gase Tim Brown JR Motorsports 1 Elliott Sadler Kevin Meendering Mike Bumgarner 7 Justin Allgaier Jason Burdett 88 Chase Elliott Dave Elenz Kevin Harvick Dale Earnhardt Jr. Alex Bowman Cole Custer Josh Berry Kenny Habul Regan Smith Clint Bowyer Kaulig Racing 11 Blake Koch Chris RiceObaika Racing 97 Harrison Rhodes Todd Myers David Jones Bobby Burrell Kevyn Rebolledo Ryan Ellis Alex Guenette T. J. Bell Paige Decker Matt Waltz Josh Berry Alli Owens Jordan Anderson Josh Bilicki Richard Childress Racing 2 Austin Dillon Danny Stockman Jr. Gil Martin Justin Alexander Paul Menard Ben Kennedy Sam Hornish Jr. Michael McDowell Regan Smith 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. 3 Ty Dillon Danny Efland Nick Harrison Mike Hillman Jr. 33 Brandon Jones (R) Mike Hillman Jr. Nick Harrison 62 Brendan Gaughan Shane Wilson RSS Racing 39 Ryan Sieg Kevin Starland SS-Green Light Racing 07 Ray Black Jr. (R) Jason MillerDodgeMike Harmon Racing 74 Mike Harmon Carl Brown Alan Collins Jr. R. B. Bracken Nicolas Hammann Roger Reuse Ford B. J. McLeod Motorsports 78 B. J. McLeod (R) George Ingram David Ingram Roush Fenway Racing 6 Bubba Wallace Seth Barbour 16 Ryan Reed Phil Gould Team Penske 22 Joey Logano Brian Wilson Greg Erwin Brad Keselowski Ryan Blaney Joey Logano was originally scheduled to drive in the Use Your Melon Drive Sober 200 at Dover on Saturday. However, with the race rained out until Sunday, Team Penske opted to replace Logano with Ryan Blaney. Alex Tagliani Toyota JGL Racing 28 Dakoda Armstrong Steven Lane Wayne Setterington Jr. Drew Herring Joe Gibbs Racing 18 Bobby Labonte Chris Gayle Kyle Busch Matt Tifft Denny Hamlin Sam Hornish Jr. David Ragan Dakoda Armstrong Owen Kelly Drew Herring 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 19 Daniel Suárez Scott Graves 20 Erik Jones (R) Chris Gabehart TriStar Motorsports 14 Benny Gordon Eddie Pardue J. J. Yeley Jeff Green Tomy Drissi Mike Bliss Hermie Sadler Matt DiBenedetto Cole Whitt 44 David Starr Frank Kerr Bryan Smith J. J. Yeley Chevrolet King Autosport 90 Martin Roy Guy Caron Michael Rutland Mario Gosselin Mario Gosselin Alex Guenette Andy Lally James Davison Dexter Bean Alex Labbé SS-Green Light Racing Todd Bodine Ford B. J. McLeod Motorsports Todd Peck Keith Wolfe 15 Todd Peck 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. Paul Andrews Joe Lax George Church Keith Wolfe Jason Houghtaling Jeff Spraker Shannon RurschJames Brooks Travis Kvapil Cody Ware (R) Timmy Hill Scott Heckert Michael Lira Stanton Barrett Clint King Blake Jones Josh Wise Josh Reaume D. J. Kennington Chevrolet Dodge Ford Rick Ware Racing Stanton Barrett Cody Ware (R) Ryan Ellis Todd Peck Jeff Green Chevrolet Ford 25 Cody Ware (R) Jeff Spraker Joe Lax George Church Harrison Rhodes Ryan Ellis Travis Kvapil Scott Lagasse Jr. Stanton Barrett Spencer Boyd Camden Murphy Todd Peck 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. Jennifer Jo Cobb Austin Theriault Josh Reaume Chevrolet Chris Cockrum Racing Chris Cockrum Obaika Racing Austin Theriault 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. Team Kapusta Racing Timmy Hill Cody Ware (R) Alex Kennedy Austin Theriault Ford B. J. McLeod Motorsports Todd Peck Dodge Toyota Chevrolet Ford MBM Motorsports 13Mark Thompson Carl Long Robbie May George Lee II Michael Rathje George Church David Jones Josh Reaume Derek White D. J. Kennington Carl Long Matt DiBenedetto Timmy Hill Timmy Hill drove in the VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300 with car number 13 MBM Motorsports Toyota. 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. John Jackson T. J. Bell Harrison Rhodes Stanton Barrett Tim Cowen Alon Day Brandon Hightower Dodge Toyota Chevrolet 40 Derek White Robbie May Sebastian Laforge Carl Long Carl Long Josh Reaume Josh Wise T. J. Bell John Jackson Timmy Hill Chris Cook Alon Day
Limited schedule
ManufacturerTeamRace driverCrew chiefRounds Chevrolet Athenian Motorsports 05 John Wes Townley Michael Shelton Bobby Gerhart Racing 85 Bobby Gerhart Billy Gerhart Brian Keselowski Mark Skibo Brandonbilt Motorsports 86 Brandon Brown Joey Cohen Adam Brenner GMS Racing 21 Spencer Gallagher Joey Cohen Jimmy Means Racing 79 Josh Williams Garrett Hinson JR Motorsports 5 Kasey Kahne Ryan Pemberton Matt Goslant Richard Boswell Chase Elliott Cole Custer King Autosport 92 Mario Gosselin Michael Rutland Mario Gosselin Kevin Boykin Guy Caron Dexter Bean Josh Williams Precision Performance Motorsports 46 Anthony Kumpen Mark Setzer Brandon Gdovic Jordan Anderson Obaika Racing 77 Claire Decker Carlos Contreras T. J. Bell Bobby Burrell Jordan Anderson Josh Bilicki Austin Theriault Spencer Boyd Matt Waltz Ryan Ellis RSS Racing 93 Scott Lagasse Jr. Mark Gibson Harry McMullen Bruce Cook Josh Reaume Dylan Lupton Josh Wise David Starr Shepherd Racing Ventures 89 Morgan Shepherd Tony Furr Nick Hoechst Ford Biagi-DenBeste Racing 98 Aric Almirola Jon Hanson Jeb Burton Nelson Piquet Jr. B. J. McLeod Motorsports 99 Chris Fontaine Jason Houghtaling Keith Wolfe Adam Brooks Kevyn Rebolledo Todd Peck Stanton Barrett Jeff Green Richard Petty Motorsports 43 Jeb Burton Drew Blickensderfer Roush Fenway Racing 60 Trevor Bayne Drew Blickensderfer Michael Tam Gray Gaulding Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Team Penske 12 Ryan Blaney Greg Erwin Brian Wilson Joey Logano Toyota JGL Racing 24 Matt Tifft Steven Gray Ken Evans Wayne Setterington Steven Lane Corey LaJoie T. J. Bell Brandon McReynolds Drew Herring NEMCO Motorsports 87 Joe Nemechek Jim Mazza Gere Kennon Jr. TriStar Motorsports 10 Jeff Green Ricky Viers Robbie May Doug Miller John Mays Matt DiBenedetto Tyler Young Mike Bliss Josh Wise Chevrolet MBM Motorsports 72 John Jackson Todd Marcy Dodge Timmy Hill Steven Muchie Chevrolet Toyota Rick Ware Racing 17 Jeff Green George Church Ricky Viers Notes
Changes
Teams The Roush Fenway Racing No. 1 and No. 60 cars, driven by Elliott Sadler and Chris Buescher respectively in 2015, would shut down, and Roush would downsize to two full-time teams. Sadler moved full-time to JR Motorsports, while Buescher moved up to the Sprint Cup Series full-time for Front Row Motorsports. The No. 60 team would field part-time with Trevor Bayne, Gray Gaulding and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. driving. Chip Ganassi Racing would field a full-time team for Brennan Poole in the No. 48 DC Solar Chevrolet. Poole ran about half the races in the HScott Motorsports with Chip Ganassi No. 42 in 2015. Chad Norris would be the crew chief, after being the crew chief for Bubba Wallace and Ryan Reed for Roush Fenway Racing in 2015. SS-Green Light Racing would move up from the Camping World Truck Series to the Xfinity Series with driver Ray Black Jr., crew chief Jason Miller and sponsorship from Scubalife in the No. 07. 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. Kaulig Racing would start a full-time team. Blake Koch would drive the No. 11 LeafFilter Chevrolet with crew chief Chris Rice. Koch drove the No. 8 LeafFilter car for TriStar Motorsports in 2015. 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.
Drivers 2015 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Erik Jones moved to the Xfinity Series full-time for Joe Gibbs Racing in the No. 20. Jones also drove this car part-time in 2015. Joe Gibbs Racing renumbered the Daniel Suárez team from the No. 18 to the No. 19. Kyle Busch, Matt Tifft, Denny Hamlin, and Bobby Labonte would run the No. 18 for Joe Gibbs Racing in 2016, renumbered from No. 54. 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. Smith moved back to the Cup Series full-time, driving the No. 7 Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet. Elliott Sadler replaced Chase Elliott, who moved up to the Sprint Cup Series, in the JR Motorsports No. 1 (renumbered from No. 9). Sadler ran in the Roush Fenway Racing No. 1 in 2015. Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman, Cole Custer, and Kenny Habul joined Kevin Harvick, Josh Berry, and team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. as drivers of the JR Motorsports No. 88, replacing Kasey Kahne, who drove 6 races in 2015, and Ben Rhodes, who drove 10 races in 2015. Habul drove 3 races for the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 in 2015. Austin Dillon, Paul Menard, Ben Kennedy, Sam Hornish Jr., A. J. Allmendinger and Michael McDowell replaced Brian Scott in the Richard Childress Racing No. 2. Dillon and Menard both ran part-time in the Childress No. 33 in 2015, while other drivers haven't. Scott moved up to the Sprint Cup Series, driving the No. 44 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford, renumbered from No. 9. Brandon Jones will move to the Xfinity Series full-time for Richard Childress Racing in the No. 33. Jones also drove this car part-time with Austin Dillon and Paul Menard in 2015. Jeb Burton replaced Dakoda Armstrong in the No. 43 Ford for Richard Petty Motorsports. Burton drove for BK Racing in the Sprint Cup Series in 2015. Burton's season came short due to team's lack of sponsorship.