At the start of the season, Landon Cassill seemed like a shoo-in for the NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs.
Even entering the cutoff race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday night (Sept. 16), Cassill had a 19-point cushion and basically had to have a major problem in order to miss the playoffs … and that is precisely what happened to Kaulig Racing driver.
A mechanical failure on the right front wheel torpedoed Cassill and the No. 10 team’s capability to control their destiny. After a lengthy stay behind the wall for repairs, Cassill reentered the race, but finished 112 laps down in 35th.
Cassill was riding around so many laps down without moving up the running order that all he could think about in the car was missing the playoffs. When he exited the car and spoke with the media, most of his answers were short. He was clearly in disbelief, maybe even slowly accepting his potential fate at season’s end. Either way, he wasn’t his normal chippy, smiling self.
It’s important to remember that one race shouldn’t define a driver’s season, but in the playoff era of NASCAR, that isn’t easy to do. Still, Cassill left points on the table over the course of 26 races, whether of his making or not.
In the season’s second race at Auto Club Speedway, Cassill’s engine failed and burst into flames only six laps into the race. That race left him with just a single point to add to his total.
At Circuit of the Americas, he restarted fourth with six laps to go. At the top of the hill in turn 1, he was nudged in the rear bumper by Brett Moffitt, sending him wide as he lost a handful of positions. Later on, Cassill broke second gear. He fell down the running order and finished 31st.
A mechanical issue at Charlotte Motor Speedway relegated Cassill to 29th. At Road America, he was involved in the big crash triggered when Noah Gragson spun Sage Karam. He finished 32nd that day.
Arguably Cassill’s biggest disappointment came at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, where he led his first laps of the season — a total of 17 — and crossed the finish line in third. However, in post-race inspection, NASCAR disqualified him (and fourth-place Gragson) for body height violations.
It was Cassill’s strongest day of the season, and in a blink of an eye, it was stripped away. Instead of a top five, the No. 10 team left New Hampshire in 37th.
Most recently, at Daytona International Speedway in August, Cassill was…
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