Brennan Poole was 4th in the Xfinity playoff standings, but saw his championship hopes dashed in stage one of the race in Phoenix. Poole and contender Daniel Hemric made contact and Poole was sent into the wall hard.
The hopes for a @NASCAR_XFINITY title might be gone this year for Brennan Poole.
He and fellow #XfinityPlayoffs contender Daniel Hemric were involved in this crash! pic.twitter.com/e18eypeV3u
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) November 11, 2017
This will likely be the end of @brennanpoole's title run. He's on #XfinityPlayoffs watch in the garage. pic.twitter.com/OKw4UKNVfA
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) November 11, 2017
Unable to return to the race, Poole's DNF will open the door for contenders Matt Tifft, Cole Custer and Ryan Reed to get the final spot for next week's championship race. Hemric was able to return to the race and will also have a shot at making the championship race.
Related: The Xfinity race didn't make it very long before its first incident