NASCAR Xfinity Series at New Hampshire 2015: Full Schedule, Standings, Preview

Up next for the NASCAR Xfinity Series is New Hampshire Motor Speedway, where leader Chris Buescher and others will take the track for the Lakes Region 200.  

The 211.6-mile trek comes eight days after Brad Keselowski stole the show in Kentucky with his win, and Sprint Cup Series regular Kyle Busch finished third.

Things continue to become more cluttered in the top five of the Xfinity leaderboard, with no lead or position safe. Saturday, the best in Series will need to fend off Sprint Cup drivers and one another to set themselves up well for the remainder of the summer.

Here's how to catch the action and what to look for this weekend.

Schedule for Xfinity Series at New Hampshire

Date	Time (ET)	Event	Watch
Friday, July 17	1-1:55 p.m.	Practice	n/a
Friday, July 17	3-4:25 p.m.	Final Practice	NBCSN
Saturday, July 18	11:15 a.m.	Qualifying	NBCSN
Saturday, July 18	4 p.m.	Lakes Region 200	NBCSN

Xfinity Series Standings

RK	DRIVER	POINTS
1	Chris Buescher	593
2	Chase Elliott	557
3	Ty Dillon	547
4	Elliott Sadler	528
5	Regan Smith	527
6	Darrell Wallace Jr.	510
7	Brian Scott	478
8	Daniel Suarez	477
9	Brendan Gaughan	473
10	Ryan Reed	471

Full standings available at ESPN.com.

Drivers to Watch

Brad Keselowski

Timothy D. Easley/Associated Press

It looks like Keselowski will make it two Xfinity starts in a row, and why not after last week's triumph in Kentucky?

There, Keselowski didn't have any problems leading 72 laps and capitalizing on a late restart to fend off Erik Jones.

After, he spoke with USA Today's Jonathan Lintner about the Series strategy: "Sometimes you only get to stop two or three times a race in the Xfinity races, so it's about making sure the other guys don't necessarily know what you're doing."

Keselowski seems comfortable with the Xfinity setting right now, although last week's win didn't translate to the Sprint Cup Series, as he finished sixth.

Still, it's clear the Penske Racing driver wants another competition, and as such he is one of the top names to watch Saturday.

Daniel Suarez

Terry Renna/Associated Press

Daniel Suarez might be one of the biggest movers on the leaderboard to watch over the summer.

Suarez was able to jump two spots on the leaderboard after last week's event in Kentucky, a fourth-place finish and his fifth top-10 finish dating back to February.

For Suarez, much of his recent confidence—two of his five top-10 finishes have come over his last three outings—comes from his team, Joe Gibbs Racing.

“I really think they are a great organization, they are an even better group of people because as you know my family is not here, my family is back in Mexico,” Suarez said, per NBCSports.com's Daniel McFadin. “So they are pretty much my family in the race track, race shop and every time.”

Suarez is one of the top storylines this year, as the report goes on to note it's the driver's first year living full-time in the United States. Right now, he's one of the Series' hottest drivers and might have enough to climb even higher in the top 10.

Chris Buescher

Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

Buescher gained a little ground on his first-place slot in Kentucky, although his 11th-place finish made it an odd two races in a row outside of the top 10.

While it is perhaps nothing to worry about with the Xfinity monster, it's something to watch. If those behind him can find a way to sneak past Sprint Cup drivers, the leaderboard situation could get interesting.

Or not, because Buescher told the media he enjoys the type of racing New Hampshire Motor Speedway produces, per a press release posted by PaddockTalk.com:

"

I really like flat track racing, and I like short track racing. Loudon is a pretty tough track because it’s really unique. I feel like we had a good run there and we can go back and do the same in our Zest Mustang. We’re going to try out a couple of short track things we learned at Iowa and see if it will apply here.

"

Buescher mentioned Iowa as the comparison, which should worry other drivers—he finished first in Iowa back in May after leading a season-high 94 laps.

If Buescher is to break out of his mini-slump, it sounds like New Hampshire is a good place to do it.

Stats and info courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.