BRISTOL, Tenn. (NEXSTAR) -- Cole Custer has won the Xfinity Series regular season championship after victory in the final race of the series on Friday night at Bristol Motor Speedway. Custer, who is the reigning Xfinity Series champion, also claimed bonus points that carry into the playoffs with the big win, according to The Associated Press. Sheldon Creed finished a close second as the Joe Gibbs Racing driver remains winless on his Xfinity Series career. Alex Bowman, who was allegedly on the hot seat and could be replaced, is now set to start the the first elimination race of NASCAR’s playoffs from the pole. Bowman questioned about rumors that he’ll be out of a seat at the end of the year, which Hendrick Motorsports vehemently denied ahead of the start of the playoffs. The Hendrick driver now heads into Saturday night’s elimination race ranked fourth in the Cup Series standings - best of all four drivers on the Hendrick Motorsports team. The Associated Press contributed to this story