JR Motorsports has kicked its performance up a notch lately. Since the July 4 race at Daytona, JRM drivers Chase Elliott and Regan Smith lead the NASCAR Xfinity Series in points earned. Smith ranks first with 516 points, followed by Elliott with 509. In third is current series leader Chris Buescher with 490 points earned. With five races left in the season, Elliott (-24 points, second in the series standings) and Smith (-36, third) are within striking distance of Buescher. They get their next chance at decreasing Buescher’s lead in Friday’s Drive for the Cure 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (8 p.m. on NBCSN). Elliott, the defending series champion, leads all drivers with 22 top-10 finishes and is tied with Buescher for the most top-five showings (11). He has been crippled by three finishes of 24th or worse. The 19-year-old Chevrolet driver placed eighth at Charlotte in May. “With five races remaining, we need to come out prepared, just like we did last week at Dover -- even though we didn’t qualify or practice due to weather,” Elliott said. “The car we rolled off the truck was solid and that’s what it will take this week at Charlotte to stay ahead in the game.” Smith, fresh of his second win of the season at Dover, rides to Charlotte with an eight-race top 10 streak. He posted a career-best fourth-place finish at the 1.5-mile track in May. “I can say this with certainty: this has been my best year at JR Motorsports as a driver and speed-wise,” Smith said. “I feel like we’ve had the most speed in the races of all the years I’ve been here. We keep winning races, and we’ll be right back in the title hunt. “That’s kind of our motto right now, to just keep winning races and good things happen. We’re going to some tracks that we’re excited about, and we’re going to work hard and see how it all shakes out.”