JR Motorsports shows speed but mixed results at Pocono

The JR Motorsports drivers combined for 71 of 92 laps led and earned points in each stage but only could finish as high as second Saturday.

Sam Mayer finished second after racing closely around Austin Hill and Josh Berry in overtime.

Berry and Mayer led entering overtime until Hill bumped Berry too hard on the restart.

A lap later as Berry came up to sidedraft Hill exiting turn one, Mayer came down to go three-wide and bumped into him.

The contact cut down Berry’s tire and sent him 24th, out of the race. He led 51 laps (race-high) and won stage one and two after winning the pole.

Mayer was dejected, however. He said he “felt bummed he cost the company a win.” Berry responded, saying, “It was just hard racing.”

Mayer finished seventh in each stage and finished second overall. He also finished second at Talladega last October and in Fontana, Cali. in February.

The only driver with a possibly more-heartbreaking than Berry is Justin Allgaier.

Allgaier was the only driver who challenged Berry on speed alone as he led eight laps and challenged Berry for the stage two win.

With eight laps to go, he still ran just behind Berry but then got damage after spinning Joey Gase with 11 laps to go.

The contact shuffled Allgaier to the back and eventually led to the wreck with Chandler Smith in overtime. Allgaier finished 23rd.

Brandon Jones finished 16 spots ahead, after finishing sixth and fourth in stages one and two. He led 12 laps in stage three before the caution with 11 laps to go.

With six laps to go, Jones had the freshest tires in eighth. However, he couldn’t do much with it as he finished seventh.

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