Sam Mayer slides into Xfinity Series Championship Four
HOMESTEAD, FLA. — Sam Mayer looked like he was driving on dirt, not Homestead-Miami Speedway, as he held on to win the NASCAR Xfinity Series race Saturday.
Mayer led the final 31 laps and wheeled a continuously looser racecar to beat Riley Herbst by just over two-tenths of a second in the Contender Boats 300.
For the 20-year-old JR Motorsports driver, it is his career win No. 4 in the Xfinity Series. More importantly, it locks him into the Championship Four.
TOP-10 FINISHERS: Mayer, Herbst, John Hunter Nemechek, Austin Hill, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Daniel Hemric, Parker Kligerman, Brandon Jones, Sammy Smith, Joe Graf Jr.
RACE RUNDOWN
Cole Custer earned the pole and led all 45 laps en route to winning stage one.
STAGE ONE TOP-10: Custer, Sam Mayer, John Hunter Nemechek, Sheldon Creed, Brett Moffitt, Justin Allgaier, Riley Herbst, Austin Hill, Kaz Grala, Daniel Hemric
Then, in stage two, Derek Kraus and Kyle Sieg took new tires, producing two upset finishes in the stage.
STAGE TWO TOP-10 (LAP 90): Kraus, Nemechek, Custer, Mayer, Allgaier, Parker Kligerman, Sieg, Herbst, Hill, Hemric
In stage three, Justin Allgaier challenged Cole Custer’s reign. Then, with 89 laps to go, Allgaier pitted with a loose wheel and handed the lead back to Custer.
Custer cruised to a comfortable lead, even through pit stops, until lap 152. He hit the wall and blew a right front tire.
While Custer almost fell two laps down, Sam Mayer took hold of the race. Teammate Allgaier finally had to pit on lap 154 after not getting the caution he needed.
That caution came on lap 165.
Sheldon Creed stayed out, going from fifth to first on older tires. For this to work, he needed 10-20 laps to get a caution and newer tires than everyone else.
Creed didn’t get that. Dale Earnhardt Jr. wrecked with Josh Berry and brought out the caution on lap 172.
Creed dropped from first to 12th in just one green-flag lap. He stayed in 12th until wrecking with two laps to go and finishing 26th, two laps down.
Meanwhile, Custer and Allgaier never caught the breaks they needed and finished 13th and 15th, respectively, each one lap down.
Chandler Smith finished 34th with a blown engine after completing 138 laps. Smith was also in a wreck on lap 98 that took out Brett Moffitt.
After getting in a wreck that took out Brett Moffitt on lap 98, Smith later blew an engine and fell out of the race after completing 138 laps.
PLAYOFF STANDINGS
- Sam Mayer: WIN
- John Hunter Nemechek (+44)
- Cole Custer (+3)
- Austin Hill (+3)
- Justin Allgaier (3110 pts, -3)
- Sammy Smith (-49)
- Chandler Smith (-54)
- Sheldon Creed (-65)
The Dead-On Tools 250 at Martinsville Speedway will determine the final three Championship Four spots. The race goes green just after 3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Nemechek, the spring Martinsville winner, will need to finish 22nd or better to lock in.
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com