Sammy Smith clinches spot in Round of 8 with victory at Talladega
BY HOLLY CAIN/NASCAR WIRE SERVICE
TALLADEGA, Ala. – A last lap pass for the win is a recurring theme at Talladega Superspeedway and that’s exactly what landed JR Motorsports driver Sammy Smith in victory lane Saturday.
It was the only lap he led all day but it was good enough to win the United Rentals 250 overtime thriller. Smith earned an automatic berth into the next round of the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs.
It was a huge turn of fortune for the 20-year old Iowa native. Smith came into the race ranked last among the 12 Playoff drivers and winless on the season. He started his No. 8 JRM Chevrolet 27th in Saturday’s 38-car field, but moved forward rapidly from the fall of the green flag, running near the front most of the day. He avoided multiple multi-car accidents and made the move to the checkered flag when it counted most.
“It’s been a really tough year,’’ said Smith. “It’s been a while and it’s been a struggle, but I’m very happy to be here and looking forward to getting better on these ovals and road courses.”
It was high-stakes, clutch performance for the young talent. His only other victory came last April at the Phoenix Raceway one-miler.
Just this week with Playoff elimination a possibility, he piqued his team owner’s brain for tips on racing on the Talladega 2.66-mile high banks. His team owner being Dale Earnhardt Jr., who won six NASCAR Cup Series races at Talladega, including an unprecedented four in a row.
“We sat down Wednesday,’’ Smith said. “It wasn’t a whole lot, but asking him what he would do in certain situations [on the big track]. Feels really good to win again.”
Smith beat RSS Racing’s Ryan Sieg to the line by a slight .177-second with a three-wide battle on track right behind featuring Stewart-Haas Racing’s Riley Herbst and Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Sheldon Creed and Chandler Smith who rounded out the top-five.
Herbst was leading with a lap remaining only to get passed in a massive push forward that included a run by Chandler Smith – ultimately both losing out to Sammy Smith and Ryan Sieg. Frustrated, after the race Herbst immediately walked over to Chandler Smith’s car and had words with the young driver.
“I was just telling him, he had his teammate behind him and was in the best spot you want to be in and I told him he made a right move but in the wrong place,’’ Herbst said. “He would have won the race and all he did was kill his run, my run and his teammate’s run and let the 8 [Sammy Smith] get away.”
Polesitter, rookie Jesse Love led a race-high 28 of the 98 laps in the No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. He finished sixth in a race marked with six cautions, a brief red flag, 11 race leaders and 28 lead changes.
Although relatively calm through the early goings – Chandler Smith won the opening stage and RCR’s Austin Hill won the second stage – the final laps lived up to Talladega expectation. Only three of the 12 Playoff drivers managed to avoid being caught up – in varying degrees – in accidents on the afternoon.
Two perennial championship favorites and current Playoff drivers, Kaulig Racing’s A.J. Allmendinger and JR Motorsports Justin Allgaier, were among those that led laps – as expected – but were also collected in multi-car accidents.
Allmendinger still rallied to an 11th place showing after his No. 16 Chevy suffered minor damage in a 12-car accident with three laps remaining. That triggered a nearly 10-minute red flag stoppage and forced overtime.
Allgaier’s No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet suffered more damage in the crash and he finished 26th.
Reigning series champion, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer, was also caught up in the accident and finished 27th. Fellow Playoff competitor, Kaulig Racing’s Shane Van Gisbergen – a three-race winner this season – was a part of a multi-car accident earlier – with 18 laps remaining – and finished 36th.
Jeb Burton finished seventh with David Starr, Brennan Poole and Kyle Sieg rounding out the Top-10.
Next week’s race at the Charlotte ROVAL will decide which eight drivers advance in the Playoffs.
- Sammy Smith: 1 win
- Chandler Smith 2122 points (+64)
- Cole Custer: 2095 (+37)
- Austin Hill: 2095 (+37)
- Sheldon Creed: 2090 (+32)
- Jesse Love: 2080 (+22)
- Riley Herbst: 2078 (+20)
- AJ Allmendinger: 2065 (+7)
- Justin Allgaier: 2058 (-7 points to the cutline)
- Shane van Gisbergen: 2055 (-10)
- Sam Mayer: 2052 (-13)
- Parker Kligerman: 2049 (-16)
The NASCAR Xfinity Series returns to competition next week at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course for Saturday’s Drive for the Cure 250 Presented by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (4 p.m. ET, CW, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Mayer is the defending the race winner.
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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