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Sam Mayer capitalizes in overtime for wild Xfinity victory at Charlotte Roval; Playoff’s Round of 8 field set

For a second consecutive season, Sam Mayer went from being scored below the cutline in the Playoff’s Round of 12 finale to leapfrogging his way into the Round of 8 by winning the Drive for the Cure 250 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course (Roval) on Saturday, October 12, amid an overtime shootout.

The 21-year-old Mayer from Franklin, Wisconsin, led three times for 13 of 72 over-scheduled laps in an event where he started on the front row alongside Playoff contender Shane van Gisbergen but was penalized for launching ahead of the latter prior to the start/finish line while not the control competitor. Despite serving a pass-through penalty through pit road during the second lap, Mayer blended back on the track inside the top-15 mark, carved his way back into the top 10 after pitting before the first stage’s conclusion, and settled in 11th place. Despite falling one spot short of accumulating crucial stage points following the first stage period, Mayer racked up eight points by settling in third place at the conclusion of the second stage period.

After restarting on the front row for the start of the final stage period with 24 laps remaining, Mayer assumed the lead during the following lap. Despite pitting for fresh tires during a late caution period that started with 15 laps remaining, the Wisconsin native would use the tires to carve his way back up the leaderboard and up to second place as he tried to challenge Playoff contender Parker Kligerman for the victory in the closing laps.

Initially poised to finish in second place behind Kligerman, which would have eliminated him from the Playoffs, Mayer was gifted an opportunity to reclaim the lead after Leland Honeyman wrecked in Turn 3. The caution occurred inches before Kligerman could start the final lap of the event and make the event official, and instead sent the field into overtime. During the overtime shootout, Mayer overtook Kligerman through the Roval’s newly configured Turn 7 and muscled away from the field for two laps to win and maintain his 2024 championship hopes for another three weeks.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Playoff rookie Shane van Gisbergen notched his third Xfinity Series pole position of the season and his career with a pole-winning lap at 97.110 mph in 84.523 seconds. Playoff contender Sam Mayer joined him on the front row was Playoff contender Sam Mayer, who clocked in his best qualifying lap at 96.871 mph in 84.731 seconds.

Prior to the event, Ed Jones and Thomas Annunziata dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective entries.

When the green flag waved and the race started, Sam Mayer rocketed his No. 1 QPS Employment Chevrolet Camaro ahead of Shane van Gisbergen and AJ Allmendinger from the inside lane through the frontstretch as he proceeded to lead through the first turn before he navigated his way through the infield turns, starting in Turn 2. The field, led by Mayer, would then navigate through a pair of right-hand turns in Turns 3 and 4 before entering a brief straightaway to another right-hand turn in Turn 5. Mayer retained the lead through the Roval’s new design turns from Turns 6 and 7 before making a sharp left-hand turn to return back to the main Charlotte oval course.

As the field continued to jostle for early spots, Mayer proceeded to lead through the backstretch’s chicane before he was penalized by NASCAR for jumping the start while not the leader of the race. Amid the penalty, Mayer navigated his way through the final pair of turns before he returned to the frontstretch, drove through the chicane and led the first lap while being black-flagged by NASCAR.

During the second lap, Mayer served a drive-through penalty through pit road, which allowed van Gisbergen to assume the lead as he was followed by teammate AJ Allmendinger, Sheldon Creed, Josh Bilicki and Austin Hill. Despite being pressured by his Kaulig Racing teammate of Allmendinger, van Gisbergen would navigate his way through the 17-turn course and lead the following lap. By the fourth lap, however, Allmendinger navigated his way past van Gisbergen through the frontstretch’s chicane. With Allmendinger leading, van Gisbergen would fend off Creed for the runner-up spot as Bilicki and Hill followed suit.

Through the first five-scheduled laps, Allmendinger was leading by over teammate van Gisbergen as Creed, Bilicki and Austin Hill continued to trail in the top five ahead of rookie Jesse Love, Chandler Smith, Justin Allgaier, Connor Mosack and Riley Herbst. Behind, Aric Almirola trailed in 11th place ahead of Cole Custer, Parker Kligerman and Anthony Alfredo while Sam Mayer was mired in 15th place ahead of teammate Sammy Smith.

Two laps later, van Gisbergen missed the backstretch’s chicane, where he locked up the front tires and drove off the course while running in second place. The on-track misfortune dropped the New Zealander to sixth place, where he had to come to a full stop before proceeding back on the racing surface, as Bilicki, Creed, Hill and Jesse Love all moved up the leaderboard. By then, Allmendinger was leading by more than three seconds.

At the Lap 10 mark, eight of 12 Playoff contenders were racing inside the top 10 as Allmendinger continued to lead by more than two seconds over Bilicki. Behind, Creed, Hill and Love followed suit ahead of van Gisbergen, Allgaier, Chandler Smith and Almirola while Mayer carved his way back into the top 10. Meanwhile, Playoff contenders Kligerman, Herbst, Custer and Sammy Smith were racing inside the top 15 mark as Connor Mosack occupied 14th place.

By Lap 15, Allmendinger stabilized his advantage to nearly four seconds over Bilicki while third-place van Gisbergen carved his way back up to third place in front of Creed, Hill and Love. Behind, Allgaier, Chandler Smith, Almirola and Mayer remained in the top 10 ahead of Kligerman and Herbst while Custer and Sammy Smith dropped to 16th and 17th, respectively.

Not long after, Creed, who was racing in fourth place, spun in the Roval’s newly configured Turn 7 after he got hit by Love, who was trying to make a move beneath teammate Hill for a top-five spot. The incident dropped Creed out of the top-10 mark on the track as the event remained under green flag conditions.

By Lap 17, select names led by Bilicki and including Chandler Smith, Almirola, Mayer, Kligerman, Austin Green, Brandon Jones, Custer, Anthony Alfredo, Sammy Smith, Josh Williams, Ed Jones, Alex Labbe and Ryan Sieg pitted under green. Parker Retzlaff had pitted a lap earlier as Allmendinger retained the lead by more than six seconds over teammate van Gisbergen.

When the first stage period concluded on Lap 20, Allmendinger cruised to his second Xfinity stage victory of the 2024 season. Teammate van Gisbergen followed suit in second ahead of Allgaier, Hill and Love while Creed, Mosack, Herbst, Bilicki and Chandler Smith were scored in the top 10. With eight of 12 Playoff contenders racking up the event’s first round of stage points, the remaining Playoff contenders including Mayer, Kligerman, Custer and Sammy Smith were mired in 11th, 21st, 23rd and 26th, respectively.

Under the stage break, some led by Allmendinger and including Playoff contenders van Gisbergen, Creed, Herbst, Allgaier, Hill and Love pitted while the rest led by Bilicki and Chandler Smith remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Love exited pit road first, ahead of Allmendinger, Creed, Hill, Herbst, Allgaier, van Gisbergen, Jeb Burton, Mosack and Sage Karam.

The second stage period started on Lap 24 as teammates Bilicki and Chandler Smith occupied the front row. At the start, Bilicki and Chandler Smith both dueled for the lead through the first two turns until Bilicki muscled his No. 19 Insurance King Toyota Supra ahead through the infield turns. As the field behind jostled for spots, Bilicki retained the lead through the infield turns, including the tight, left-hand Turn 7, before returning to the main oval course. In the midst of the battles, van Gisbergen, who restarted outside the top 20, made contact with Creed in Turn 7 in his charge back to the front before Alex Labbe spun through the backstretch’s chicane amid contact with Ed Jones. Amid the on-track chaos, the race remained under green flag conditions as Bilicki led the following lap ahead of teammate Chandler Smith while Aric Almirola was up to third place.

During an ensuing caution period that started on Lap 26 due to debris spotted in Turn 2, select names led by Creed and including Thomas Annunziata, Leland Honeyman and Blaine Perkins pitted while the rest of the field led by Bilicki remained on the track. Creed’s pit service was due to the driver reporting a shifter issue to his No. 18 Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Toyota Supra.

With the field restarting under green on Lap 29, Bilicki fended off teammate Chandler Smith through the first two turns to retain the lead. Bilicki retained a steady advantage over Smith, Mayer, Almirola and Kligerman through the infield turns from Turns 3 to 7 as the field fanned out while navigating back onto Charlotte’s oval course. Then as the field navigated through the backstretch’s chicane before returning to the frontstretch, the caution returned due to Matt DiBenedetto crashing into the tire barriers just past Turn 6 and struggling to restart from his carnage scene.

The start of the next restart period on Lap 32 featured Bilicki and Mayer occupying the front row, where both dueled for the lead through the first three turns before Mayer muscled ahead entering Turn 4. As the field behind fanned out, Mayer fended off Bilicki through the following three sets of infield turns before he returned to the oval course and continued to lead through the backstretch chicane. With Chandler Smith, Kligerman and Allmendinger trailing in the top five, Mayer led the following lap.

Shortly after, the caution returned when Herbst, who was battling Alfredo amid close-quarters racing for 15th place, made contact with Alfredo through the frontstretch chicane that resulted in Herbst getting turned sideways off the front nose of Alfredo as both went straight into the outside wall and igniting a pileup that involved Josh Williams, Mosack, Ed Jones, Parker Retzlaff, Ryan Sieg, Dylan Lupton, Preston Pardus, Blaine Perkins, Brad Perez, Jeremy Clements, Brennan Poole and Creed. Despite sustaining damage to their respective cars, Herbst and Creed continued and remained on the lead lap.

During the caution period and extensive cleanup period, a majority of the field led by Mayer pitted while the rest led by Allgaier remained on the track.

With the race restarting under green with three laps remaining in the second stage period, Allgaier and Sage Karam led the field to the restart zone, where Allgaier rocketed away from Karam and the field to lead through the infield turns as Leland Honeyman overtook Karam for second place. With Allgaier retaining the lead, the field fanned out while navigating through the infield turns, the oval turns and the backstretch’s chicane. As Allgaier proceeded to lead the following lap, more trouble struck for Creed, who was off the pace and limping his damaged car below the Charlotte oval’s apron. Creed would lose a lap as the field lapped him entering the backstretch.

As Herbst was also falling off the pace in his damaged No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang and with a broken trackbar, the caution would then fly on the final lap of the second stage period due to Creed coming to a halt in the backstretch. The caution would officially conclude the second stage period scheduled for Lap 40 as Allgaier claimed his 15th Xfinity stage victory of the 2024 season. Teammates Mosack and Mayer would follow suit in second and third, respectively, while Almirola, Honeyman, Allmendinger, van Gisbergen, Chandler Smith, Karam and Bilicki were scored in the top 10. With five of 12 Playoff contenders racking up a second round of stage points and both Herbst and Creed out of contention, the remaining Playoff contenders that included Kligerman, Love, Hill, Sammy Smith and Custer were mired inside the top 20.

During the stage break, select names including Allgaier, Karam, Clements, Retzlaff and Honeyman pitted while the rest led by Mosack remained on the track.

With 24 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced under green as teammates Mosack and Mayer occupied the front row. At the start, Mosack muscled ahead and cleared teammate Mayer through the first turn. As Mosack proceeded to lead in his No. 88 Apollo Pex Chevrolet Camaro through the ensuing infield turns, Mayer fended off Allmendinger to retain second while Almirola, van Gisbergen and Chandler Smith followed suit in the top six. With van Gisbergen diving his way up to fourth place through Turn 7, Mosack fended off teammate Mayer through both the backstretch and frontstretch chicanes to lead the following lap while teammates Hill and Love battled for ninth place.

Then, as Almirola and Clements spun in Turn 7, Mayer overtook teammate Mosack through Turns 8 and 9 to assume the lead. Mayer would retain the lead for the following lap as teammate Mosack, Allmendinger, van Gisbergen and Chandler Smith followed suit in the top five.

Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Mayer was leading by more than a second over teammate Mosack as Playoff contenders Allmendinger, van Gisbergen, Chandler Smith, Kligerman and Hill followed suit in the top seven ahead of Bilicki, Austin Green and Love. Behind, Sammy Smith, Custer and Allgaier were scored in the top 15 along with Brandon Jones and DiBenedetto as 31 of 38 starters were scored on the lead lap.

Five laps later, Mayer continued to lead by more than a second over Allmendinger as van Gisbergen, Chandler Smith and Mosack followed suit in the top five. With Mayer, who came into the event scored below the top-eight cutline in the Playoff standings, leading, van Gisbergen currently occupied the eighth and final transfer spot to the top-eight cutline by two points over Allgaier, who overtook Custer for 12th place.

Shortly after, the caution flew due to Thomas Annunziata driving his No. 35 NFPA Toyota entry head-on into the barriers entering Turn 1 due to a brake failure. During the caution period, a majority of the field led by Mayer and including Playoff contenders Allmendinger, Hill, Kligerman, Allgaier, Custer and Sammy Smith pitted while the rest led by van Gisbergen remained on the track. In addition to van Gisbergen, Austin Green, Love, Preston Pardus and Nathan Byrd remained on the track.

The start of the ensuing restart period with 11 laps remaining featured van Gisbergen rocketing his No. 97 WeatherTech Chevrolet Camaro away with the lead as the field fanned out entering the first turn. With van Gisbergen leading Love, Green, Mayer and Kligerman through the infield turns and back on the oval turns, the New Zealander retained the lead by a steady margin through the backstretch chicane as Kligerman battled and overtook Love for the runner-up spot.

With 10 laps remaining, several competitors including Mosack and Alfredo spun through the frontstretch chicane while more including Sammy Smith served an on-track stop-and-go penalty in the frontstretch. At the front, van Gisbergen retained the lead over a hard-charging Kligerman while Mayer carved his way up to third place. Kligerman would cut van Gisbergen’s deficit through the infield turns before the former retained the advantage for the remaining turns.

The following lap, Kligerman, who pitted for fresh tires during the previous caution period and is placed in a “must-win” situation to advance into the Playoff’s Round of 8, closed in to van Gisbergen’s rear bumper through the infield turns. Kligerman then made his move beneath van Gisbergen in Turn 7 to move his No. 48 Big Machine Spiked Coolers Chevrolet Camaro into the lead and he would retain the top spot through the oval turns and the following set of chicanes as Mayer overtook van Gisbergen for the runner-up spot. Van Gisbergen, whose tires were beginning to wear out, would then yield third place to teammate Allmendinger through the infield turns during the following lap as Kligerman retained the lead over Mayer.

Down to the final five laps of the event, Kligerman kept his lead to three-tenths of a second over Mayer, with the latter keeping pace and remaining within a striking zone of the former while Allmendinger tried to close in on the two leaders. Behind, van Gisbergen trailed by more than two seconds in fourth place ahead of Hill while Chandler Smith, Allgaier, Brandon Jones, Bilicki and Love were racing in the top 10.

Then with four laps remaining, Mayer seized an opportunity and made his move beneath Kligerman entering the frontstretch chicane to assume the lead. With Mayer lightly bumping into Kligerman and retaining the lead through the chicane, Kligerman then executed a crossover move of his own as he made his move beneath Mayer and reassumed the lead through the frontstretch. With Kligerman fending off Mayer through the first three turns, Allmendinger joined the battle and van Gisbergen also tried to close in from fourth place. During the following lap, Mayer briefly lost his momentum through the oval’s backstretch, which allowed Allmendinger and van Gisbergen to challenge him for the runner-up spot. Mayer, however, defended his spot as Kligerman muscled away with the lead through every turn and straightaway.

For the following lap, Kligerman’s steady advantage grew to nine-tenths of a second over Mayer as Allmendinger and van Gisbergen followed suit by less than two seconds. Despite Mayer trimming the gap to half a second towards the frontstretch, Kligerman remained in the lead.

Then as Kligerman was inches away from crossing the start/finish line to take the white flag and start the final lap of the event, the caution flew and the event was sent into overtime due to Leland Honeyman wrecking and getting buried beneath the tire barriers in Turn 3. During the caution period, some including Love pitted while the rest led by Kligerman remained on the track

The start of the first overtime attempt featured Kligerman and Mayer dueling for the lead through the first four turns before the former rubbed and fended his way back to the front to retain the lead. Kligerman would retain the lead for the following infield turns before Mayer pulled a crossover move beneath Kligerman in Turn 7 and assumed the lead entering the oval turns. Mayer would proceed to lead through the backstretch chicane while Kligerman was trying to fend off Allmendinger and van Gisbergen for the runner-up spot.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Mayer remained as the leader by a second over Allmendinger and van Gisbergen, who overtook Kligerman for second and third. By then, van Gisbergen was tied with Love for the final transfer spot to the Round of 8. As Love was trying to gain a spot within the middle of the pack, Mayer retained the lead from the infield turns to the backstretch. With both Allmendinger and van Gisbergen unable to close in from behind, Mayer would cycle back to the frontstretch and weave his way through the chicane before crossing the finish line in first place and notching his third Xfinity checkered flag of the 2024 season.

With the victory, Mayer, who came into the Charlotte Roval event 13 points below the cutline after being disqualified due to his car failing to meet the height requirements during the post-race inspection process last weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, notched his seventh career win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series division, his third of the season and his first since winning at Iowa Speedway in June. The victory was also the 16th of the season for the Chevrolet nameplate, with the manufacturer racking its sixth consecutive win at the Charlotte Roval, and the 88th overall for JR Motorsports.

The second consecutive victory at the Charlotte Roval allowed Mayer and the No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet team to automatically advance into the Round of 8, where the Wisconsin native continues his pursuit for his first Xfinity Series championship.

Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.

“Man, it’s all thanks to the good Lord above,” Mayer said on the CW Network. “He’s blessed me with a lot of issues this year, learning moments. To come out here to the Charlotte Motor Speedway [Rova], go back to back [in wins] with a fast, fast car. To do it at home is something special. This No. 1 car was fast today. We certainly had to work for [the win] there. I knew that [passing in Turn 7] was my only shot if I got a good angle into that corner. [Kligerman] blocked the bottom [lane], which was good for me. It gave me a better angle up off the corner and this QPS Employment Chevrolet hooked up and we were gone from there. [It] Was something super special and now, I get to celebrate.”

As Mayer celebrated the race victory that enabled him to advance into the Round of 8, Jesse Love was also left smiling after he finished in 19th place, which was enough for him to claim the eighth and final spot to advance into the next round of the Playoffs by two points over rookie rival van Gisbergen, who ended up in third place. The result marks the second time where a driver of the No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet entry claimed the final berth into the Round of 8 while van Gisbergen’s championship run in his first full-time NASCAR campaign came to a bittersweet end.

Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.

“[The ending was] Just stressful,” Love said. “[My team] were telling me I needed one more [spot] and then one more. I was like, ‘When is [the race] gonna end?’ At the end of the day, I got to be loyal to my guys and they busted their ass really hard, so I got to put a sack over my shoulder and man up and drive forward. Just proud of my whole Whelen No. 2 team. We’re good enough to go race for a championship and we just got to go show it in the next three weeks.”

“It is what it is,” van Gisbergen said. “It probably comes down to last week [at Talladega] having the dramas we had and the DNF there, so that’s probably it. I’m proud of the Kaulig Racing guys. We’ve had an amazing year, my first year in NASCAR. I’ve loved it. I’m happy, but I’m also not. I’d love to keep going [in the Playoffs]. [I] Did what I could.”

Compared to van Gisbergen, teammate AJ Allmendinger advanced into the Round of 8 by finishing in second place. Playoff contenders Austin Hill, Chandler Smith and Justin Allgaier all advanced by finishing fourth, fifth and seventh, respectively, on the track as they joined Sammy Smith, who advanced by winning last weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, for the Round of 8 battle.

Meanwhile, Kligerman did not transfer despite capping off his strong run in sixth place. Kligerman’s sixth-place result left the Connecticut native with mixed emotions and fighting off tears as he was initially within inches of both achieving his first elusive Xfinity victory and advancing into the Round of 8 during the event’s regulation period. Nonetheless, Kligerman remained humble and remained optimistic in pursuing his victory before he retires from NASCAR competition at this season’s conclusion.

Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.

“I might have teared up when I thought we got it there with the white flag and the caution comes out and then had to refocus,” Kligerman said. “I thought I’d cut off Turn 7 enough, but [Mayer] somehow got below me and then, it was on from there. I said I want to cry. I’m not gonna cry, but I really love this game. I just really, really wanted that. It would have meant the world, but you know what? It meant the world to be in that position. Thank you to [owner] Scott Borchetta and everyone at Spiked Coolers. Everyone who made this possible. Big Machine Racing. I don’t know how to process this. It’s going to take a while, but just really thankful to have the opportunity. God, I love this game. I want to get a trophy.”

Ultimately, Kligerman and van Gisbergen join Riley Herbst and Sheldon Creed as the bottom four competitors in the Playoff standings to not advance into the Round of 8.

There were 12 lead changes for eight different leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 20 laps. In addition, 26 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.

Results.

1. Sam Mayer, 13 laps led

2. AJ Allmendinger, 18 laps led, Stage 1 winner

3. Shane van Gisbergen, seven laps led

4. Austin Hill

5. Chandler Smith, one lap led

6. Parker Kligerman, 12 laps led

7. Justin Allgaier, six laps led, Stage 2 winner

8. Josh Bilicki, 10 laps led

9. Aric Almirola

10. Sammy Smith

11. Brandon Jones

12. Parker Retzlaff

13. Cole Custer

14. Alex Labbe

15. Jeb Burton

16. Anthony Alfredo

17. Ryan Sieg

18. Connor Mosack, five laps led

19. Jesse Love

20. Jeremy Clements

21. Preston Pardus

22. Matt DiBenedetto

23. Kyle Sieg

24. Dawson Cram

25. Nathan Byrd

26. Brad Perez

27. Dylan Lupton, one lap down

28. Leland Honeyman – OUT, Accident

29. Sage Karam – OUT, Brakes

30. Austin Green – OUT, Engine

31. Ryan Ellis, 14 laps down

32. Riley Herbst – OUT, Driveshaft

33. Blaine Perkins, 16 laps down

34. Thomas Annunziata – OUT, Accident

35. Sheldon Creed – OUT, Accident

36. Josh Williams – OUT, Accident

37. Ed Jones – OUT, Accident

38. Brennan Poole – OUT, Accident

*Bold indicates Playoff competitors

Playoff standings

1. Sam Mayer – Advanced

2. Sammy Smith – Advanced

3. Chandler Smith – Advanced

4. Austin Hill – Advanced

5. Cole Custer – Advanced

6. AJ Allmendinger – Advanced

7. Justin Allgaier – Advanced

8. Jesse Love – Advanced

9. Shane van Gisbergen – Eliminated

10. Sheldon Creed – Eliminated

11. Riley Herbst – Eliminated

12. Parker Kligerman – Eliminated

The Round of 8 in the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs is set to commence at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada, for the Ambetter Health 302. The event is scheduled to occur next Saturday, October 19, and air at 7:30 p.m. ET on the CW Network.

October 12, 2024
Custer rallies to win regular-season finale at Bristol, claim 2024 Xfinity Series Regular Season Championship

In a war of attrition-type event under the lights, Cole Custer muscled his way from early adversity to claim the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series Regular Season Championship by winning the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday, September 20.

The reigning Xfinity Series champion from Ladera Ranch, California, led three times for a race-high 104 of 300-scheduled laps in an event where he started on the front row but had his race hit an early roadblock when he cut a tire and hit the backstretch’s outside wall that resulted with him dropping off the pace and plummeting below the leaderboard. After managing to continue and remain on the lead lap amid slight cosmetic damage, Custer carved his way back into the top-10 mark when the first stage period concluded.

Then after leading for the first time just past the event’s halfway mark before proceeding to finish second in the second stage period amid mixed pit strategies, Custer’s charge to win the regular-season title ignited as his title rival Justin Allgaier was involved in three separate incidents that both dropped him out of race-winning contention and off of the lead lap category. Despite regaining the lead prior to the start of the final stage period before losing it to Sheldon Creed a few laps later, Custer dropped the hammer by sliding in front of Creed with a bold move from the inside lane to reassume the top spot with 91 laps remaining.

For the remainder of the event, Custer was able to weave his way through lapped traffic and maintain a steady margin to within a second over Creed as he triumphed for the second time in the 2024 Xfinity Series season and captured the regular-season title by a narrow margin over Allgaier.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, Chandler Smith notched his second Xfinity Series pole position and the fifth of his career after he posted a pole-winning lap at 121.366 mph in 15.810 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Cole Custer, who clocked in his best qualifying lap at 120.490 mph in 15.925 seconds.

Prior to the event, the following names that included Sam Mayer, Josh Williams, Parker Retzlaff and Leland Honeyman dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective entries. Stefan Parsons also dropped to the rear of the field due to an engine change to his entry. Parsons, however, was unable to roll off the starting grid with the field and was pinned multiple laps down due to the engine changes being made.

When the green flag waved and the race started, Chandler Smith muscled his No. 81 Mobil 1 Toyota Supra ahead of Cole Custer with a strong start from the outside lane and he maintained the lead while transitioning to the inside lane through the backstretch. Exiting the backstretch, however, Justin Allgaier used the outside lane to draw even with Smith and muscle ahead entering the frontstretch to lead the first lap.

On the following lap, Custer, who was battling Anthony Alfredo for third place, hit the outside wall entering the backstretch after he cut a tire and he dropped off the pace, which drew the event’s first caution period. During the caution period, Custer pitted for repairs and fresh tires to his No. 00 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang. Another competitor who pitted was Dale Earnhardt Jr., who pitted to address a radio issue inside of his cockpit and was penalized for speeding on pit road.

When the race restarted under green on the ninth lap, Allgaier used the outside lane to launch his No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet Camaro ahead through the first two turns and proceeded to lead the following lap ahead of Chandler Smith and Anthony Alfredo. Jeffrey Earnhardt and AJ Allmendinger followed suit in front of a stacked field. By Lap 12, Chandler Smith challenged Allgaier for the lead through every turn and straightaway, but the latter was able to fend off the former through the Lap 15 mark.

Through the first 20-scheduled laps, Allgaier was leading by two-tenths of a second over Chandler Smith followed by Alfredo, Jeffrey Earnhardt and Allmendinger while rookie Jesse Love, Brandon Jones, Jeremy Clements, Sheldon Creed and Ryan Truex were scored in the top 10. Behind, Riley Herbst, Ryan Sieg, Kyle Weatherman, Austin Hill and Parker Kligerman trailed in the top 15 ahead of Joe Graf Jr., Sammy Smith, Matt DiBenedetto, Chad Finchum and Josh Bilicki while Jeb Burton, Brennan Poole, Sam Mayer, Cole Custer and Austin Green were racing in the top-25 mark. Meanwhile, Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was still having radio issues, was mired back in 31st place behind rookie Shane van Gisbergen.

Ten laps later, Allgaier, who was slowly approaching the rear end of the field, stabilized his advantage to two-tenths of a second over Chandler Smith as Alfredo, Jese Love and Jeffrey Earnhardt battled in the top five ahead of Allmendinger, Brandon Jones, Creed, Ryan Truex and Clements.

Another 10 laps later, Allgaier slightly grew his lead to half a second over Chandler Smith while third-place Alfredo trailed by two seconds. With Love fending off Jeffrey Earnhardt for fourth place, Allgaier, who lapped van Gisbergen, extended his advantage to a second over Smith by Lap 45 while Allmendinger was trying to fend off Creed for sixth place.

At the Lap 50 mark, Allgaier continued to lead by more than a second over Chandler Smith as Alfredo, Love and Jeffrey Earnhardt remained in the top-five mark. Meanwhile, Earnhardt Jr. was in 24th place and trying to remain ahead of his driver and leader Allgaier on the lead lap category.

A lap later, the event’s second caution flew when Austin Green slapped the outside wall in Turn 2 and barely clipped Allgaier, who was lapping Green. The contact caused Allgaier’s rear bumper to come loose as Green, whose damaged car continued to steer down the track, made contact with Parker Retzlaff as both spun and wrecked against the inside wall.

During the caution period, Earnhardt Jr. made another trip to pit road to change his helmet as part of his effort to have his radio communication with his team restored. Soon after, select names led by Allgaier, who pitted to have his rear bumper removed, pitted while the rest led by Chandler Smith remained on the track. Among those who pitted included teammate Brandon Jones, Sammy Smith, Sam Mayer, Matt DiBenedetto, Josh Bilicki, Jeb Burton and the Sieg brothers of Ryan and Kyle.

The start of the next restart period on Lap 65 featured Chandler Smith rocketing ahead with the lead from the outside lane, where he led the following lap, while Love overtook Alfredo for second place. In addition, Allmendinger was battling Alfredo for third place in front of Creed. By then, Earnhardt Jr., who remained on the lead lap despite having to pit again to have his wire harness changed as part of his radio communication with his team restored, was mired within the top-30 mark on the track while Allgaier, who was racing without a rear bumper, was marching his way towards the top-20 mark.

By Lap 75, Chandler Smith stretched his advantage to more than a second over Love while Allmendinger, Creed and Alfredo were scored in the top five ahead of Clements, Custer, Jeffrey Earnhardt, Ryan Truex and Joe Graf Jr. Smith would then add another second to his advantage by the Lap 80 mark.

When the first stage period concluded on Lap 85, Chandler Smith thundered his way to his sixth Xfinity stage victory of the 2024 season. Love settled in second ahead of Creed, Allmendinger and Alfredo while Clements, Custer, Jeffrey Earnhardt, Truex and Graf were scored in the top 10, with Ryan Sieg settling in 11th place. By then, Allgaier muscled his way up to 18th place behind Kligerman, Mayer and Sammy Smith while Earnhardt Jr., who had his radio communication with his team restored after four attempts and despite making earlier contact with Leland Honeyman, managed to drive up to 20th place.

Under the stage break, a majority of the front-runners led by Chandler Smith pitted while the rest led by Ryan Sieg and including Brandon Jones, Mayer, Sammy Smith, Allgaier, Earnhardt Jr., Jeb Burton, Matt DiBenedetto, Josh Bilicki and Sheldon Creed remained on the track. Amid the pit stops, Kligerman was penalized for equipment interference. In addition, Kyle Weatherman was penalized for a safety violation while Graf was penalized for speeding on pit road.

The second stage period started on Lap 95 as Ryan Sieg and Brandon Jones occupied the front row. At the start, Mayer launched a three-wide battle on both Sieg and Jones for the lead through the first two turns before Mayer launched his No. 1 Carolina Carports Chevrolet Camaro ahead and assumed the lead, where he led the following lap. As the field behind fanned out and scrambled for positions, Mayer proceeded to lead the Lap 100 mark while Sieg and Allgaier battled for second place in front of Jones, Jeb Burton and Earnhardt Jr., with Creed, Custer, Sammy Smith and Chandler Smith trailing in the top 10.

Through the Lap 110 mark, Mayer extended his lead to eight-tenths of a second over teammate Allgaier while teammate Jones trailed by more than a second. Behind, Ryan Sieg retained fourth place ahead of Custer, Creed, Chandler Smith and Riley Herbst while Earnhardt Jr., who was battling Sieg for fourth place a few laps later, had dropped to ninth place ahead of Love. By then, DiBenedetto pitted under green after he briefly fell off the pace due to losing power.

Ten laps later, the caution flew due to Kligerman spinning his No. 48 Big Machine Spiked Coolers Chevrolet Camaro from the inside lane and back across the middle of the track and towards the outside wall, starting from the backstretch to Turn 2, as he managed to continue without sustaining any significant damage to his entry.

As the event restarted under green on Lap 126, Mayer rocketed ahead of teammate Jones from the outside lane as he brought teammate Allgaier, Custer and Creed with him while Jones, who struggled to launch from the inside, was trying to remain in the top-five mark. Mayer would proceed to lead the following lap as the field behind jostled for spots. With Mayer proceeding to lead up to the Lap 130 mark, Custer challenged Allgaier for second place while Chandler Smith overtook Jones for fifth place. Meanwhile, Earnhardt Jr. was up to eighth place in front of Ryan Sieg and Love while Sammy Smith was mired in 14th place.

Just past the Lap 140 mark, Mayer extended his advantage to more than two seconds over a fierce battle between Custer and Allgaier for the runner-up spot as Creed fended off teammate Chandler Smith for fourth place. Custer would then proceed to challenge Mayer for the lead towards the Lap 145 mark while Creed tried to close in from third place.

At the halfway mark on Lap 150, Mayer retained the lead by a narrow margin over Custer, who managed to draw even and assume the lead for himself during the following lap as Creed tried to challenge Mayer for the runner-up spot. Creed then made contact with Mayer through Turn 1 on Lap 152 before he turned left and made contact with Allgaier, sending the latter for a spin through the backstretch. Allgaier would then hit the inside wall head-on before he slid back across the racetrack and managed to continue without getting hit by the field.

During the caution period, a majority of the leaders led by Custer pitted while the rest led by Clements remained on the track. Amid the pit stops, Allgaier, who pitted to have his No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet Camaro repaired, was penalized for dragging a saw block out of his pit box and on the track, which caused sparks to flame out of the front of Allgaier’s entry as he was dragging the tool towards his front splitter.

With the race restarting with nine laps remaining in the second stage period, where Clements and Sammy Smith occupied the front row, Clements fended off both Sammy Smith and Kligerman to retain the lead as he led the following lap. With Kligerman trying to challenge Clements for the lead, Jones carved his way to third place ahead of Creed and Custer, who hit the wall for a second time, while the field behind scrambled and jostled for spots between competitors who pitted and those who remained on the track. Amid the on-track chaos, Clements maintained the lead ahead of a side-by-side battle involving Kligerman and Jones with five laps remaining.

When the second stage period concluded on Lap 170, Clements notched his first Xfinity stage victory of the 2024 season. Custer carved his way to second ahead of Truex, Creed and Chandler Smith while Love, Herbst, Mayer, Earnhardt Jr. and Kligerman, who hit the wall amid contact with Custer a few laps earlier, were scored in the top 10. Despite recording a single point during the event’s two stage periods, Kligerman was able to officially secure his spot into the 2024 Xfinity Series Playoffs based on points. By then, Ryan Sieg was mired in 12th place and running seven spots ahead of Sammy Smith while Allgaier, who was pinned a lap down, was down in 30th place.

During the stage break, select names including the leader Clements, Kligerman, Allmendinger, Sammy Smith and Allgaier pitted while the rest led by Custer remained on the track.

With 121 laps remaining, the final stage commenced as Custer and Creed occupied the front row. At the start, Custer rocketed away from both Creed and Truex and he proceeded to lead the following lap in front of a stacked field. Creed then overtook Custer for the lead during the next lap period as the latter was battling handling issues while Chandler Smith and Love trailed in the top five. With Herbst, Mayer, Earnhardt Jr., Ryan Sieg and Jones battling within the top 10, Creed proceeded to lead with 115 laps remaining.

Then with 101 laps remaining, the caution returned due to Allgaier, who was three laps down, spinning his damaged car in Turn 2 and blowing a right-rear tire as he kept his car from spinning back above the track and towards oncoming traffic. At the moment of caution, Creed had maintained a narrow lead over a hard-charging Custer, who was within striking distance of toppling Allgaier atop the regular-season standings, while Chandler Smith, Love, Truex and Mayer were scored in the top six, with Earnhardt Jr. up to seventh place despite having his radio communication issues returning. During the caution period, select names including Herbst, Josh Williams and Kyle Weatherman pitted while the rest led by Creed remained on the track.

The start of the next restart period with 94 laps remaining featured teammates Creed and Chandler Smith occupying the front row as Creed, who restarted on the outside lane, managed to fend off teammate Smith and lead the following lap while muscling ahead. Custer then battled and slid in front of Creed’s No. 18 Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Toyota Supra to move back into the lead with 91 laps remaining as he had the preferred outside lane while Creed followed suit in second ahead of Chandler Smith, Love and Truex. Meanwhile, Earnhardt Jr., who made slight contact with Truex, occupied sixth place as Jones, Mayer, Ryan Sieg and Hill were trailing in the top 10 while Sammy Smith was back in 16th place.

Down to the final 80 laps of the event, Custer stretched his advantage to eight-tenths of a second over Creed while Chandler Smith, Love and Truex continued to run in the top five. Behind, Earnhardt Jr. was still trying to challenge Truex for fifth place along with Jones as Mayer, Ryan Sieg and Hill remained in the top 10. Meanwhile, Sammy Smith gained two spots and was up to 14th place as Custer continued to stretch his lead to a second-and-a-half over Creed with 70 laps remaining.

With 60 laps remaining, Custer, who was mired in lapped traffic, had his advantage slightly decrease to eight-tenths of a second over Creed as Chandler Smith, Love and Truex continued to follow suit in the top five. With Earnhardt Jr., Jones, Mayer, Ryan Sieg and Hill retaining their respective spots in the top 10, Allmendinger, Clements, Sammy Smith, Kligerman, Alfredo and Herbst followed suit in the top 16 while Brennan Poole, Graf, van Gisbergen and Josh Bilicki were mired in the top 20.

Ten laps later and with the front-runners mired in lapped traffic, Custer stretched his advantage back up to a second over Creed and Chandler Smith while Love and Truex trailed by as far back as three seconds in the top five. Meanwhile, Earnhardt Jr. retained sixth place in his No. 88 Hellmann’s Chevrolet Camaro ahead of teammates Jones and Mayer while Ryan Sieg and Allmendinger were in the top 10. By then, Sammy Smith remained in 13th place while Allgaier was scored eight laps down in 30th place.

Another 15 laps later, Custer, who continued to weave his way through lapped traffic, continued to lead by more than a second over Creed while Chandler Smith and Love remained in third and fourth, respectively. Meanwhile, Truex was fending off repeated challenges from Earnhardt Jr. for fifth place as Jones also tried to navigate his way past both while Mayer, Ryan Sieg, Allmendinger, Clements, Hill and Sammy Smith followed suit in the top 13.

Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Custer, who was currently scored atop the regular-season standings by a narrow margin over Allgaier and had made contact with Graf while trying to lap him, retained the lead by within a second over both Creed and Chandler Smith while fourth-place Love trailed by three seconds. Behind, Truex, racing in his No. 20 Toyota Genuine Parts Supra, was being pressured by Jones’ No. 9 Menards Chevrolet Camaro for fifth place while Earnhardt Jr. dropped to seventh place ahead of Mayer, Ryan Sieg and Allmendinger as Sammy Smith was back in 15th place ahead of Kligerman.

With 10 laps remaining, Custer, who lapped 18th-place van Gisbergen a few laps earlier before van Gisbergen made light contact with Custer to express his displeasure over receiving a bump from Custer while being lapped, stabilized his lead to a second over both Creed and Chandler Smith as Love and Truex remained in the top five ahead of Jones, Earnhardt Jr., Ryan Sieg, Mayer and Allmendinger.

Down to the final five laps of the event, Custer kept leading in his No. 00 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang by a second as Chandler Smith started to challenge teammate Creed for the runner-up spot through every corner and straightaway. In the process, Creed retained the spot by a narrow margin while Love retained fourth place by two seconds over both Truex and Jones as Earnhardt Jr. trailed by another two seconds.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Custer remained as the leader by more than a second over both Creed and Chandler Smith. With the latter two unable to narrow the deficit amid their late battle on one another, Custer was able to smoothly navigate his way around Bristol for a final time before he cycled back to the frontstretch and claimed the checkered flag for both his second Xfinity victory of the 2024 season and to capture the regular-season championship by three points over Allgaier, who capped off his long night in 30th place.

With the victory, Custer notched his 15th career win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series division, his first at Bristol Motor Speedway and his first race victory since he won at Pocono Raceway in July. The victory was also the third of the season overall for both the Ford nameplate and Stewart-Haas Racing.

As an added bonus, Custer, who came into the regular-season finale at Bristol trailing Justin Allgaier in the regular-season standings by 43 points but took advantage of Allgaier’s triple misfortunes, became the seventh competitor overall to win a regular-season championship in the Xfinity circuit and the first Ford competitor to do so since Austin Cindric made the last accomplishment in 2020. With the title and the bonus points, Custer will commence the 2024 Xfinity Series Playoffs to defend his series title before moving back up to the Cup Series with Haas Factory Team in 2025.

“Man, it’s unbelievable,” Custer said on the frontstretch on the CW Network. “Just a testament to these [No. 00] guys. A really hard month, but everybody at the shop really kept their heads in it. All the guys did such a great job. Unbelievable car all night. Ready to get to the Playoffs. It’s huge, huge to get this momentum because our confidence was going down this last month. To get this win really means a lot.”

Behind Custer, Sheldon Creed fended off teammate Chandler Smith to claim his record-setting 13th runner-up result in the Xfinity Series while rookie Jesse Love and Ryan Truex finished in the top five.

Meanwhile, Brandon Jones, who missed the 2024 Xfinity Series Playoffs, came home in sixth place while team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. battled through adversity from his radio communication issues to finish seventh in his 147th career start in the Xfinity Series. Ryan Sieg, Sam Mayer and AJ Allmendinger completed the top 10 on the track.

Sieg’s eighth-place result was not enough for the Tucker, Georgia, native to launch himself back into the top-12 mark in the regular-season standings as Sammy Smith claimed the 12th and final berth into the 2024 Xfinity Series Playoffs with a 15th-place result at Bristol.

“It’s been a real grind the last couple of months, just kind of struggled here and there,” Smith said. “We’ve hit it a couple of times, but that was one of those nights again. Just really struggled and I just feel like we got to dig deep and figure something out. It’s cool to make the Playoffs. We just got to keep getting better.”

“There were a few races where we led some points slip,” Sieg said. “All in all, a great year. Nothing to hang our heads on. We still got some races to go win and that’s the goal. That was our goal this year. We’ve been in shots to do it. Just got to execute everything.”

Sammy Smith along with race winner Cole Custer join Justin Allgaier, AJ Allmendinger, Austin Hill, Sam Mayer, Parker Kligerman, Chandler Smith, Sheldon Creed and Riley Herbst along with rookies Jesse Love and Shane van Gisbergen as the 12 competitors who have qualified for the 2024 Xfinity Series Playoffs. All 12 competitors will now embark on a seven-race Playoff stretch for this year’s championship.

There were 11 lead changes for nine different leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 57 laps. In addition, 16 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.

Results.

1. Cole Custer, 104 laps led

2. Sheldon Creed, 28 laps led

3. Chandler Smith, 29 laps led, Stage 1 winner

4. Jesse Love, one lap led

5. Ryan Truex

6. Brandon Jones

7. Dale Earnhardt Jr., one lap led

8. Ryan Sieg, five laps led

9. Sam Mayer, 55 laps led

10. AJ Allmendinger

11. Anthony Alfredo

12. Jeremy Clements, 17 laps led, Stage 2 winner

13. Riley Herbst

14. Austin Hill

15. Sammy Smith

16. Parker Kligerman

17. Brennan Poole, one lap down

18. Shane van Gisbergen, one lap down

19. Joe Graf Jr., one lap down

20. Josh Bilicki, one lap down

21. Josh Williams, one lap down

22. Blaine Perkins, one lap down

23. Kyle Sieg, one lap down

24. Ryan Ellis, one lap down

25. Jeb Burton, one lap down

26. Kyle Weatherman, two laps down

27. Logan Bearden, two laps down

28. Carson Ware, five laps down

29. Greg Van Alst, eight laps down

30. Justin Allgaier, 10 laps down, 60 laps led

31. Leland Honeyman, 10 laps down

32. Chad Finchum, 20 laps down

33. Stefan Parsons, 24 laps down

34. Matt DiBenedetto, 25 laps down

35. Jeffrey Earnhardt – OUT, Accident

36. Garrett Smithley – OUT, Rear Gear

37. Parker Retzlaff – OUT, Accident

38. Austin Green – OUT, Accident

The 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs are set to commence next Saturday, September 28, at Kansas Speedway for the Kansas Lottery 300 and the Round of 12 opener. The event’s broadcast time is slated to occur at 4 p.m. ET on the CW Network.

September 20, 2024
Ryan Truex muscles to second Xfinity victory of 2024 at Daytona

In his eighth NASCAR Xfinity Series start of the 2024 season, Ryan Truex struck gold for a second time by surviving an overtime attempt and fending off the competition amid the draft to win the Wawa 250 at Daytona International Speedway on Friday, August 23.

The 32-year-old Truex from Mayetta, New Jersey, led six times for 28 of 102 over-scheduled laps in an event where he qualified in sixth place and ran upfront from start to finish. Mingling within the field through the draft and close-quarters competition, Truex, who recorded a total of 13 stage points between the event’s first two stages, led for the first time on Lap 52 and he would spend the remainder of the event both working and fending off his fellow competitors and Toyota teammates amid the draft through every corner and straightaway.

Then during the event’s lone overtime attempt, Truex, who received a shove from Riley Herbst on the inside lane to move ahead of the field, fended off a late attempt charge from AJ Allmendinger and Parker Kligerman before the latter sent the former for a spin on the final lap. With the event concluding under caution, Truex was able to retain the lead from teammate Chandler Smith and Kligerman, which resulted in the part-time Xfinity Series competitor racing for Joe Gibbs Racing to cautiously cruise to his second Xfinity victory of the 2024 season and first at Daytona.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, Chandler Smith notched his first Xfinity pole position of the 2024 season with a pole-winning lap at 181.189 mph in 49.672 seconds. Smith was awarded the pole position following the first qualifying round after the second and final qualifying round was canceled due to lightning strikes within an eight-mile radius of the speedway. Qualifying in second place was Austin Hill, who posted his best qualifying lap at 181.123 mph in 49.690 seconds.

Prior to the event, Sam Mayer dropped to the rear of the field due to an engine change. Not long after, Hill was also sent to the rear of the field due to an unapproved adjustment. With Hill starting at the rear of the field, Joe Graf Jr. moved up and started alongside teammate/pole-sitter Chandler Smith on the front row.

When the green flag waved and the race started, Chandler Smith and Joe Graf Jr. led the field that was stacked amid two tight-packed lanes through the frontstretch, the first two turns and the backstretch. Then exiting the backstretch, the event’s first caution flew when Jeffrey Earnhardt bumped and got Jeremy Clements sideways as Clements spun his No. 51 One Stop/All South Electric Chevrolet Camaro below the apron before he almost made his way back across the track and slid across the apron again entering Turn 3. Clements’ spin ignited a chain reaction wreck as Austin Hill, Ryan Ellis Akinori Ogata and newcomer Gus Dean all damaged their respective entries. The incident spoiled Hill’s attempt to sweep both Xfinity Daytona events of the 2024 season as he lost multiple laps while his No. 21 pit crew proceeded to repair the car.

During the event’s first caution period, some including Sammy Smith, Ryan Sieg, Brennan Poole and Tim Viens pitted their respective entries, with Sieg sliding through his pit stall, while the rest led by Chandler Smith remained on the track.

Following an extensive caution period to clear the fluid on the track, the event restarted under green on the ninth lap. At the start, teammates Chandler Smith and Graf Jr. dueled for the lead entering the first two turns until Graf moved ahead from the outside lane as he had teammate Ryan Truex drafting him. With Graf then being disconnected from Truex exiting the backstretch, Chandler Smith gained the momentum from the inside lane entering Turns 3 and 4 and with drafting help from AJ Allmendinger powered ahead in his No. 81 QuickTie Toyota Supra and led the Lap 10 mark.

On the following lap, the field fanned out to multiple lanes as Truex was getting shuffled out of the draft. With Truex slipping out of the top-10 mark, Allmendinger assumed the lead as Chandler Smith and Riley Herbst dueled for second place amid the draft. Herbst would then challenge Allmendinger for the lead, but the latter would retain the top spot as the field behind continued to fan out and jostle amid the draft for early spots. By Lap 15, however, Chandler Smith drafted his way back to the lead by a narrow margin over Graf with Allmendinger, Truex, Josh Williams and Parker Kligerman following suit in the top six.

Through the first 20 scheduled laps, Allmendinger was leading ahead of Kligerman, Justin Allgaier, Chandler Smith and Ryan Sieg while Cole Custer, Graf, Jesse Love, Truex and Anthony Alfredo were scored in the top 10 ahead of Sheldon Creed, Jeb Burton, Sammy Smith, Jeremy Clements, Josh Williams, Brandon Jones, Kyle Weatherman, Sam Mayer, Jordan Anderson and Jeffrey Earnhardt, all of whom were separated within one second amid the draft. By then, 33 of 38 lead-lap competitors were separated by five seconds.

Five laps later, Allgaier, who led for the first time two laps earlier, was still leading amid the draft by a narrow margin over Allmendinger as Ryan Sieg, Kligerman and Love were scored in the top five ahead of Alfredo, Chandler Smith, Custer, Sammy Smith and Jeb Burton. Another lap later, Love was pinned in the middle lane and shuffled out of the draft as he slipped out of the top-10 mark. By then, Allgaier remained in the lead as he had Allmendinger and a bevy of competitors drafting him on the outside lane while Ryan Sieg was trying to ignite a drafting charge from the inside lane.

When the first stage period concluded on Lap 30, Allgaier blocked and fended off both Chandler Smith and Allmendinger through two lanes from the backstretch to the frontstretch to claim his 12th Xfinity stage victory of the 2024 season. Chandler Smith settled in second ahead of Allmendinger, Sheldon Creed and Kligerman while Truex, Alfredo, Graf, Sammy Smith and Clements were scored in the top 10.

Under the stage break, nearly the entire lead lap field led by Allgaier pitted while the rest including Leland Honeyman, Matt DiBenedetto, Joey Gase, Kyle Sieg, Caesar Bacarella and CJ McLaughlin remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Sam Mayer exited pit road first. Prior to the pit road’s entrance, where the field led by Allgaier had pitted, Jeb Burton pitted to address a cut tire along with rookie Shane van Gisbergen, who was dealing with an ill-handling car.

During the pit stops, Sammy Smith came to a stop upon exiting pit road and reversed his No. 8 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet Camaro back into his pit stall to have his left front tire tightened. In addition, Jesse Love spun and pitted while facing the field backward, Graf overshot his pit box and Riley Herbst was penalized for not remaining in single file upon entering pit road. Soon after, Cole Custer made a second pit stop for repairs after he made contact with teammate Herbst while trying to exit his pit stall on pit road while Patrick Emerling was penalized for a safety violation.

The second stage period started on Lap 36 as Mayer and Creed occupied the front row. At the start, Mayer and Creed dueled for the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch until Creed moved ahead from the outside lane entering Turns 3 and 4. Mayer, however, would fight back on the inside lane and lead the following lap before he drove ahead of Creed through the first two turns. He then went on defense in blocking Creed on the outside lane and teammate Allgaier on the inside through the backstretch as he led the next lap period. Kligerman and Allmendinger would then come to assist Mayer and Allgaier amid the draft from the inside lane as the field behind fanned out to as wide as three lanes.

Just past the Lap 40 mark, Allmendinger, who made a bold three-wide move to overtake both Allgaier and Kligerman for the runner-up spot exiting the backstretch, assumed the lead from Mayer as he had the momentum and the draft from the outside lane. Allmendinger would then receive drafting help from Kligerman, Creed and Truex from the outside lane while Mayer was the lead competitor from the inside lane.

Through the first 45 scheduled laps and with a majority of the field running in a long single-file lane towards the outside wall, Allmendinger was leading ahead of Kligerman, Truex, Creed and Chandler Smith while Brandon Jones, Alfredo, Love, Mayer and Sammy Smith followed suit in the top 10. Behind, Jeb Burton occupied 11th place ahead of Blaine Perkins, Herbst, Jeffrey Earnhardt and Graf as Kyle Weatherman, Clements, Josh Williams, Allgaier and Anderson followed suit in the top 20 ahead of van Gisbergen, Parker Retzlaff, Josh Bilicki, Patrick Emerling and Brennan Poole. Meanwhile, Ryan Sieg was mired back in 28th place.

At the halfway mark on Lap 50, Allmendinger continued to lead a long line of competitors opting to run in a long single-file line towards the outside wall, with Kligerman, Truex, Creed and Chandler Smith following suit in the top five. Behind, Jones, Alfredo, Love, Mayer and Sammy Smith also continued to run in the top 10.

Five laps later and with the field beginning to fan out to two drafting lanes, Truex, who drafted his way into the lead three laps earlier, retained the lead ahead of a hard-charging Allgaier, who would then navigate his way back into the lead for the following lap. As Allgaier then moved up the track to block Truex through the first two turns, Allmendinger, Herbst, Jeb Burton and Kligerman followed suit amid the draft. As the front-runners continued to fan out and jostle for spots during the proceeding laps, Allgaier weaved his car back and forth amid the lanes to retain the lead.

Then on the final lap of the second stage period, the caution flew when Alfredo smacked the outside wall after he received contact from Alfredo in Turn 4 while Mayer, who was running right behind both, reacted by spinning his No. 1 Carolina Carports Chevrolet Camaro on the apron and towards the pit road entrance. The incident was enough for the second stage period scheduled to conclude on Lap 60 to officially conclude under caution as Allgaier claimed his second Xfinity stage victory of the event and the 13th of the 2024 season. Herbst settled in second ahead of Truex, Allmendinger and Jeb Burton while Kligerman, Creed, Chandler Smith, Brandon Jones and Josh Williams were scored in the top 10. Amid the incident, both Alfredo and Mayer managed to continue.

During the stage break, select names including Poole, Matt DiBenedetto, CJ McLaughlin, Leland Honeyman and Caesar Bacarella remained on the track while the rest led by Allgaier pitted. With Truex being the first competitor to exit pit road, the remaining names who initially remained on the track eventually pitted.

With 35 laps remaining, the final stage commenced as Truex and Herbst occupied the front row. At the start, Truex and Herbst dueled for the lead entering the first two turns until Truex received a push from teammate Creed to boost ahead from the inside lane through the backstretch. Kligerman and Chandler Smith would follow suit and gain the draft with Truex and Herbst on the inside lane while Herbst was trying to maintain pace on the outside lane.

Over the next three laps, Chandler Smith would weave his way into the lead, where he led a single lap, before Truex reassumed the top spot not long after. Then with 32 laps remaining, the caution returned when Brandon Jones was bumped by Love and sent for a long slide below the backstretch, though Jones was able to straighten his No. 9 Menards Chevrolet Camaro through the backstretch’s asphalt and continue.

During the caution period, some including Custer, Creed, van Gisbergen, Clements, Caesar Bacarella, Retzlaff, Leland Honeyman, Poole, Patrick Emerling, Jordan Anderson and Jones pitted while the rest led by Truex remained on the track.

The start of the next restart period with 27 laps remaining featured Truex and Allmendinger dueling for the lead until Truex nearly got loose off the front nose of teammate Chandler Smith entering Turn 1. This allowed Allmendinger to gain an advantage from the outside lane as he had drafting help from Kligerman. Allmendinger would then fend off Kligerman for the following lap as the field battled in close-quarters racing amid two drafting lanes.

With 24 laps remaining and with Allmendinger leading by a hair over Truex, the caution returned for a multi-car wreck that erupted just past the frontstretch’s tri-oval and involving Love, Custer, Jeb Burton, Retzlaff, Sammy Smith, Jones, Matt DiBenedetto, Kyle Sieg and Bacarella. During the extensive caution period, some including van Gisbergen, Emerling, Jordan Anderson, Joey Gase and CJ McLaughlin pitted while the rest led by Allmendinger remained on the track.

At the start of the next restart period with 18 laps remaining, Allmendinger had the advantage from the inside lane and he boosted into the lead with drafting help from Kligerman. Allmendinger would then transition from the top to the bottom of the track to keep Kligerman’s No. 48 Big Machine Spiked Coolers Chevrolet Camaro drafting him as he led the following lap. With Truex trying to fight back on the inside lane, he then dueled with Allmendinger through the backstretch before Allmendinger powered ahead with Kligerman and Herbst following suit. By then, Truex had Ryan Sieg drafting him with 16 laps remaining.

With 15 laps remaining, the front-runners slowly began to fan out to three lanes as Alfredo carved his No. 5 Dude Wipes Cameo Chevrolet Camaro towards the top-three mark with drafting help from Allgaier’s No. 7 Hellmann’s Chevrolet Camaro while Truex and Allmendinger dueled for the lead. With Kligerman continuing to draft Allmendinger’s No. 16 Campers Inn RV Chevrolet Camaro on the outside lane, Truex had Alfredo and Allgaier drafting his No. 20 Certified Collision Center Toyota Supra on the inside lane for the proceeding laps. Truex then received a strong push from Alfredo to boost ahead with 13 laps remaining, where he would remain ahead of Alfredo, Allmendinger, Kligerman and Allgaier. By then, the front-runners were racing in close-quarters competition in two tight-packed lanes and nearly getting sideways in the process.

Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Allmendinger and Kligerman drafted their way back into the top two spots, with Truex, Herbst and Allgaier following suit ahead of Chandler Smith, Alfredo, Creed, Kyle Weatherman and Blaine Perkins. By then, the top 22 competitors were separated by a second as Allmendinger maintained the top spot and the lead competitor on the outside lane while Truex led the charge from the inside lane.

Then with six laps remaining and the intensity towards the front intensifying, the caution flew when the slightest contact between Bacarella and Kyle Sieg got Sieg loose and he then darted back up the track and clipped Alfredo, who was beginning to fall off the pace, as Alfredo spun backward into the outside wall into the path of Sieg, with Clements, Bacarella, Josh Bilicki, Jeffrey Earnhardt and van Gisbergen all wrecking in between Turns 3 and 4. The incident was enough to send the event into overtime as Truex emerged with the lead amid a late, frantic battle with Allmendinger as Herbst, Kligerman, Chandler Smith, Allgaier, Creed and Ryan Sieg suit. Not long after, the event was placed in a red flag period for more than 12 minutes to have the on-track carnage cleared.

When the red flag lifted and the race resumed under a cautious pace, select names including Poole, Joey Gase, Jones, Jeb Burton and Sammy Smith pitted while the rest led by Truex and Allmendinger remained on the track.

The start of the first overtime attempt featured Truex receiving a strong draft into the lead ahead of Herbst and Allgaier from the inside lane while Allmendinger tried to fight back on the outside lane as he remained in front of his drafting partner Kligerman. While Allmendinger and Kligerman emerged as the strong duo towards the front of the field, Truex, who moved up to the outside lane and in front of the former two, retained the top spot for a full lap.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Truex remained as the leader ahead of Allmendinger and Kligerman, both of whom were drafting together and starting to gain a run through the tri-oval. Then entering the first turn, the caution flew and the event was deemed official after contact from Kligerman sent Allmendinger spinning below the apron entering Turn 1, where he slid back up the track and hit the outside wall despite being dodged by oncoming traffic. With the event concluding under caution, Truex was ruled the leader at the moment of caution and was declared the winner.

With the victory, Truex, who last won at Dover Motor Speedway in late April, recorded his third NASCAR Xfinity Series career win in his 98th series start and his first ever at Daytona International Speedway as he achieved his first multi-win season in the Xfinity circuit.

Truex’s Daytona victory was the eighth for both Joe Gibbs Racing and the Toyota nameplate through 22 scheduled events of the 2024 season, with both the team and manufacturer winning at Daytona in the Xfinity Series for the first time since Matt Kenseth piloted a Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota entry to Victory Lane in July 2013. The victory was also the sixth of the season for Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 20 Toyota team led by rookie crew chief Tyler Allen.

“Oh my gosh, man,” Truex, who strongly credited the Joe Gibbs Racing simulator group as part of his weekly simulator training, said on the frontstretch on USA Network. “Thanks to these fans. It’s so amazing to race here. Just thanks to these [No. 20] guys, man. I don’t get to race that often. I don’t know what I’m going to do next year. It’s all working progress, but just a great car. We’ve worked hard on our superspeedway stuff. Daytona, Atlanta, I feel like we were behind the eight-ball and we came here, all qualified well, all raced well. Shoutout to [spotter] Tyler [Green] up on the roof. What an amazing spotter. He drove this car, I just turned the steering wheel. I can’t believe this. I felt good this week coming in and I knew we’d have a shot. I feel like every time I’m here, I just end up making the dumb mistake or getting caught up in a wreck. I’m just glad we finished one out.”

Teammate Chandler Smith, who led 15 laps from pole position, charged his way to a second-place finish, thus recording a 1-2 finish for Joe Gibbs Racing, while Parker Kligerman settled in third place. While Chandler Smith was left pleased with his runner-up result, which marked his first top-two result coming off four consecutive finishes of 15th or worse, the third-place result did little to satisfy Kligerman’s strong race and result despite being scored 44 points above the top-12 cutline in his efforts to make the 2024 Xfinity Series Playoffs.

“Just extremely, extremely happy for everybody at Joe Gibbs Racing,” Smith said. “I say this in a very nice way. We have not been good on superspeedways for a very, very, very long time on the Xfinity program. We came here today and sat on the pole. That’s huge for us. Just couldn’t time my run good enough and just wasn’t meant in the cards for today.”

“I just feel like I’ve put myself in position time after time [to win] and this race team has helped me do that,” Kligerman said. “[Me and AJ Allmendinger] were awesome. We were the best two [competitors] that weren’t Toyotas all day. I just had a run and I had to go. I felt like it was a run I had to take to try and put myself on the bottom [lane] to win this race. I felt like the bottom was gonna win it in [Turn] 4. I hate it. I love [Allmendinger] like a brother. He and I have been in this for a long time together. I don’t want to turn someone like that, but I would’ve liked to been able to finish under green [flag conditions] as well. We did everything right. We never led a lap, but I got to think we were probably the most in the top three, so we had a really strong car, strong night and overall, but god, I just want to win one of these damn things so bad.”

Riley Herbst came home in fourth place while Ryan Sieg battled his way to finish fifth, with the latter moving back into the top-12 cutline after notching his fifth top-10 result of the 2024 season.

“We’ve just been chasing points,” Sieg said. “It’s been great. We’ve been doing what we need to do and then, come out of here with the top five, where we should be running, but finally, we got some momentum. Hopefully, we can continue it. We’ve been running really well. Just got to keep executing and keep it there at the stage three and try to, I guess, point our way in and all we can do and try to win one of these races out of here before we start the Playoffs.”

Jordan Anderson, Justin Allgaier, Sheldon Creed, Leland Honeyman and Kyle Weatherman finished in the top 10.

Meanwhile, AJ Allmendinger, who led a race-high 35 laps, ended up in 24th place, the final competitor scored on the lead lap.

There were 19 lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 34 laps. In addition, 24 of 38 starters were scored on the lead lap.

Following the 22nd event of the 2024 Xfinity Series season, Justin Allgaier leads the regular-season standings by 33 points over Cole Custer, 75 over Chandler Smith and 102 over Austin Hill.

Results.

1. Ryan Truex, 28 laps led

2. Chandler Smith, 15 laps led

3. Parker Kligerman

4. Riley Herbst, one lap led

5. Ryan Sieg

6. Jordan Anderson

7. Justin Allgaier, 16 laps led, Stages 1 & 2 winner

8. Sheldon Creed

9. Leland Honeyman

10. Kyle Weatherman

11. Josh Williams

12. Joe Graf Jr.

13. Sam Mayer, seven laps led

14. Blaine Perkins

15. Kyle Sieg

16. Brennan Poole

17. Jeb Burton

18. Patrick Emerling

19. CJ McLaughlin

20. Joey Gase

21. Jesse Love

22. Brandon Jones

23. Sammy Smith

24. AJ Allmendinger, 35 laps led

25. Shane van Gisbergen, one lap down

26. Anthony Alfredo, one lap down

27. Jeremy Clements, one lap down

28. Jeffrey Earnhardt, three laps down

29. Caesar Bacarella – OUT, Accident

30. Josh Bilicki – OUT, Accident

31. Austin Hill, 23 laps down

32. Cole Custer – OUT, DVP

33. Matt DiBenedetto – OUT, Accident

34. Parker Retzlaff – OUT, Accident

35. Tim Viens – OUT, Engine

36. Gus Dean – OUT, Accident

37. Ryan Ellis – OUT, Accident

38. Akinori Ogata – OUT, Accident

Next on the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina, for the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200. The event is scheduled for next Saturday, August 31, and air at 3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.

August 23, 2024
Mayer survives overtime shootout for dramatic Xfinity victory at Iowa

Sam Mayer preserved his tires to the very end and fended off a late challenge from Riley Herbst during an overtime shootout to win the Hy-Vee PERKS 250 at Iowa Speedway on Saturday, June 15.

The 20-year-old Mayer from Franklin, Wisconsin, led three times for 47 of 253 over-scheduled laps in an event where he started fifth and ran up front for the majority of the event. Amid a series of on-track carnages that knocked a multitude of front runners out of contention due to tire explosions, Mayer, who nearly wrecked at the start of the second stage period on Lap 82 but led for the first time on Lap 169, made the event’s final pass for the lead on Herbst with seven laps remaining. Then amid an overtime shootout, Mayer managed to fend off Herbst for two laps to score his second NASCAR Xfinity Series victory of the 2024 season and cap off an eventful afternoon of competition in Iowa Speedway’s return to hosting Xfinity events.

With on-track qualifying that was scheduled to occur on Saturday canceled due to inclement weather, the starting lineup for the main event was determined through a performance metric system from the NASCAR Rule Book. As a result, Austin Hill was awarded the pole position.

Rookie Shane van Gisbergen, winner of last weekend’s Xfinity event at Sonoma Raceway, was scheduled to start alongside Hill on the front row but he dropped to the rear of the field in a backup car after he wrecked his primary car during Friday’s practice session. Patrick Emerling also dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to his respective entry.

When the green flag waved and the race started, Austin Hill muscled ahead with a brief advantage through the frontstretch until Justin Allgaier, who was scheduled to start in fourth place but moved up to start alongside Hill on the front row in second place, used the outside lane to his advantage as he rocketed his No. 7 BRANDT/Precision Build Chevrolet Camaro into the lead through the first two turns. Sheldon Creed then tried to battle Hill for the runner-up spot through the backstretch, but he slipped up the track while making light contact with Hill’s No. 21 Bennett Transportation Chevrolet Camaro. The contact cause Creed to slip into a side-by-side battle with Sam Mayer for third place as Hill retained second while Allgaier proceeded to lead the first lap.

During the proceeding four laps, Creed retained third place while teammate Chandler Smith moved his No. 81 Mobil 1 Toyota Supra into fourth place over Mayer. Amid a flurry of battles ensuing within the middle of the pack, Brennan Poole got loose off the front nose of Sammy Smith and nearly slipped up the track and into the path of Jeremy Clements in Turn 3, but all kept their respective entries running straight. Amid the tight side-by-side battles as the competitors in the mid-pack region fanned out to multiple lanes, Allgaier retained the lead by nearly half a second over Hill as Chandler Smith, Creed and Mayer were running in the top five.

Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Allgaier was leading by three-tenths of a second over Hill followed by Chandler Smith, Creed and John Hunter Nemechek while Mayer, Cole Custer, rookie Jesse Love, Riley Herbst and Corey Heim trailed in the top 10. Behind, Parker Kligerman followed suit in 11th place ahead of AJ Allmendinger, Ryan Sieg, Sammy Smith and Parker Retzlaff while Anthony Alfredo, Brandon Jones, Matt DiBenedetto, Brett Moffitt and Ross Chastain were in the top 20 ahead of Jeb Burton, Kyle Sieg, Brennan Poole, Leland Honeyman and Jeremy Clements. Meanwhile, Shane van Gisbergen was up to 33rd place while teammates Josh Williams and Daniel Dye were mired in 28th and 29th, respectively.

Five laps later, Chandler Smith overtook Allgaier to assume the lead. Smith would stretch his advantage to a second over Allgaier by the Lap 20 mark as Nemechek and Creed were up to third and fourth, respectively. Meanwhile, Hill, who was battling loose conditions, dropped to fifth while Mayer, Custer, Love, Herbst and Allmendinger followed suit in the top 10.

At the Lap 30 mark, Chandler Smith stabilized his advantage to more than a second over teammate Nemechek while third-place Creed, another Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, trailed by four seconds. In the midst of the three Joe Gibbs Racing competitors running first through third on the track, Allgaier trailed in fourth place by six seconds while Hill retained fifth. Allgaier and Hill would then battle for fourth place as Mayer, Custer, Herbst, Love and Allmendinger were in the top 10. By then, van Gisbergen was lapped by the leaders.

Three laps later, the event’s first caution period flew after Allmendinger, who was running 10th, blew a right-front tire and veered dead straight into the Turn 4 outside wall at full speed before he parked his damaged No. 16 Cirkul Chevrolet Camaro on the frontstretch’s grass and retired from the event. During the event’s first caution period, nearly the entire field led by Chandler Smith pitted while the rest led by teammate Nemechek and including Jeremy Clements and Ryan Ellis remained on the track. Shortly after the pit stops, Brandon Jones nursed his No. 9 Menards Chevrolet Camaro back to pit road as smoke was seen billowing out of his car with the driver battling oil pressure issues that would send the Georgian to the garage.

When the event restarted under green on Lap 42, Nemechek gained a brief advantage from the outside lane through the frontstretch, but he then went wide in Turn 1, which allowed Jeremy Clements to move his No. 51 Whitetail Smokeless Chevrolet Camaro into the lead from the inside lane. Clements would retain the lead through Lap 48 before Chandler Smith reassumed the lead. Smith would be followed by teammates Creed and Nemechek along with Mayer by the Lap 50 mark while Clements dropped to fifth ahead of Hill.

By Lap 60, Chandler Smith extended his advantage to more than a second over teammate Creed as Mayer, Nemechek and Custer trailed in the top five. Behind, Allgaier was up to sixth place and Clements dropped to seventh place, with Sammy Smith, Herbst and Moffitt following suit in the top 10 ahead of Love, Hill, Heim, Chastain and Ryan Sieg.

Nearing the Lap 70 mark, Chandler Smith continued to extend his advantage as he was leading by nearly three seconds over teammate Creed while JR Motorsports’ Mayer, Allgaier and Sammy Smith were up in the top five. Meanwhile, Nemechek dropped to ninth as he trailed Custer, teammate Moffitt and Heim on the track as Love occupied 10th place.

Two laps later, the event’s second caution period flew after Jeb Burton, who was running 14th, blew a right-front tire and scrubbed the outside wall through Turns 1 and 2. Burton’s incident was enough for the first stage period scheduled to conclude on Lap 75 to officially conclude under caution as Chandler Smith claimed his fourth Xfinity stage victory of the 2024 season. Teammate Creed followed suit in second ahead of Mayer, Allgaier and Sammy Smith while Custer, Moffitt, Heim, Nemechek and Love were scored in the top 10.

Under the stage break, the entire lead lap field led by Chandler Smith pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Chandler Smith retained the lead after exiting first followed by teammate Creed, Custer, Sammy Smith, Mayer and Moffitt.

The second stage period started on Lap 82 as teammates Chandler Smith and Creed occupied the front row. At the start, both Joe Gibbs Racing teammates dueled for the lead until Smith muscled ahead from the outside lane while Creed got loose on the inside lane. Creed was then placed in a tight four-wide battle against Herbst, Mayer and Moffitt for fourth place through the backstretch while Custer and Sammy Smith grabbed second and third, respectively, through the backstretch.

Mayer then slid sideways after getting hit by Moffitt through Turns 3 and 4, but he kept his car running straight as the oncoming field behind scattered and fanned out to avoid hitting him. Amid the war of attrition in the middle of the pack, Chandler Smith proceeded to lead Custer by a tenth of a second by the Lap 85 mark while third-place Sammy Smith trailed by four-tenths of a second in third.

On Lap 87, the caution returned after van Gisbergen, who was mired in the top 25, got loose entering the backstretch and slipped up the track and into Blaine Perkins, which resulted in Perkins slapping the outside wall as van Gisbergen slid down the track and was hit hard by Kyle Weatherman, which took all three out of contention and spoiled van Gisbergen’s hopes of winning three consecutive Xfinity races.

As the event restarted under green on Lap 96, the two Smiths, Chandler and Sammy, battled for the lead, with the former edging ahead for nearly a lap from the outside lane until Sammy mounted the pressure on Chandler for the top spot after the latter slipped up the track. With the battle for the lead intensifying during the following lap, Chandler Smith would muscle ahead followed by Custer while Sammy Smith slipped to third. Behind, Chastain and Moffitt carved their way up to fourth and fifth, respectively, while Love trailed in sixth as Chandler Smith was leading by two-tenths of a second by the Lap 100 mark.

Fifteen laps later, Chandler Smith was leading by more than a second over Custer followed by Sammy Smith, Moffitt and Love while Chastain, Nemechek, Herbst, Allgaier and Mayer were in the top 10. Behind, Heim trailed in 11th place ahead of Creed, Kligerman, Ryan Sieg and Hill while Ryan Ellis, Leland Honeyman, Daniel Dye, Brennan Poole and Clements were scored in the top 20.

Then on Lap 123 and with a multitude of competitors battling for car control on the track’s paved surface, the caution flew after Patrick Emerling spun in Turn 1. During the caution period, some including Moffitt, Hill, Josh Williams, Ryan Sieg, Kligerman, Clements, Dawson Cram and Joey Gase pitted while the rest led by Chandler Smith remained on the track.

With the event restarting under green on Lap 132, Chandler Smith muscled ahead of Custer to retain the lead as Custer slipped through the first two turns. Custer’s misfortune cost him three spots as Sammy Smith, Chastain and Allgaier all moved up the leaderboard. Soon after, Allgaier and Custer made contact, but they continued to race in the top 10 as the field fanned out. Amid the battles in the middle of the pack, the battle for the lead between the two Smiths, Chandler and Sammy, began to intensify as the latter challenged the former for the top spot. Chastain and Mayer would close in to make the battle for the lead a four-car battle while Chandler Smith retained the top spot.

Just past the Lap 140 mark, Chandler Smith continued to lead by three-tenths of a second over Sammy Smith as Mayer, Chastain and Creed followed suit within a second in the top five. Behind, Heim was up to sixth place while Allgaier, Herbst, Love and Custer trailed in the top 10 ahead of Hill, DiBenedetto, Nemechek, Daniel Dye and Moffitt.

Then on the final lap of the second stage period, the caution flew due to 14th-place runner Love cutting a right-front tire and going dead straight into the outside wall in between Turns 3 and 4 as his event came a late end. The drama for Love would continue as his damaged No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro went up in flames while being towed back to the garage.

Love’s incident was enough for the second stage period scheduled to conclude on Lap 150 to officially conclude under caution as Chandler Smith captured his fifth Xfinity stage victory of the 2024 season and second of the day. Mayer muscled his way up to second place as he was followed by Chastain, Heim and Sammy Smith while Creed, Allgaier, Herbst, Custer and Hill were scored in the top 10.

During the stage break, nearly the entire lead lap field led by Chandler Smith returned to pit road for service while Josh Williams remained on the track, with the latter assuming the lead. Amid the pit stops, Ryan Sieg exited pit road second after he opted for a full tank of fuel to his entry.

With 90 laps remaining, the final stage commenced as Williams and Ryan Sieg occupied the front row. At the start, Chandler Smith tried to force his way in between both for the lead, but Sieg muscled ahead with the lead. In addition, Mayer overtook both to assume the runner-up while Chandler Smith slipped. This resulted with Smith dropping out of race-winning contention and out of the top 10 on the track while Sieg was leading ahead of Mayer and a bevy of battles ensuing behind them.

With 80 laps remaining, Mayer, who overtook Ryan Sieg for the lead two laps earlier, was leading by six-tenths of a second over Creed followed by Ryan Sieg, Custer and Moffitt while Nemechek, Heim, Hill, Williams and Sammy Smith were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Chandler Smith was still mired in 12th.

Ten laps later, Mayer stabilized his advantage to half a second over Creed as Custer, Nemechek and Moffitt trailed in the top five. Behind, Chandler Smith retained 12th place as he was racing in between Allgaier and Chastain while Heim, Hill, Ryan Sieg, Sammy Smith and Williams were mired in the top 10.

Another 10 laps later, Mayer slightly extended his advantage to nine-tenths of a second over Creed as Custer, Nemechek and Heim followed suit in the top five. Meanwhile, Ryan Sieg and Moffitt, both of whom pitted under green a few laps earlier, were mired back in 25th and 27th, respectively.

With 50 laps remaining, Mayer stabilized his advantage to a second over Creed as Nemechek moved up to third place ahead of Custer and Heim. By then, Williams and Matt DiBenedetto had pitted under green. Another lap later, the caution flew after Allgaier blew a right-front tire and went dead straight into the outside wall entering Turn 4 as his strong run came to a late end.

During the caution period, the lead lap field led by Mayer pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Nemechek emerged with the lead after he exited first while teammate Creed, Mayer, Custer, Hill and Chandler Smith followed suit in the top six.

As the event restarted with 40 laps remaining, Nemechek muscled ahead with the lead from the outside lane followed by teammate Creed while Hill put the bumper to Mayer and moved Mayer in the middle of a three-wide battle as Hill tried to march his way back to the front. Then as Kligerman went wide and nearly hit the outside wall in between Turns 3 and 4, the battle for the lead intensified between teammates Nemechek and Creed as they dueled in front of Custer through the frontstretch. Creed then briefly wiggled in Turn 1, which allowed Nemechek to muscle back ahead as Custer and Hill overtook Creed for second and third on the track.

Then with 33 laps remaining, Hill’s chances of contending for the victory evaporated after a blown left-front tire sent Hill straight into the outside wall in Turn 1. With Hill out of contention, Nemechek had retained the lead while Custer, Creed, Mayer and Chandler Smith were scored in the top five.

Down to the final 26 laps of the event, the event restarted under green. At the start, Nemechek continued to make the outside lane work to his advantage as he muscled away from the field followed by Custer while Mayer, who restarted as the first competitor on the inside lane, settled in third and in front of Creed. Mayer would then overtake Custer for the runner-up spot during the following lap. He would retain the spot over Herbst and Custer over the next four laps before the caution flew as Brennan Poole went up in smoke and dropped fluid around the circuit.

The start of the next restart period with 13 laps remaining featured Nemechek fending off Herbst for nearly a lap before Herbst drew his No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang alongside Nemechek’s No. 20 Daisy Brands Toyota Supra in a late battle for the lead through the frontstretch. Herbst then managed to clear Nemechek and emerge with the lead and with both lanes to his control during the following lap while Creed battled Nemechek for the runner-up spot.

Shortly after, Nemechek and Creed made contact that resulted in Nemechek generating a tire rub and slipping out of the top five. Amid the contact, Mayer made his way into the runner-up spot. Heim, Custer and Chastain moved into the top five while Herbst retained the lead by three-tenths of a second with 10 laps remaining.

Then with seven laps remaining, Mayer drag-raced against Herbst through the backstretch before he assumed the lead in his No. 1 Roto-Rooter Chevrolet Camaro. As Mayer started to pull away from Herbst and Heim with the lead, the caution returned with five laps remaining after Nemechek, who was trying to nurse his car to the finish amid his tire rub and late run-in with teammate Creed, ended up against the outside wall towards Turn 4 with a flat tire. Nemechek’s incident was enough to send the event into overtime.

The start of the first overtime attempt featured Herbst and Mayer battling dead even for the lead approaching the first turn. As Creed got loose and nearly slid into Heim, Mayer managed to rocket ahead of Herbst through the first two turns and lead through the backstretch.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Mayer was leading by two-tenths of a second over Herbst as Heim tried to join the battle. With both Herbst and Heim unable to mount a final lap charge, Mayer was able to nurse his car around the Iowa circuit smoothly for a final time before he cycled back to the frontstretch and claimed the checkered flag by a tenth of a second.

With the victory, Mayer, who ended up with a flat left-rear tire after Herbst gave Mayer a post-race bump into the side to express his displeasure from an earlier on-track contact and proceeded to blow his right-rear tire from his post-race burnout, notched his sixth career win in his 99th Xfinity Series career start, his second of the 2024 season and his first since winning at Texas Motor Speedway in April.

In addition to becoming the fourth multi-race winner of this year’s Xfinity Series season, Mayer became the 15th competitor overall to win an Xfinity event at Iowa in the speedway’s return to hosting NASCAR Xfinity events since the 2019 season. The Wisconsin native also delivered the 10th victory of the season for the Chevrolet nameplate and the third of the season for JR Motorsports.

“We struggled yesterday and this Roto-Rooter team went to work,” Mayer said on USA Network. “Obviously, we did pretty good overnight making good decisions on this race car. Man, I’m out of breath because I was just huffing in a bunch of smoke, but I feel really good. I could do another 100 laps, for sure. With a race car like this, it’d be a lot of fun. We definitely got a little bit tight there at the end of the second stage, so I was a little concern [of the tire wear] there. [Crew chief] Mardy [Lindley] said the tires look all good. We took care of [the car] and we did our job and now, we get to celebrate.”

As Mayer celebrated on the frontstretch, Herbst was left disappointed on pit road and with a small axe to grind towards Mayer after the latter had made contact with the former earlier prior to their late-race battle for the victory. Nonetheless, Herbst was also left pleased with his performance and the resilience being exhibited by Stewart-Haas Racing amid the team’s closure at this season’s conclusion. Currently, Herbst’s racing plans for the 2025 season remains to be determined.

“It was just frustrating,” Herbst said. “It was an up-and-down day, for sure. I felt like we were okay yesterday and we got it better. We worked all night. [The No. 98 team] did a really good job. We worked our day back up through the field, got some track position and then, the guy who won [Mayer], I mean, he just absolutely brooms us into [Turns] 1 and 2, so that was frustrating. Then for him to door me down the straightaway before the green white checkered [restart], I don’t know.

“That was a bit frustrating, but all in all, it was fun to race with them on the green-white checkered. I’m just most proud in that the speed’s back in the No. 98 Monster Energy car. It was really fast today, so I appreciate everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing for sticking together. It’s been a hard last couple of months and it’s gonna be a hard couple months going forward as well with everything that’s going on. Everybody staying together is awesome. Hopefully, we can continue to bring the speed to New Hampshire next week.”

Corey Heim piloted the No. 26 Yahoo! Toyota Supra from Sam Hunt Racing to a career-best third place in his 11th career start in the Xfinity Series while Sammy Smith and Sheldon Creed finished in the top five.

Cole Custer came home in sixth place while Matt DiBenedetto, Chandler Smith, Ross Chastain and Daniel Dye completed the top 10 in the final running order.

There were 13 lead changes for eight different leaders. The race featured nine cautions for 71 laps. In addition, 17 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.

Following the 15th event of the 2024 Xfinity Series season, Cole Custer leads the regular-season standings by a single point over Chandler Smith while Austin Hill trails by 41 points and Justin Allgaier trails by 44 points.

Results.

1. Sam Mayer, 47 laps led

2. Riley Herbst, seven laps led

3. Corey Heim

4. Sammy Smith

5. Sheldon Creed

6. Cole Custer

7. Matt DiBenedetto

8. Chandler Smith, 131 laps led, Stages 1 & 2 winner

9. Ross Chastain

10. Daniel Dye

11. Parker Kligerman

12. Ryan Sieg, eight laps led

13. Leland Honeyman

14. Ryan Ellis

15. Anthony Alfredo

16. Joey Gase

17. David Starr

18. Brett Moffitt, one lap down

19. Kyle Sieg, one lap down

20. Josh Williams, one lap down, four laps led

21. Jeremy Clements, one lap down, seven laps led

22. Dawson Cram, one lap down

23. Patrick Emerling, one lap down

24. Jeb Burton, three laps down

25. Hailie Deegan, three laps down

26. Garrett Smithley, three laps down

27. John Hunter Nemechek – OUT, Accident, 35 laps led

28. Brennan Poole – OUT, Oil Line

29. Austin Hill – OUT, Accident

30. Justin Allgaier – OUT, Accident, 14 laps led

31. Jesse Love – OUT, Accident

32. Parker Retzlaff – OUT, Electrical

33. Kyle Weatherman – OUT, Accident

34. Shane van Gisbergen – OUT, Accident

35. Blaine Perkins – OUT, Accident

36. Brandon Jones – OUT, Engine

37. AJ Allmendinger – OUT, Accident

38. Glen Reen – OUT, Carburetor

Next on the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the series’ annual visit to New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire, for the SciAps 200. The event is scheduled to occur next Saturday, June 22, and air at 3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.

June 15, 2024
Jeremy Clements Racing partners with Whitetail Smokeless in NASCAR’s return to Iowa Speedway

Spartanburg, SC – Jeremy Clements Racing is gearing up for an exciting event as the NASCAR Xfinity Series returns to the Hawkeye state, with Whitetail Smokeless as the primary sponsor.

Having been a valued full-season associate partner of JCR since 2020, Whitetail Smokeless will be taking on its annual primary sponsor role for the season as Jeremy makes his Xfinity Series-leading 20th career start at the Speedway. The Team 51 Chevy also welcomes two new associate partners Benz Beverage Depot and Flying Eagle Express. Plus, Alliance Driveaway Solutions, Impel Union, The Racing Warehouse, and Root River Archery will return as well to support JCR. The much-anticipated Hy-Vee PERKS 250 is scheduled for Saturday, June 15th at the 0.875-mile D-shaped oval in Newton, IA.

“I can’t wait to get back to some short-track racing, and going back to Iowa Speedway will definitely fulfill that need. I’ve always liked this track. We’ve had some good runs over the years, and with our great partner Whitetail Smokeless supporting us for the race, we’re looking to rack up a top 10, or hey, we might even bring home a checkered flag,” said Clements.

“Rob (Kieckbusch) from Whitetail and his family have been terrific partners to JCR and a real asset in helping us grow. I can’t thank them enough for their outstanding support over the last 5 seasons,” Clements finished saying.

The No, 51 Chevy Camaro SS will feature the logos of various generous supporters, such as Spartan Waste, Workforce OHSS, Elite Towing, Matman Designs, Carolina Driveline, Nordic Logistics, Zmax, E3 Spark Plugs and Dynamic Paintware.

RACE PREVIEW

Track: Iowa Speedway
Date: Saturday, June 15th, 2024
Broadcast Information: TV: 3:30 pm EST on USA

FAST FACTS

Best Start 13th – 2019
Best Finish 7th – 2017
20th career start at Iowa

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June 13, 2024
Alliance Driveway Solutions & JCR Rewinding to the 90s with a Robert Pressley inspired Throwback

Spartanburg, SC – Jeremy Clements Racing and Alliance Driveway Solutions are set to pay tribute to the legendary Robert Pressley during this year’s official Darlington Throwback weekend at the famed Lady in Black, Darlington Raceway.

The JCR / Alliance Driveway Solutions Chevy will sport the classic black and gold paint scheme used by Pressley’s former team; The Alliance Tractor-Trailer Training Centers, during the late 80s and early 90s. This livery helped Pressley “The Bent Creek Bandit’ secure two Darlington wins, and nine total Xfinity Series wins, making it a fitting tribute to the racing icon. To make the event even more special, JCR has partnered with Super Lube out of Asheville, NC, one of Robert’s previous hometown associate sponsors.

Additionally, Alliance will also be a co-primary partner at Portland with Impel Union and will be the principal partner for the season finale at Phoenix. Plus, Impel Union, Fox Sports Spartanburg, The Racing Warehouse, and RE Goodson will serve as associate sponsors. The Crown Royal Purple Bag Project 200 race is set to take place on Saturday, May 11th on the 1.366-mile egg-shaped oval, known as the Track Too Tough to Tame.

“This Throwback is so cool! When Tate and LJ first told me about it, I was like, Heck yeah, this is gonna be a home run! Alliance has been amazing to us over the past two years, so I’m stoked to honor Robert Pressley. The scheme is just perfect, they even got Super Lube of Asheville, one of Robert’s old partners, on the deck lid. It’s gonna be such a great Throwback and Mother’s Day weekend. Now all we gotta do is take home that checkered flag!” Clements said.

The Chevy Camaro SS #51 will also proudly feature logos of its other supportive associate sponsors, including Nordic Logistics, Workforce OHSS, Elite Towing, Whitetail Smokeless, Matman Designs, Carolina Driveline, ZMAX Race Products, E3 Spark Plugs and Dynamic Paintware.

RACE PREVIEW

Track: Darlington Raceway
Race: Crown Royal Purple Bag Project 200
Date: Saturday May 11th, 2024
Broadcast Information – TV: 1:30 pm EST on FS1

FAST FACTS

Best Start 12th – 5/2021
Best Finish 6th – 5/2021
18th career start at Darlington

JCR TEAM

Team: No. 51
Crew Chief: Mark Setzer
Manufacturer: Chevrolet

ABOUT ALLIANCE DRIVEAWAY SOLUTIONS

Alliance Driveaway Solutions has over 18 years of experience in the heavy truck and transportation industry. We operate in all 48 states and Canada. No distance is too far. We excel in ensuring that our customers are more than satisfied with their shipments. At Alliance Driveaway Solutions, we don’t treat you just as a customer but rather as an operating partner. Our advanced state-of-the-art dispatch system ensures that we are with you every step of the way. Alliance Driveaway is American-owned and operated. Visit Alliancedriveway.com for more information.

May 2, 2024
Nordic Logistics set to make 2024 season debut with Jeremy Clements Racing

Spartanburg, SC – Nordic Logistics is all set to expand its partnership with Jeremy Clements Racing. Becoming the primary sponsor on the #51 Team Chevy at America’s Premier Short Track, Richmond Raceway this weekend. This will be the first of three races where Nordic Logistics, located in Rochester, NY, will be the main sponsor for JCR.

Nordic is also scheduled to be the principal partner at Dover and Watkins Glen later in the year. Additionally, High Speed Auto and BG Crane Services Inc. will be associate sponsors for the first time in 2024. The ToyotaCare 250 is scheduled for Saturday, March 30th on the 0.75-mile D-shaped short track oval in downtown Richmond, VA.

“I’m ready to get to short-track racing this weekend. We had a really good Top 15 run going last year until we had an alternator issue that ruined our day. So definitely looking forward to some redemption and taking the Nordic #51 to the front Saturday afternoon!” Clements said.

The Chevy Camaro SS #51 will also display logos of its generous associate sponsors, including Spartan Waste, Workforce OHSS, Elite Towing, Whitetail Smokeless, Matman Designs, Carolina Driveline, ZMAX Race Products, E3 Spark Plugs, and Dynamic Paintware.

RACE PREVIEW Track: Richmond Raceway
Date: Saturday, March 30th, 2024
Broadcast Information: TV: 1:30 pm EST on FS1

FAST FACTS
Best Start 7th – 2022
Best Finish 8th – 2018
25th career start at Richmond

ABOUT NORDIC LOGISTICS:

Nordic Logistics, LLC is a transportation and logistics company based in Rochester, NY. We specialize in the transporting and warehousing of perishable and non-perishable products and service all 48 states with both company-owned assets and independent contractors. Our current operating fleet consists of 25 tractors and 60 trailers, with a mixture of both refrigerated and dry van trailers.

Our company prides itself on timely and temperature-sensitive service. Not only do we love driving trucks, but we also consider it a great privilege to deliver goods to everyone.

March 29, 2024
Jeremy Clements Racing’s fleet of partners will grow again in 2024; Impel Union to make season premiere at COTA

Spartanburg, SC – Jeremy Clements Racing is revved up to announce that Impel Union, a Chicago-based company, will be the primary sponsor for six of their Xfinity racing events this season. The partnership will kick off with the highly anticipated Focused Health 250 at COTA this weekend and will continue at Martinsville, New Hampshire, Portland, Chicago, and Kansas later this year. This exciting collaboration will bring together two dynamic organizations and promises to be a thrilling season for fans of both Jeremy Clements Racing and Impel Union.

This will also mark Impel Union’s second full season of being an integral part of JCR’s outstanding team of partners. Additionally, Alliance Driveaway Solutions will serve as an associate sponsor of their fourth race of this young 2024 Xfinity Season. The Focused Health 250 is scheduled for Saturday, March 23rd at the 3.426–mile Circuit of the Americas road course in Austin, TX.

“It was great to have a weekend off after returning from the West Coast swing. I would love to race every week, if possible, but this break allowed Mark (Setzer) and the guys at the shop to dial in our Impel Union Chevy for COTA,” said Clements.

“Jason (Kemner) from Impel has been a tremendous addition to our family of partners, and he and his team are dedicated to helping JCR succeed. So, don’t forget to catch the #51 Impel Union machine this weekend at COTA,” Clements went on to say.

The No. 51 Chevy Camaro SS will feature the logos of various generous supporters, such as Spartan Waste, Workforce OHSS, Elite Towing, Whitetail Smokeless, Matman Designs, Carolina Driveline, Nordic Logistics and Dynamic Paintware.

RACE PREVIEW
Track: Circuit of the Americas
Date: Saturday, March 23rd, 2024
Broadcast Information: TV: 5:00 pm EST on FS1

FAST FACTS
Best Start 25th – 2023
Best Finish 14th – 2023
4th career start at COTA

ABOUT IMPEL UNION:

At Impel Union, we’re not just about providing top-tier trucks and trailers; we’re your co-driver in the thrilling race to trucking prosperity, with precision and enthusiasm reminiscent of a NASCAR pit crew. Our mission is to turbocharge your business, ensuring it doesn’t just move, but sprints forward, marking each milestone with the exhilarating echo of victory.

In the fast lane with Jeremy Clements Racing, our partnership exemplifies our dedication to peak performance and unwavering reliability. Every truck, trailer, and service is a green flag, ushering you into an accelerated journey in the trucking circuit. With Impel Union, each mile and delivery is a victory lap, a sprint closer to the winner’s circle. Together, let’s speed to unparalleled success!

March 19, 2024
Austin Hill rallies to notch third consecutive Xfinity opener victory at Daytona

Austin Hill rallied from three different circumstances that sent him to the rear of the field to commence a new season of NASCAR Xfinity Series competition on a victorious note three years in a row by winning the rain-postponed United Rentals 300 at Daytona International Speedway on Monday, February 19.

The 29-year-old Hill from Winston, Georgia, led nine of 120 scheduled laps in an event where he shared the front row with new teammate and series newcomer Jesse Love. After being edged by Love at the conclusion of the first stage period, Hill was involved in a multi-car wreck at the start of the second stage period that sent him to the rear of the field. He would rally with cosmetic damage to his No. 21 Richard Childress Racing entry by winning the second stage but would hit another obstacle by being nabbed with a speeding penalty on pit road during the stage’s break period that sent him to the rear of the field for a second time. After rallying from that, he would hit a third obstacle by pitting during a late caution period with approximately 20 laps remaining to address a flat tire to his entry.

Amid the three issues that sent him to the rear of the field, Hill capitalized on two late-race caution periods and late-race carnages to draft Jordan Anderson to the lead during the final restart with three laps remaining before he assumed the lead. He would then fend off late challenges from Sheldon Creed, Chandler Smith and Brandon Jones to muscle away from the field and notch his third consecutive victory in the Xfinity Series’ opener at Daytona.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, February 17, newcomer Jesse Love secured his first Xfinity career pole position after posting a pole-winning lap at 181.079 mph in 49.702 seconds. Joining him on the front row was teammate Austin Hill, who clocked in the second-best qualifying lap at 181.068 mph in 49.705 seconds.

Prior to the event, Dawson Cram and BJ McLeod were sent to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective entries. In addition, Sage Karam would start at the rear of the field due to an engine change to his No. 26 Sam Hunt Racing entry.

When the green flag waved and the 2024 Xfinity Series commenced, Love muscled his No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro ahead with the lead from the outside lane and ahead of teammate Hill entering the first two turns. With the field stacked amid two tight-packed lanes through the backstretch, Love, who transitioned from the inside to the outside lane to keep Hill behind him, proceeded to lead the first lap. He would proceed to lead the ensuing laps while keeping teammate Hill behind him amid the draft. By then, a majority of the field migrated to a long single-file line towards the outside wall while some led by AJ Allmendinger raced on the inside lane.

Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Love was leading a bevy of competitors running in a long single-file line towards the outside wall while teammate Hill, Parker Kligerman, Justin Allgaier, Anthony Alfredo, Sammy Smith, John Hunter Nemechek, Sheldon Creed, Jeb Burton and Daniel Suarez were scored in the top 10. Behind, Ryan Truex was in 11th followed by Riley Herbst, Cole Custer, Brandon Jones and AJ Allmendinger while Sam Mayer, Daniel Dye, Parker Retzlaff, Shane van Gisbergen and Hailie Deegan rounded out the top 20.

Just past the Lap 20 mark and with the majority of the field still running in a long single-file line on the outside lane, Love also continued to lead ahead of teammate Hill, Kligerman, Allgaier and Alfredo. By then, Sammy Smith, Nemechek, Creed, Burton and Truex were running in the top 10 ahead of Custer, Brandon Jones, Allmendinger, Dye and Retzlaff while van Gisbergen moved up to 16th as Herbst fell back to 17th.

Then on Lap 22, the event’s first caution flew when Suarez, who stepped off the gas to avoid running into the rear of van Gisbergen, got bumped and turned into the outside wall entering Turn 1, where he then spun back across the track and clipped Sam Mayer as Mayer hit the outside wall head-on. Hailie Deegan and Kyle Weatherman would also be involved, with all four competitors being eliminated early from contention.

During the event’s first caution period, some led by Love remained on the track while others led by Allgaier pitted for service.

With the event restarting for a one-lap dash to the conclusion of the first stage period on Lap 29, teammates Love and Hill dueled for the lead in front of the field that was fanning out to three tight-packed lanes through the first two turns and the backstretch. When the field returned to the frontstretch to complete the first stage period on Lap 30, Love was able to edge Hill by a hair to claim the first stage victory. Hill ended up second followed by Kligerman, Alfredo and Burton while Creed, Nemechek, Allmendinger, Allgaier and Ryan Truex were scored in the top 10.

Under the stage break, some led by Love pitted while the rest led by Allmendinger remained on the track. During the pit stops, Alfredo was penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation.

The second stage period started on Lap 35 as Allmendinger and Allgaier occupied the front row. At the start, Allmendinger received an early push from Herbst to muscle his No. 16 Celsius Chevrolet Camaro ahead with the lead through the backstretch until Allgaier muscled ahead from the inside lane entering Turns 3 and 4. He would be followed by Cole Custer and Blaine Perkins as the field behind fanned out to three lanes.

Then during the following lap, where Allgaier was pinned in a tight three-wide battle for the lead against Custer and Perkins, the caution returned after Love, who was running in the top 10 but mired in the middle lane amid a stacked field, got loose in front of Nemechek, where he spun, clipped Allmendinger and triggered a multi-car wreck that collected van Gisbergen, Kligerman, Daniel Dye, Alfredo, Josh Williams, Frankie Muniz, Jeremy Clements and Hill, who spun towards the backstretch’s infield, but managed to keep his No. 21 Bennett Chevrolet Camaro away from the inside wall as he proceeded with cosmetic damage.

Following the second carnage of the night, the event proceeded under green on Lap 42, where Allgaier muscled ahead on the outside lane from Stewart-Haas Racing’s Custer and Riley Herbst. Not long after, Custer and Herbst pinned Allgaier in a three-wide battle for the lead as Custer muscled ahead in his No. 00 Haas Ford Mustang from the inside lane. Custer would proceed to lead the next lap, Lap 44, as the field fanned out to three tight-packed lanes while Allgaier was trying to regain ground from the inside lane.

On Lap 44, however, Allgaier, who attempted to draw even with Custer for the lead entering the backstretch, went up the track and bumped against Custer sending Allgaier’s No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet Camaro spinning towards the backstretch’s infield as Garrett Smithley also spun.

When the race restarted on Lap 48, teammates Parker Retzlaff and Jeb Burton zipped by Custer from the inside lane through the first two turns as Clements tried to follow suit. Burton would then move his No. 27 Golden Corral Chevrolet Camaro in front of Clements to be drafted into the lead from Retzlaff during the next lap, with Retzlaff and Clements getting shuffled out of the lead draft while Hill muscled his way back to the front with a bandaged race car.

Following another caution period on Lap 50, where Nemechek spun his No. 20 Pye Barker Toyota Supra across the frontstretch after losing a left-rear tire as Josh Bilicki also got bumped and spun, the event restarted under green on Lap 56, where Burton maintained a brief lead over Ryan Sieg and Hill before he would be pinned in a three-wide battle with Hill and Sheldon Creed for the lead. Following the battle, Hill was back atop the leaderboard during the following lap.

When the second stage period concluded on Lap 60, Hill fended off Sammy Smith and Creed to capture the stage victory. Sammy Smith edged Creed for the runner-up spot while Custer, Sieg, Ryan Truex, Herbst, Allgaier, Allmendinger and Brandon Jones were scored in the top 10.

During the stage break, a bevy of names led by Hill pitted while the rest led by teammate Love remained on the track. Amid the pit stops, Hill, who slid through his pit box, was penalized and sent to the rear of the field for speeding while entering pit road.

With 54 laps remaining, the final stage commenced under green as Love and Sammy Smith occupied the front row. At the start, Sammy Smith muscled his No. 8 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet Camaro into the lead from the inside lane while Love was left to battle Creed for the runner-up spot in front of two stacked lanes. Smith would proceed to lead the next four laps until Herbst moved his No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang into the lead from the outside lane, where he would lead the next four laps.

With 45 laps remaining, select names led by Hill and including teammate Love, Leland Honeyman and Kligerman peeled off the racetrack to pit under green before more names led by Allmendinger and including Sammy Smith, Clements, Daniel Dye, van Gisbergen and Jordan Anderson pitted. Over the next several laps, more names pitted while three names led by Natalie Decker and including Ryan Ellis and Garrett Smithley remained on the track to inherit the top three spots with less than 40 laps remaining.

With 33 laps remaining, Ellis assumed the lead followed by Smithley as Decker dropped to third, though all have yet to pit. Meanwhile, Herbst, the first competitor who pitted, was in fourth and leading a bevy of competitors that fanned out to three lanes.

Then with 24 laps remaining, the caution flew after contact from van Gisbergen sent Jeb Burton spinning entering the frontstretch. By then, Ellis, Smithley and Decker remained on the track as the top-three leaders while Ryan Sieg was the lead competitor of those who pitted followed by Herbst, Custer, Chandler Smith, Hill and Truex. During the caution period, some led by Ellis, Smithley and Decker pitted while the rest, led by Sieg, remained on the track. Not long after, Hill would pit under caution due to a flat tire on his entry.

During the next restart with 18 laps remaining, Sieg received a draft from Herbst to muscle away from Chandler Smith and retain the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch. The caution, however, quickly returned after Retzlaff made contact with Clements exiting the backstretch and ignited another multi-car wreck that included Honeyman, Smithley, van Gisbergen and Burton.

The start of the next restart with 11 laps remaining featured Herbst and Sieg dueling for the lead through the first two turns and through the backstretch as the field slowly started to fan out to three lanes by the time the front-runners returned to the frontstretch. Not long after, however, Herbst was penalized for a restart violation, where he was laying back prior to the restart zone.

Two laps later and a three-wide battle between Herbst, Anderson and Chandler Smith ignited, the caution returned after Karam, who was being drafted at full speed by Allmendinger, bumped and sent Custer into the backstretch’s outside wall, where he then veered back to the left and clipped Karam into the wall as another multi-car wreck ensued that collected Poole, Daniel Dye, Allgaier and Custer, where all four were sent sliding and slamming into one another towards the infield’s grass before the former two slid back across the track. By then and with Herbst out of contention by falling back to the tail of the field, Anderson was scored the leader followed by Chandler Smith, Hill, Sieg and Retzlaff.

As the event restarted with three laps remaining, Chandler Smith muscled into the lead on the inside lane followed by Sieg and Truex. Not long after, Anderson was drafted by Hill into the lead through the backstretch. Hill, however, seized an opportunity to veer to the right and overtake Anderson entering Turns 3 and 4 while Chandler Smith, Retzlaff and Truex followed suit amid the draft. Hill would maintain the lead over Chandler Smith, Truex and a hard-charging Brandon Jones during the next lap followed by Creed as the field began to fan out and scramble to the front.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Hill remained as the leader ahead of ex-teammate Creed, who muscled his way into the runner-up spot followed by Sieg and Sammy Smith while Chandler Smith was losing momentum on the outside lane. Then as the field navigated through the first two turns, Sammy Smith and Sieg made contact that resulted with both along with Truex wrecking. The race, however, remained under green flag conditions as Hill remained ahead of Creed and a scattered field with the lead. With Creed unable to gain any draft or momentum for one final turn, Hill was able to smoothly navigate his way around Turns 3 and 4 with a comfortable advantage at full speed before he returned to the frontstretch and claimed his third consecutive checkered flag at Daytona to commence a new season of competition.

With the victory, Hill achieved his seventh NASCAR Xfinity Series career victory in his 82nd series’ start and his fifth on a superspeedway venue as he also became the first competitor to achieve three consecutive Xfinity Daytona opener victories since Tony Stewart made the last accomplishment from 2008-10, with Stewart proceeding to win a fourth consecutive opener in 2011. Compared to his two previous season-opening victories at Daytona that ended under caution, Hill earned this year’s victory under green flag conditions. The Daytona victory was also the ninth overall in the Xfinity circuit for Richard Childress Racing.

“[Tonight’s victory] tops it all,” Hill said on FS1. “Three-peat. You know how hard it is to win at Daytona? God almighty! I don’t know what was going on with me on pit road today, but my guys just kept telling me, ‘Look, man, dig deep; you’re really good at these superspeedways.’ I tried to screw it up on pit road—sped on pit road, slid through the box, about slid through the box on the first stop, but man, this Bennett Chevrolet was fast as Xfinity 10G, that’s for damn sure. I don’t even know what time it is. I know it’s past my bedtime, but we’re about to party tonight, I can tell you that. I am so stoked. This is incredible…it can’t get any better.”

Creed settled in the runner-up spot for the eighth time in his career and in his first event driving for Joe Gibbs Racing while Retzlaff, Jordan Anderson and Chandler Smith finished in the top five.

Herbst rallied his way to finish sixth while Nemechek, Allgaier, Brandon Jones and Allmendinger completed the top-10 finishing order on the track.

Notably, Ryan Ellis ended up 11th after leading 11 laps followed by newcomer Shane van Gisbergen, Cole Custer, Blaine Perkins and BJ McLeod. In addition, Natalie Decker settled in 18th and pole-sitter Jesse Love ended up 20th while Ryan Truex, Ryan Sieg and Sammy Smith ended up 21st through 23rd, respectively, following their last-lap accident.

There were lead changes for different leaders. The race featured cautions for laps. In addition, 22 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.

Following the first event of the 2024 Xfinity Series season, Austin Hill leads the regular-season standings by 11 points over Sheldon Creed, 24 over Riley Herbst, 25 over both Parker Retzlaff and Justin Allgaier, and 26 over Jordan Anderson.

Results.

1. Austin Hill, nine laps led, Stage 2 winner

2. Sheldon Creed, two laps led

3. Parker Retzlaff, six laps led

4. Jordan Anderson

5. Chandler Smith, one lap led

6. Riley Herbst, eight laps led

7. John Hunter Nemechek

8. Justin Allgaier, eight laps led

9. Brandon Jones

10. AJ Allmendinger, three laps led

11. Ryan Ellis, 11 laps led

12. Shane van Gisbergen

13. Cole Custer, six laps led

14. Blaine Perkins

15. BJ McLeod

16. Garrett Smithley

17. Patrick Emerling

18. Natalie Decker, seven laps led

19. Brennan Poole

20. Jesse Love, 34 laps led, Stage 1 winner

21. Ryan Truex

22. Ryan Sieg, 12 laps led

23. Sammy Smith, one lap down, six laps led

24. Anthony Alfredo, two laps down

25. Parker Kligerman, two laps down

26. Jeb Burton, two laps down, eight laps led

27. Daniel Dye, three laps down

28. Sage Karam – OUT, Accident

29. Jeremy Clements – OUT, DVP

30. Leland Honeyman – OUT, Accident

31. Dawson Cram – OUT, Accident

32. Josh Bilicki – OUT, Accident

33. Frankie Muniz – OUT, DVP

34. Josh Williams – OUT, Accident

35. Daniel Suarez – OUT, Accident

36. Sam Mayer – OUT, Accident

37. Hailie Deegan – OUT, Accident

38. Kyle Weatherman – OUT, Accident

With the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series season underway, the next event on the schedule is Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia, for the RAPTOR King of Tough 250. The event is scheduled to occur next Saturday, February 24, and air at 5 p.m. ET on FS1.

February 20, 2024
The Boo Crew is back as Spartan Waste and Fox Sports Spartanburg return to Jeremy Clements Racing at Martinsville

Spartanburg, SC – Jeremy Clements Racing is ready to haunt down the competition as the Xfinity Series enters the penultimate race of 2023 at Martinsville Speedway with Halloween just a scare away. JCR will attack the Half Mile of Mayhem with a Ghostly livery from primary partners Spartan Waste and Fox Sports Spartanburg entering All Hallows’ Eve weekend.

Also reappearing as associate sponsors will be High Speed Auto and The Racing Warehouse. The Dead On Tools 250 will take place on Saturday, October 28th at 3:30 pm EST on the USA Network.

“Man, it looks like we have started a pretty great tradition! This will be the third consecutive year that the Spartan and Fox crew have partnered with us for the Fall race at Martinsville,” said Clements. “It is always a fun weekend when these guys are on board and even better is that it is also my favorite time of the year, Halloween. We look to have a good run for them and finish these last two races on a high note, ” Clements went on to say.

Additionally, Fox Sports Spartanburg and Spartan Waste will be holding a Green Flag Meet and Greet Party at Rockers Brewing Co. on Wednesday, October 25th from 4:00 – 7:00 EST in Spartanburg.

Also joining Spartan Waste and Fox Sports Spartanburg as associate sponsors will be Whitetail Smokeless, E3 Spark Plugs, Elite Towing & Recovery, Matman Designs, Dynamic Paintware, Nordic Logistics, People of the Woods, Mechanix Wear, Wix Filters, Carolina Driveline, Cometic and ZMAX.

RACE PREVIEW

Track: Martinsville Raceway
Date: Saturday, October 28th, 2023
Broadcast Information: TV: 3:30 pm EST on USA

FAST FACTS:

Best Start 11th – 2021
Best Finish 9th – 2021
7th career start at Martinsville

JCR TEAM

Crew Chief: Mark Setzer
Manufacturer: Chevrolet
Engine: Clements Racing Engines

ABOUT SPARTAN WASTE

Spartan Waste is a locally owned trash collection company that services communities throughout the upstate of South Carolina. Friendly, professional and dependable, we take pride in the work we do, the customers we serve, and, in the place, we call home. Keep it Clean. For more information visit spartan-waste.com.

ABOUT FOX SPORTS SPARTANBURG 1400

Spartanburg Sports are on Fox Sports 1400 / 98.3 Spartanburg. Home to the Spartanburg Vikings, Gamecock Baseball, and of course Open Mic Daily with Hauser and Clary. Fox Sports 1400 Spartanburg will feature: The Dan Patrick 9 am-noon The Herd with Colin Cowherd 12-3 pm Open Mic Daily 3-6 pm SportsTalk with Phil Kornblut 6-8 pm On Saturdays: The Saturday Sports Report 7-10 am, Start Your Engines 10 am-12 pm. To listen live check out www.spartanburgsportsradio.com.

October 16, 2023