For the first time ever, Sam Mayer wins on an oval in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. He’s advancing to Phoenix! Holding off Riley Herbst in the final laps, Mayer has his fourth win of the year and his career, and the first non-road course win of his career.
Sam Mayer advances to the Championship 4 at Phoenix in just two weeks. He will not have to worry about Martinsville a week from now. Herbst couldn’t go back-to-back after his win at Las Vegas a week ago.
Sheldon Creed stayed out hoping to get a late caution and put his fresh tires on. That caution never came.
Sam Mayer did get into the wall a bit at the end, but he never lifted and just kept on going. This is truly a breakthrough season for Mayer. The 20-year-old is going to compete for his first-ever championship!
Sam Mayer might have enemies. He might rub some people the wrong way. However, he’s a damn good race car driver. He put together a really strong race. While Cole Custer led for 114 laps, a right front flat caused him to pit late. It would then turn into a penalty on pit road which put Custer a lap down.
With the fastest car all day out of the way, Sam Mayer didn’t have too much trouble. He took over the lead and never really gave it up. Riley Herbst really gave it his all on that last lap, but it wasn’t meant to be.
Sam Mayer gets it done at Homestead-Miami
Well, now we’re going to see a battle for the final three spots in the Championship 4. John Hunter Nemechek (+44), Cole Custer (+3), Austin Hill (+3), and Justin Allgaier (-3) will have their work cutout for them. Of course, a win from any of the Round of 8 drivers gets them an automatic spot in the championship.
That includes Sammy Smith (-49), Chandler Smith (-54), and Sheldon Creed (-65).
How about this track, folks? And how about this Xfinity Series package that we have? Great racing almost every week. You get finishes like we saw today. Twists and turns. Tires were eaten up and cautions flew when you didn’t expect them to.
John Hunter Nemechek is likely going to lock into the championship race with a start next week. He’s 44 points ahead of the cutline and won’t need much to get himself to the next round, even without a win.
Sam Mayer’s team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. was in this race as well. He finished P5 for his 71st career top-5 in the Xfinity Series. The two-time champion looked really good late in this race. I would have loved to have seen a late restart.
Mayer onto Phoenix. Four wins and a lot of momentum for the final two weeks of the season.
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