Sam Mayer scores third career Xfinity win (2024)

Here are some final notes from the Xfinity elimination race at the Charlotte Roval.

A big gamble and a big crash

Justin Allgaier and the No. 7 team had an opportunity to bookend the Round of 12 with wins. He won at Bristol and then he put himself in position to win at the Roval.

Allgaier had stopped on pit road for fresh tires just prior to a caution for debris, which set him up to stay out on the track while the majority of leaders headed down pit road for stops of their own.

Allgaier did not inherit the lead. This went to Jeb Burton, who made a gamble of his own by staying out on old tires. He tried something different in order to potentially fight for the win. It did not pay off.

Burton was the control car on the Lap 59 restart. He led the way to the restart zone with Allgaier on his outside. He exited the chicane and headed toward Turn 1 trying to clear for the lead.

Burton lost control entering Turn 1 and slid into Allgaier. This sent the No. 7 hard into the wall and ended Allgaier’s day. Burton finished 34th and one lap down.

The Jordan Anderson Racing driver told media members after the race that he made a mistake.

“I respect Justin a tremendous amount,” Burton said. “Never really had a problem on the racetrack at all. Total accident. Total screw up on my part.

“I wish he wouldn’t have been there and I would have just wrecked myself. I was wrecking if he was there or not. He was just a victim of my wreck is what happened.”

The race-ending wreck did not knock Allgaier out of playoff contention. He had a secure spot in the Round of 8 after winning at Bristol. Burton was eliminated after entering the Roval race in a must-win situation.

The wreck had a larger impact on the playoff picture. It set up a restart with Sam Mayer and Cole Custer on the front row. Mayer, who was below the cutline, went on to win his way into the Round of 8.

Recovering from embarrassment and celebrating a win

Mayer scored two wins and secured his spot in the playoffs but entered the Round of 12 without momentum. The reason is that he crashed in the regular-season finale at Kansas and finished outside of the top 30.

Mayer also struggled in the first two races of the playoffs. He crashed at Bristol and at Texas. His best finish was 35th. This dropped him well below the cutline but it did not remove any of the confidence that he had in himself and his team.

“Having six points in three races is more embarrassing than anything else,” Mayer said. “And we kind of went in this weekend like we knew we had to win and get in. There’s really no other way and we kind of just used the confidence of road courses in general to kind of push us to go win.”

Having confidence is one part of the process. Delivering under pressure is something else entirely. Numerous drivers in the past have crumbled in the “Game 7 moment.”

Mayer was not in this group. He went out, dominated a race and scored the win that kept him alive in the playoffs. He did not get overwhelmed by the moment.

“I was able to stay calm because I knew the car was good. All I had to do is take care of it and be there at the end,” Mayer said. "(Spotter Kevin Hamlin) on top of the roof and (crew chief Mardy Lindley) on the box, they’re really good at calming me down if I ever get too crazy. Today, we never got crazy enough to really have to calm me down.”

A photo finish determined the final transfer spot

While Mayer focused on closing out his third career road course win, two drivers tried to point their way into the Round of 8.

Daniel Hemric was two points out in seventh. Parker Kligerman was five points out in sixth. They were both trying to erase Sheldon Creed’s points advantage.

Hemric knew that he needed to pass both Kligerman and Kaz Grala on the final lap to put himself in a tie with Creed. He was only two points back and he had the tiebreaker based on his second-place finish at Bristol. Creed’s best finish in the round was eighth at Texas.

Hemric, Kligerman and Grala went three-wide crossing the finish line. This was the final opportunity for Hemric to make the necessary passes but he fell just short of advancing to the Round of 8.

Grala crossed the finish line ahead of the two other drivers. He was fifth in the overall running order. Kligerman was sixth and .001 seconds behind. Hemric was third in this group and seventh in the race. He missed out on advancing to the Round of 8 by two points.

“Be humble in victory and gracious in defeat,” Hemric told NBC Sports after the race. “We were defeated this round. That’s the way it goes. We carry on.”

Hemric will not have an opportunity to win his second Xfinity title. Instead, he will close out the season and then move up to the Cup Series next season. Kligerman will return to the Xfinity Series in 2024 with the goal of returning to the playoffs.

Hemric will have something to puruse, however. He was able to put the No. 10 entry into the Round of 8 of the owner championship. If Hemric can string together strong performances at Las Vegas, Homestead and Martinsville, he could potentially put the entry in the Championship 4.

Sam Mayer scored seven stage points before winning his third race of the season.

Click here to see where everyone finished.

Click here for the post-race penalty report.

Click here for the cumulative race report.

The points have reset after the elimination race at the Charlotte Roval. Four drivers are above the initial cutline heading to Las Vegas next week. Four are below.

Reseeded driver points | Reseeded owner points

John Hunter Nemechek, the winningest driver in the series, sits atop the standings. He is 37 points above the cutline. Regular-season champion Austin Hill is second in the standings and 21 points above the cutline. Justin Allgaier (+17) and Sam Mayer (+2) are the two other drivers sitting above the cutline entering the Round of 8.

Cole Custer is the first driver below the cutline. He is two points below Mayer. Rookie Chandler Smith is 11 points below while Sheldon Creed is 12 points below. Rookie Sammy Smith is the last driver in the Round of 8. He is 14 points below the cutline.

Three races stand between these final eight drivers and the coveted spots in the Championship Round. They first go to Las Vegas before heading to Homestead-Miami Speedway. The elimination race takes place at Martinsville Speedway.

Hill will have an opportunity ahead of him in the Round of 8 opener. He won the spring race at Las Vegas and can sweep the season with a second trip to Victory Lane. Doing so would put him in the Championship 4 for the first time in his career.

Custer is in a similar position heading to Homestead-Miami Speedway, one of his best tracks. He won the Xfinity race at the Florida track during the 2017 season. He finished second in the 2018 and 2019 season finales. He will have the opportunity to win and put himself in contention for a championship for the third time.

Nemechek will be a driver to watch heading to the Round of 8 finale at Martinsville. He won the spring race at the historic short track, his second of seven wins this season. This was his first Xfinity start at Martinsville, and it was the third straight Martinsville win for Joe Gibbs Racing.

Three possible spots are open to winners. One is available by virtue of points alone. Winning is not a requirement for championship-hopeful drivers. Though it will make the path to Phoenix easier.

Sam Mayer has delivered the biggest performance of his Xfinity career. He has won his way into the Round of 8.

Mayer made his move when it mattered. Cole Custer took the lead on the final restart but Mayer used contact to get to his inside. The Wisconsin native then took the lead and held on for the final four laps of the race.

Mayer scored his third career win — his third this season — and locked up his spot in the next round of the playoffs. He also eliminated Daniel Hemric, Parker Kligerman, Jeb Burton and Josh Berry.

The caution has flown again at the Charlotte Roval. A multi-car incident in Turn 1 was the cause.

The incident happened on the restart. Jeb Burton, who was on old tires, was not able to make the corner. He slid into Justin Allgaier and sent the No. 7 into the outside wall. This contact ended Allgaier’s day.

Cole Custer jumped to the lead ahead of Sam Mayer. Josh Berry moved into third ahead of Riley Herbst. Parker Kligerman rounded out the top five.

Allgaier already has a spot in the Round of 8 after winning at Bristol. Burton was in a must-win situation entering the Roval race.

The field will line back up for a restart at the Charlotte Roval after the caution flew with 55 laps to go.

According to radio chatter from the tower, the cause of the caution was debris on the track.

Justin Allgaier was on pit road at the time of the caution. He had stopped for fresh tires. He then merged back onto the track in 21st.

This gamble paid off. The majority of the field stopped for fresh tires, led by Sam Mayer. Allgaier was able to stay out and move into second. Jeb Burton inherited the lead after staying out as well.

The decision to pit benefited Cole Custer and Riley Herbst. Both drivers were able to pass Mayer exiting pit road.

The second stage has come to a close at the Charlotte Roval with John Hunter Nemechek locking up a playoff point. Though he did so under caution.

Several playoff drivers stopped for tires and fuel before pit road closed so that they could flip the field during the final stage. Nemechek inherited the lead by staying out while Daniel Hemric moved into second by staying out as well.

The drivers were not able to complete the final two laps of the stage. A flat tire sent Conor Daly spinning into the outside wall just past pit road. NASCAR threw the caution and brought the stage to an end.

Parker Kligerman in third, Sheldon Creed in fourth, Sammy Smith in sixth, Sam Mayer in seventh and Chandler Smith in eighth were the other playoff drivers scoring stage points.

Justin Allgaier voiced concern as the stage ended. He asked his team if they had tightened every single lug nut on his car during the pit stop. They had to go to the footage.

Josh Berry flipped the field by pitting early in stage 1. He was able to move into second for the stage 2 restart but did not hold on to this spot.

Berry spun on Lap 33 of the race. He was running second at the time, but he lost 11 spots while sitting against the wall.

Berry was able to get moving once again. He set out to regain some of his lost spots while Cole Custer moved into second.

Berry entered the weekend in a must-win situation. He couldn’t pass Daniel Hemric, Parker Kligerman and other bubble drivers on points alone. He needed to win to move on after two straight finishes of 27th or worse.

The incident benefited Sam Mayer. He extended his lead over second place by more than five seconds. He continued to hold this advantage while moving closer to the end of stage 2.

Justin Allgaier has won the first stage at the Charlotte Roval and locked up a playoff point.

Allgaier made the decision to stay out on the track when leader Sam Mayer pitted with three laps to go. He already had a secure spot in the next round, so he was able to add more points to his total.

Mayer needs a win to reach the next round of the playoffs. He was able to pit early so that he could try to gain track position during the stage break. He still finished the stage in eighth.

Daniel Hemric ended the stage second and scored nine points. He was followed by Sheldon Creed, Parker Kligerman, Austin Hill, Chandler Smith, Sammy Smith, Jeb Burton and Mayer. Josh Bilicki rounded out the top 10.

Josh Berry and Cole Custer both missed out on stage points after running inside of the top 10. They pitted before Mayer to flip the stage. Berry worked his way up to 11th by the end of the stage. Custer was 17th.

Burton received a penalty during the stage break caution. He was caught speeding in section 7 of pit road. He had to drop to the rear of the field for the stage 2 start.

The Xfinity teams have completed 11 laps at the Charlotte Roval. Sam Mayer has capitalized by taking back the lead from Justin Allgaier. Meanwhile, a bubble driver has moved backward.

Parker Kligerman started the elimination race sixth. He was one row behind Daniel Hemric, the driver he is battling for the final transfer spot to the Round of 8.

Hemric ran in fourth early before losing a position to Sheldon Creed. Kligerman was in sixth but fell to seventh after being passed by Cole Custer.

The battle was not over. Austin Hill got to Kligerman’s bumper and began to challenge him for seventh as the first stage reached its halfway point.

The Xfinity Series elimination race at the Charlotte Roval is officially underway.

Sam Mayer led the field to the green flag with Justin Allgaier on his outside. They entered the new restart in the chicane and then raced across the start-finish line.

Mayer and Allgaier remained side-by-side through Turns 1-3. Allgaier then cleared for the lead after moving Mayer up in Turn 3. This was the result of Mayer being unable to clear for the lead on the inside.

The field settled behind Allgaier and Mayer. Josh Berry moved into third while Sheldon Creed took over fourth. Daniel Hemric rounded out the top five.

John Hunter Nemechek, who started from the rear after his team discovered an oil leak, worked his way up to 33rd by the end of Lap 1.

There were six road course races and one street race during the Xfinity regular season. None featured breaks between the stages. The drivers would take the green and white checkered flag and then they would continue jockeying for position. The top 10 drivers all scored stage points as usual.

NASCAR announced prior to the start of the playoffs that this was only for the regular season. The stage breaks returned for the Roval playoff race. There will be a caution at the end of each stage, which will bunch the field back up for restarts.

With the stage breaks returning, there will be extra attention on the final few laps of the first two stages. The drivers that are in a must-win situation will potentially pit before the pits close with two laps to go so that they can gain track position during the caution break.

The drivers that have an opportunity to point their way into the playoffs, such as Parker Kligerman and Daniel Hemric, will potentially stay out to the end of the first two stages to get as many points as possible.

Other storylines to watch:

--Sam Mayer scored his first two career wins during the regular season. He crashed in the regular season finale at Kansas but entered the playoffs above the cutline. Mayer has since crashed in the first two playoff races while finishing 35th or worse. Now he is 34 points out of the final transfer spot.

The race at the Roval provides an opportunity for Mayer, who starts from the pole. Both of his wins this season were on road courses. He broke through at Road America and then won at Watkins Glen after moving Ty Gibbs out of the way. If Mayer can continue this success during Saturday’s race at the Roval, he could move back into championship contention while shaking up the leaderboard.

--There are multiple drivers that could clinch spots in the Round of 8 in the first two stages of the Roval race. Austin Hill only needs 13 points to move on. He can get this with a 24th-place finish in the race or with enough points in the first two stages. Doing so would offset any potential issues that could arise as drivers begin to make desperate moves in pursuit of a win as the laps count down.

Chandler Smith can move to the next round with 25 points. This is the equivalent of a 12th-place finish without any stage points. Smith finished 12th at Circuit of the Americas, ninth at Portland, 14th at Sonoma, eighth at Chicago and eighth at Watkins Glen. He finished 34th and 37th at Road America (crash) and Watkins Glen (mechanical).

Sam Mayer will lead the Xfinity Series field to the green flag for Saturday afternoon’s race at the Charlotte Roval (3 p.m. ET, NBC and Peaco*ck).

Mayer won the pole with a lap of 101.798 mph. This is his second career pole. His first was at the Charlotte oval last season.

Justin Allgaier will start second with a lap of 101.751 mph. Allgaier is followed by Josh Berry (101.225 mph), Daniel Hemric (101.177 mph) and Sheldon Creed (101.059 mph).

MORE: Xfinity starting lineup

Parker Kligerman in sixth (100.994 mph), Cole Custer in seventh (100.939 mph) and Austin Hill in eighth (100.877 mph) are the only other playoff drivers inside of the top 10.

Chandler Smith will line up 16th with a lap of 100.163 mph. Jeb Burton will line up 19th with a lap of 100.077 mph. Sammy Smith will line up 22nd with a lap of 99.842 mph.

John Hunter Nemechek, the series wins leader, was not able to complete a lap during qualifying. His team discovered an oil leak and had to make repairs before the race. He will line up at the rear of the field.

Jordan Taylor, making his second Xfinity start with Kaulig Racing, will line up 12th with a lap of 100.463 mph.

Conor Daly pulled off the track early in practice with smoke billowing from the No. 53 Emerling-Gase Motorsports entry. He was still able to qualify. Daley will line up 34th with a lap of 98.666 mph.

Boris Said, attempting to make his first start for Hendrick Motorsports at the age of 61, had an issue during the first round of qualifying. This led to extensive cleanup efforts. Said failed to qualify for Saturday’s race.