CONCORD, N.C. — Sam Mayer had one job to do when he showed up at the Drive For The Cure 250 on Saturday afternoon at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL.
Win.
In order for the JR Motorsports driver to advance to the Round of Eight in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Mayer needed to earn the victory, which would automatically provide him with a berth in the next playoff round.
The reason: In the last three races, his best finish has been 35th.
But not to worry. Mayer stated a clear case in his No. 1 Chevrolet from the get-go, taking initial control from pole position and moving on to lead 50 laps over the course of the 67-lap race.
Though he slipped from the lead on lap 57 after the pit cycle, Mayer soon found himself back in contention for the win as he lined up on the outside of Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer for the final restart with six laps to go.
The No. 00 Ford took the line away from Mayer as the pair headed into turn one, but the No. 1 remained hot on his bumper. With four laps to go, the JR Motorsports driver was finally able to clear Custer, resuming control of the race.
He crossed the finish line .909 seconds ahead of the No. 00. It was his third win of the season.
“Our car was unbeatable all day. I really could do no wrong. We took what’s ours today,” Mayer said. “Having six points in three races is more embaressing than anything else. We came into this weekend knowing we had to win and get in.”
Meanwhile, Custer was both pleased and disappointed with his runner-up performance.
“I’ll be replaying those last few laps in my head the next few days, trying to see what I could’ve done better. But overall, we just didn’t quite have the short run speed today. Sam (Mayer) would pull us for the first five laps or so every run, and that’s kind of what it came down to,” Custer said.
JR Motorsports driver Josh Berry finished third, but unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to lock him into the next playoff round. Stewart-Haas Racing driver Riley Herbst was fourth, while Sam Hunt Racing’s Kaz Grala came in fifth.
“We had the speed all weekend. Was able to run in the top-five there at the end even with a couple guys fighting hard, battling for the playoff bubble. I had to be aggressive and smart at the same time knowing what we had to lose, and that they didn’t care,” Grala said.
Parker Kligerman, Daniel Hemric, John Hunter Nemechek, Austin Hill and Sheldon Creed completed the top 10.
Justin Allgaier won stage one, while Nemechek won the second stage.
Allgaier, who was a challenger for the lead throughout the race, was taken out of contention on a restart with eight laps to go. Jeb Burton, who held the inside line in his No. 27 entry, lost control heading into turn one and slammed the No. 7 of Allgaier into the wall.
Burton finished 34th, while Allgaier finished 37th.
“It was a total accident. I was wrecking if he was there or not. Hard impact for me, I know it was a hard impact for Justin (Allgaier) so I hope he’s okay,” Burton said. “We tore up our car there. That was unacceptable on my part. It wasn’t like we were going to win the race right there. I just sailed it off in there, wanted to stay side-by-side with the 7, and totally blew the corner.”
There were four total cautions.
Playoff Update
Along with Berry, Kligerman, Hemric and Burton were eliminated from the playoffs.
“I felt like we had a top three car, we were in position to get every point we could and we did that,” Kligerman said. “I really, really, really am disappointed — not just to not have the chance to go out and race for a championship, but I absolutely loved the experience of being in these playoffs and making it in.”
It was the inaugural playoff experience for both Kligerman and Big Machine Racing.
It also was the first year that Burton’s team, Jordan Anderson Racing, made the playoffs.
“We put ourselves in a box the last few weeks, from going to a backup car at Bristol, we cut a tire down and at Texas we catastrophically fell apart, but proud of the team,” Burton said.
The Round of Eight will consist of Nemechek, Hill, Allgaier, Mayer, Custer, Chandler Smith, Creed and Sammy Smith.