NASCAR
HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Reminiscent to the Truck race hours earlier, a young hotshot Xfinity Series driver took the big leap forward into championship contention. Sam Mayer narrowly held off a hard-charging Riley Herbst at Homestead for career win number four, all coming since July. His first Xfinity oval victory puts Mayer through to the Championship 4, a privilege nobody else has. Thanks to an extra week of preparation, Mayer could be a sleeper favorite for the 2023 title.
Early on at Homestead it was very much the Cole Custer clinic. After starting on pole, the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford quickly built up a large lead. The 2017 Homestead winner won Stage 1, and was a close third in Stage 2. Custer’s apparent cruise to victory lane would only be disrupted by a flat tire, coming with 50 laps left.
Trouble! The No. 00 is in the wall! He’ll have to pit. #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/gfwUpL2O1Z
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) October 21, 2023
Custer’s misfortunes sent him two laps off the pace, but he did rally to finish 13th. The 00 faltering handed the lead to Sam Mayer’s No. 1, who remained undefeated for the final 30 laps.
On a late restart a few of Mayer’s teammates ran into trouble further back. After unknowingly being put three-wide out of turn two, Dale Earnhardt Jr drifted wide into the path of Josh Berry. The No. 8 was sent hard into the wall and out of contention.
Contact between the Nos. 8 and 88 will bring out the yellow. pic.twitter.com/KemGQ3fcJC
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) October 21, 2023
While one Stewart-Haas Ford was set back, another one put intense pressure on Mayer late. After taking second, Riley Herbst began quickly closing in on the 1. By the last lap, Herbst was on Mayer’s bumper. Even with Mayer scraping the turn four wall, the 1 beat the 98 back to the line. Sam Mayer will now battle for the Xfinity Series championship in two weeks at Phoenix.
“It’s unreal, we won on an oval,’’ Mayer said. “This Chevrolet Camaro was so good. Obviously the 00 was fast but so were we. It’s all about putting a full race together, and I’m so proud of these guys. They kicked tail on pit road and we made it happen with these HMS (Hendrick Motorsports) engines.”
“It’s just really cool to be able to beat an amazing organization like [Stewart-Haas]. We’ve got to turn it on a little harder going into Phoenix. Getting that first oval win was big. We finally won on an oval and my confidence is feeling good.”
Behind Mayer and Herbst, the Homestead top-five were John Hunter Nemechek, Austin Hill, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Nemechek muscled out a top-three effort despite being under the weather, and fan-favorite Earnhardt’s second race ends in a top-five. The rest of the top-10 were: Daniel Hemric, Parker Kligerman, Brandon Jones, Sammy Smith, and Joe Graf Jr.
Mayer is currently the only Xfinity Series driver locked into the championship finale at Phoenix. Nemechek has a large points buffer, but three drivers are separated by only three points at the cut line. Three other drivers face a must-win scenario to make Phoenix. Take a look at the current Xfinity Series standings below.
The points picture heading into the Round of 8 closer. #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/YKux46tM6I
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) October 21, 2023
The Round of 8 ends for Xfinity contenders at Martinsville Speedway next Saturday. The Dead On Tools 250 will decide Mayer’s three competitors for the 2023 title. The green flag will fly at 3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Plenty of drivers are hungry and desperate enough to leave it all on the Half-Mile of Mayhem at Martinsville.
Written by Peter Stratta
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