NASCAR
Mayer Seals the Deal for First Xfinity Short Track Triumph from Iowa Speedway
NEWTON, Iowa – ‘Superman’ Sam Mayer slowly trended better throughout Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at Iowa Speedway. Third in Stage 1 and second in Stage 2, Mayer was the man out front for much of Stage 3. Having to avoid heavy tire wear and fight off an overtime finish, Mayer grabs his second win of 2024. This also marks his first Xfinity Series short track victory.
Chandler Smith was a man on a mission in the early laps. The No. 81 Mobil1 Toyota led all but 25 laps through both Stages. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver was gunning for a max-points day with a sweep.
Restarting third to begin Stage 3, Smith’s car was soon sent back to 12th however. This exchange saw Sam Mayer take command for the first time all afternoon.
Despite a partial repave, the mantra of the race was tire conservation. Blowouts and hard wall contact ended the days for AJ Allmendinger, Jesse Love, and Justin Allgaier across the afternoon.
Austin Hill would also be sidelined with a tire failure, as he was running second in the closing laps. The No. 21 was on slightly older scuff tires before his left front gave out.
One final prerace favorite would suffer a late tire blowout–John Hunter Nemechek. Getting a tire rub by restart contact from teammate Sheldon Creed, the No. 20 found the outside wall inside the final 10 laps.
This obliterating of the field allowed Sam Mayer to hold the lead. In overtime, the JR Motorsports No. 1 cleared Riley Herbst and set sail for victory lane.
“We struggled yesterday, and this Roto-Rooter team went to work,” Mayer said. “Obviously we did pretty good overnight, making good decisions on this racecar. Huge thanks to everyone at the HMS Engine Shop, JRM, Rigid, Roto-Rooter, everyone on board this car this weekend. Man I’m out of breath, I was just huffing in a bunch of smoke. I feel really good, I could do another 100 laps for sure. With a racecar like this it’d be a lot of fun.”
“We definitely got a little bit tight there at the end of the second Stage. I was a little concerned there, but Mardy (Lindley, crew chief) said the tires looked all good. We took care of it, did our job, and now we can celebrate.”
Behind Mayer was Riley Herbst, who was none too pleased with how he was raced. Herbst showed his displeasure to Mayer by popping his tire on the cool down lap. Corey Heim, Sammy Smith, and Sheldon Creed rounded out the top-five. Cole Custer, Matt DiBenedetto, Chandler Smith, Ross Chastain, and Daniel Dye were the top-10.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series returns with their 16th race of 2024 Saturday from New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The Sci Apps 200 goes green at 3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Only 11 races remain until the Xfinity Series Playoffs, with plenty of talented drivers still searching for victory lane.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to Sean Gardner/Getty Images
