Sam Mayer Wins at Charlotte's ROVAL to Stay Alive in the NASCAR Xfinity Playoffs

CONCORD, NC – RIS – Sam Mayer looked straight in the eye of elimination in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the ROVAL in Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday and rallied to win.  It was the third career win for the 20-year-old driver for JR Motorsports, who was ranked 12th and last in the standings as four drivers vied for the five open slots in the round of eight of the playoffs for NASCAR’s second-tier series. All three of Mayer’s wins this season are on road courses.

“Our car was so fast, it really felt unbeatable,” Mayer said. “We kicked their tails today and it just feels so great. Winning solves everything, that’s the name of the game. This is our second-chance moment, I think we can make something out of this.”

Justin Allgaier, John Hunter Nemechek and Cole Custer had already locked themselves in to the round of eight before the race on Charlotte’s hybrid road course/oval. The remaining five spots were essentially up for grabs and Mayer dominated the race.

A late caution caused him to concede the lead for a pit stop that put Mayer fourth on the restart. Allgaier and Jeb Burton did not pit and restarted as the leaders, but crashed each other headed into the first turn. It brought out another caution and Mayer had to chase down Custer with five laps remaining to maintain his title chances.

Daniel Hemric, Parker Kligerman, Josh Berry and Burton were eliminated from the playoffs. Hemric was the reigning Xfinity Series champion and was in a three-wide race to the finish line as he tried to squeeze the extra points needed to avoid elimination. Hemric finished seventh overall, and third in that race with Kligerman and Kaz Grala.

“I was in the best position I could be, just came up a little short,” Hemric said. “Before the day started I said ‘Be humble in victory and gracious in defeat’ and we were defeated in this round. That’s the way it goes.”

Mayer is the first new Xfinity Series winner in five years at The Roval. Chase Briscoe won the inaugural race on the 2.32-mile road course in 2018, then AJ Allmendinger won the next four. Briscoe and Allmendinger are running the Cup race on Sunday, and neither is in playoff contention.

Unofficial Results: Drive for the Cure 250 presented by BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina - Saturday, October 7, 2023,Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course
Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
1) 1, Sam Mayer (P), No. 1 Accelerate Pros Talent Chevrolet, 67, 8, 4, 50, 5, 7, 47, Running
2) 7, Cole Custer (P), No. 00 Haas Automation Ford, 67, , 1, 4, , , 35, Running
3) 3, Josh Berry (P), No. 8 High Rock Vodka Chevrolet, 67, , , , , , 34, Running
4) 9, Riley Herbst, No. 98 Monster Energy Ford, 67, , , , , , 33, Running
5) 14, Kaz Grala, No. 26 CRUSH Strawberry Lemonade Toyota, 67, , , , , , 32, Running
6) 6, Parker Kligerman (P), No. 48 Spiked Light Coolers Chevrolet, 67, 4, , , , 3, 46, Running
7) 4, Daniel Hemric (P), No. 10 Action Industries Chevrolet, 67, 2, , , , 2, 48, Running
8) 38, John Hunter Nemechek (P), No. 20 Mobil 1 Toyota, 67, , 1, 2, 1, 1, 39, Running
9) 8, Austin Hill (P), No. 21 Bennett Transportation Chevrolet, 67, 5, , , , , 34, Running
10) 5, Sheldon Creed (P), No. 2 Whelen/Team Fox Chevrolet, 67, 3, , , , 4, 42, Running
11) 22, Sammy Smith # (P), No. 18 Pilot Flying J Toyota, 67, 7, , , , 6, 35, Running
12) 17, Chandler Smith # (P), No. 16 Barger Precast/Quick Tie Products Inc. Chevrolet, 67, 6, , , , 8, 33, Running
13) 25, Ryan Sieg, No. 39 Sci Aps Ford, 67, , , , , , 24, Running
14) 31, Myatt Snider (P), No. 19 Tree Top Toyota, 67, , , , , , 23, Running
15) 10, Alex Labbe, No. 91  Chevrolet, 67, , , , , 5, 28, Running
16) 12, Jordan Taylor, No. 11 LA Golf Chevrolet, 67, , , , , , 21, Running
17) 32, Brennan Poole, No. 6 Azalea Gynecology Chevrolet, 67, , , , , , 20, Running
18) 29, Stefan Parsons, No. 08 Miller Street Dance Academy Chevrolet, 67, , , , , 10, 20, Running
19) 28, Rajah Caruth(i), No. 44 Circle Chevrolet, 67, , , , , , 0, Running
20) 33, Josh Williams, No. 92 Alloy Employer/Call 811 Chevrolet, 67, , , , , , 17, Running
21) 26, Leland Honeyman, No. 45 Eighth Order Chevrolet, 67, , , , , , 16, Running
22) 23, Parker Retzlaff #, No. 31 FUNKAWAY Chevrolet, 67, , , , , , 15, Running
23) 15, Jeremy Clements, No. 51 Kevin Whitaker Chevrrolet Chevrolet, 67, , , , , , 14, Running
24) 16, Connor Mosack, No. 24 Sherry Strong Toyota, 67, , , , , , 13, Running
25) 18, Josh Bilicki, No. 07 Engine Parts Plus Ford, 67, 10, , , , 9, 15, Running
26) 13, Kyle Weatherman, No. 4 TeamJDMotorsports.com Chevrolet, 67, , , , , , 11, Running
27) 20, Sage Karam, No. 66 Custom Patch Hats Ford, 67, , , , , , 10, Running
28) 24, Blaine Perkins #, No. 02 Gratis Chevrolet, 67, , , , , , 9, Running
29) 11, Brandon Jones, No. 9 Menards/Pentair Myers Chevrolet, 67, , , , , , 8, Running
30) 21, Anthony Alfredo, No. 78 Blue Otter Polarized Chevrolet, 67, , , , , , 7, Running
31) 35, Joe Graf Jr., No. 38 G-Coin Ford, 67, , , , , , 6, Running
32) 36, Kyle Sieg, No. 28  Ford, 67, , , , , , 5, Running
33) 37, Alex Guenette, No. 35 National Fire Protection Association Toyota, 67, , , , , , 4, Running
34) 19, Jeb Burton (P), No. 27 Fly Alliance/Puryear Chevrolet, 66, 9, 1, 1, , , 5, Running
35) 34, Conor Daly(i), No. 53 National Fire Protection Association Chevrolet, 66, , , , , , 0, Running
36) 30, Ryan Ellis, No. 43 Southern Elevator Chevrolet, 63, , , , , , 1, Accident
37) 2, Justin Allgaier (P), No. 7 BRANDT/BRANDT Foundation Chevrolet, 60, 1, 3, 10, 1, , 11, Accident
38) 27, Brett Moffitt, No. 25 Superior Pools & Spas Ford, 40, , , , , , 1, Ignition
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie, (P) Playoffs

Race Length: 67 Laps - 155.44 Miles
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 0 Mins, 31 Secs.
Average Speed: 77.387 mph
Margin of Victory: 0.909 Seconds
Stage 1 Top 10: 7, 10, 2, 48, 21, 16, 18, 1, 27, 07
Stage 2 Top 10: 20, 10, 48, 2, 91, 18, 1, 16, 07, 08
Comments: Sam Mayer has won the Drive for the Cure 250 presented by BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course, his third career victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
Prior to the start, the following vehicle(s) dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reason(s) indicated: Nos. 20, 28, 39, 51, 53, 92 (unapproved adjustments). 
Failed to Qualify: (4) 87 Andy Lally, 50 Preston Pardus, 17 Boris Said, 74 Devin Jones.
Cautions: 4 for 12 laps;
Laps: 22-24 (Stage 1 Conclusion [25]);
40-43 (No. 53 Spin Turn 15/Stage 2 Conclusion [92]);
57-59 (Debris Turn 17 [43]);
61-62 (Nos. 7, 27 Incident Turn 1 [53]).

Lead Changes: 10 among 5 drivers;
J. Allgaier (P) 1-4;
S. Mayer (P) 5-17;
J. Allgaier (P) 18-22;
S. Mayer (P) 23-38;
J. Nemechek (P) 39-40;
S. Mayer (P) 41-57;
J. Burton (P) 58;
J. Allgaier (P) 59;
C. Custer (P) 60-63;
S. Mayer (P) 64-67.