Sam Mayer Scores Homestead Oval Win

Sam Mayer, driver of the #1 Accelerate Pros Talent Chevrolet, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Xfinity Series Contender Boats 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on October 21, 2023 in Homestead, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)

View Image Gallery

(HOMESTEAD, FL – OCT 21, 2023 – RIS) Sam Mayer held off a charging Riley Herbst to claim his fourth checkered flag of the 2023 Xfinity season and first career oval track win. Mayer’s team owner, Dale Earnhardt Jr, placed fifth after touching Josh Berry and sending the driver for his team into the wall and out of the race.

Allgaier’s left-rear wheel was loose in the third stage, forcing him to stop for a new wheel and dropping him a lap down but the new tires let him run a second a lap faster than leader Cole Custer in his chase to get back on the lead lap after pitting out of the top ten positions. Crew Chief James Pohlman commented that the threads on the wheel studs might have been damaged and Allgaier reported to the crew that the vibration was no better than before the wheel change.

Cole Custer had the right front tire go down as he exited the fourth turn and had to drive all the way around the track with the damage before pitting. Allgaier had to pit again with the vibration from the earlier damage and Custer’s crew got a drive-through penalty for too many men across the wall, dropping the early dominator down two laps.

With under 40 laps to run, a caution flew for a loose wheel and tire resting against the outside pit wall, setting up strategy calls for teams with tires left. Sam Mayer and Austin Hill led, with Hill taking the lead on the restart, then Josh Berry hit the wall after Earnhardt Jr’s car got loose and tapped the No. 8, causing it to slam the wall. Junior commented that he didn’t know anybody was to the outside and reported that he had a flat tire resulting from the contact.

The green flag came back out with 23 laps remaining in the race, Sam Mayer, ustin Hill, Riley Herbst, John Hunter Nemechek and Brandon Jones the top five, Mayer moving out to a lead of a half second in only one lap.

Riley Herbst, winner last week at Las Vegas, closed on Mayber by over a quarter second a lap, with the gap at the white flag a think 0.279 second but Mayer eased up the banking, glanced off the wall in the fourth turn and going on to win by just under a quarter second for his fourth season win and first oval track victory.

“That’s unreal- we won on an oval!” he exulted. 

Mayer, John Hunter Nemechek, Cole Custer and Austin Hill sit on top of the point standings with Allgaier three points below the cut line for the championship four as the series heads to Martinsville next week and then Phoenix for the season ending races.

Unofficial Results: Contender Boats 300, October 21, 2023 - Homestead-Miami Speedway
Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
1) 13, Sam Mayer (P), No. 1 Accelerate Pros Talent Chevrolet, 200, 2, 4, 3, 46, 5, 56, Running
2) 7, Riley Herbst, No. 98 Monster Energy Ford, 200, 7, 8, , , , 42, Running
3) 2, John Hunter Nemechek (P), No. 20 Pye Barker Fire & Safety Toyota, 200, 3, 2, 2, 7, , 51, Running
4) 4, Austin Hill (P), No. 21 United Rentals Chevrolet, 200, 8, 9, , , , 38, Running
5) 23, Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet, 200, , , , , , 32, Running
6) 15, Daniel Hemric (P), No. 10 Cirkul Chevrolet, 200, 10, 10, , , , 33, Running
7) 10, Parker Kligerman, No. 48 Spiked Light Coolers Chevrolet, 200, , 6, , , , 35, Running
8) 17, Brandon Jones, No. 9 Menards/Pelonis Chevrolet, 200, , , , , , 29, Running
9) 5, Sammy Smith # (P), No. 18 Pilot Flying J Toyota, 200, , , , , , 28, Running
10) 11, Joe Graf Jr., No. 19 Wawa Toyota, 200, , , , , , 27, Running
11) 20, Derek Kraus, No. 11 Celsius Chevrolet, 200, , 1, 2, 21, 1, 36, Running
12) 16, Parker Retzlaff #, No. 31 FUNKAWAY Chevrolet, 200, , , , , , 25, Running
13) 1, Cole Custer (P), No. 00 Haas Automation Ford, 199, 1, 3, 5, 114, 1, 42, Running
14) 14, Ryan Sieg, No. 39 Sci Aps Ford, 199, , , , , , 23, Running
15) 3, Justin Allgaier (P), No. 7 hellowater Chevrolet, 199, 6, 5, 1, 8, , 33, Running
16) 18, Kyle Weatherman, No. 91 Tweaker Energy Drinks Chevrolet, 199, , , , , , 21, Running
17) 26, Josh Williams, No. 92 StarTron/Alloy Chevrolet, 199, , , , , , 20, Running
18) 33, Jeffrey Earnhardt, No. 44 ForeverLawn Chevrolet, 199, , , , , , 19, Running
19) 29, Brennan Poole, No. 6 KSDT CPA Chevrolet, 199, , , , , , 18, Running
20) 28, Jeb Burton, No. 27 Alsco Uniforms Chevrolet, 199, , , , , , 17, Running
21) 22, Jeremy Clements, No. 51 Fly and Form Structures Chevrolet, 199, , , , , , 16, Running
22) 25, Kyle Sieg, No. 38 Lefcourt Brothers Ford, 199, , 7, , , , 19, Running
23) 27, Leland Honeyman, No. 45 Nuthin Fancy/Realtree Chevrolet, 199, , , , , , 14, Running
24) 37, Ryan Ellis, No. 43 Classic Collision Chevrolet, 199, , , , , , 13, Running
25) 36, Patrick Emerling, No. 35 Sci Aps Chevrolet, 198, , , , , , 12, Running
26) 9, Sheldon Creed (P), No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet, 198, 4, , 1, 4, , 18, Running
27) 35, Mason Massey, No. 08 Anderson Power Services Ford, 198, , , , , , 10, Running
28) 31, Anthony Alfredo, No. 78 Nuthin Fancy Chevrolet, 197, , , , , , 9, Running
29) 34, Blaine Perkins #, No. 02 AutoParkit.com Chevrolet, 196, , , , , , 8, Running
30) 19, Kaz Grala, No. 26 CRUSH Lemonade Toyota, 194, 9, , , , , 9, Running
31) 21, Connor Mosack, No. 24 Toyota Genuine Parts Toyota, 190, , , , , , 6, Electrical
32) 8, Josh Berry, No. 8 Tire Pros Love The Drive Chevrolet, 171, , , , , , 5, Accident
33) 30, Mason Maggio(i), No. 29 Flitz Polish Ford, 153, , , , , , 0, Electrical
34) 12, Chandler Smith # (P), No. 16 Quick Tie Products Inc. Chevrolet, 138, , , , , , 3, Engine
35) 6, Brett Moffitt, No. 25 AM Technical Solutions Ford, 97, 5, , , , , 8, Accident
36) 32, Dawson Cram, No. 74 Lerner & Rowe Injury Lawyers Chevrolet, 65, , , , , , 1, Accident
37) 38, CJ McLaughlin, No. 28 Sci Aps Ford, 37, , , , , , 1, Carburetor
38) 24, Ryan Newman, No. 66 Generx Generators Ford, 27, , , , , , 1, Rear Gear
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie, (P) Playoffs

Total Race Length: 200 Laps, 300 Miles
Time of Race: 2:34:28
Average Speed: 117.160 MPH
Margin of Victory: 0.227 Seconds

Stage 1 Top 10: 00, 1, 20, 2, 25, 7, 98, 21, 26, 10
Stage 2 Top 10: 11, 20, 00, 1, 7, 48, 38, 98, 21, 10

Comments: Sam Mayer won the 29th running of the Contender Boats 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, his fourth victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

Prior to the start, the following cars dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reasons indicated: Nos. 35, 43 (unapproved adjustments).

Failed to Qualify: (3) 53 Matt Mills(i), 4 JJ Yeley, 07 Natalie Decker.

Cautions: 6 for 33 laps;
Laps: 47-52 (Stage 1 Conclusion [44]);
69-72 (No. 74 Incident Turn 1 [27]);
92-96 (Stage 2 Conclusion [45]);
98-103 (lNo. 25, 16, 2 Incident Backstretch [43]);
165-170 (Debris on Pit Road [11]);
172-177 (No. 8 Incident Turn 4 [48]).

Lead Changes: 13 among 6 drivers;
C. Custer (P) 1-52;
S. Mayer (P) 53;
C. Custer (P) 54-71;
J. Nemechek (P) 72-77;
D. Kraus 78-92;
J. Nemechek (P) 93;
C. Custer (P) 94-102;
J. Allgaier (P) 103-110;
C. Custer (P) 111-140;
D. Kraus 141-146;
C. Custer (P) 147-151;
S. Mayer (P) 152-165;
S. Creed (P) 166-169;
S. Mayer (P) 170-200.

Unofficial Driver Points: Contender Boats 300 Homestead-Miami Speedway
Rank, Driver, Car, Starts, GL, Points, Ldr, Nxt, Race Wins, Stage Wins, Playoff Pts
1) John Hunter Nemechek, 20, 31, 0, 3154, 0, 0, 7, 10, 55
2) Cole Custer (P), 00, 31, 2, 3113, -41, 41, 2, 8, 18
3) Austin Hill (P), 21, 31, 0, 3113, -41, 0, 4, 4, 39
4) Sam Mayer (P), 1, 31, 2, 3111, -43, 2, 4, 0, 20
5) Justin Allgaier (P), 7, 31, -3, 3110, -44, 1, 3, 12, 35
6) Sammy Smith # (P), 18, 31, 1, 3064, -90, 46, 1, 1, 6
7) Chandler Smith # (P), 16, 31, -2, 3059, -95, 5, 1, 2, 9
8) Sheldon Creed (P), 2, 31, 0, 3048, -106, 11, 0, 4, 8
9) Daniel Hemric (P), 10, 31, 0, 2177, -977, 871, 0, 0, 3
10) Parker Kligerman, 48, 31, 0, 2161, -993, 16, 0, 1, 2
11) Josh Berry, 8, 31, 0, 2096, -1058, 65, 0, 3, 9
12) Jeb Burton, 27, 31, 0, 2073, -1081, 23, 1, 1, 6
13) Riley Herbst, 98, 31, 0, 832, -2322, 1241, 1, 2, 0
14) Brandon Jones, 9, 31, 0, 736, -2418, 96, 0, 0, 0
15) Brett Moffitt, 25, 31, 0, 640, -2514, 96, 0, 0, 0
16) Parker Retzlaff #, 31, 31, 0, 603, -2551, 37, 0, 0, 0
17) Ryan Sieg, 39, 31, 1, 585, -2569, 18, 0, 0, 0
18) Kaz Grala, 26, 31, -1, 575, -2579, 10, 0, 0, 0
19) Jeremy Clements, 51, 31, 0, 496, -2658, 79, 0, 0, 0
20) Kyle Sieg, 38, 29, 0, 426, -2728, 70, 0, 0, 0
21) Josh Williams, 92, 30, 1, 411, -2743, 15, 0, 0, 0
22) Anthony Alfredo, 78, 31, -1, 407, -2747, 4, 0, 0, 0
23) Joe Graf Jr, 19, 31, 0, 381, -2773, 26, 0, 0, 0
24) Brennan Poole, 6, 29, 0, 353, -2801, 28, 0, 0, 0
25) Ryan Ellis, 43, 29, 0, 342, -2812, 11, 0, 0, 0
26) Kyle Weatherman, 91, 24, 0, 316, -2838, 26, 0, 0, 0
27) Connor Mosack, 24, 22, 0, 261, -2893, 55, 0, 0, 0
28) Jeffrey Earnhardt, 44, 22, 2, 247, -2907, 14, 0, 0, 0
29) Alex Labbe, , 14, -1, 246, -2908, 1, 0, 0, 0
30) Blaine Perkins #, 02, 28, -1, 238, -2916, 8, 0, 0, 0
31) Ryan Truex, , 6, 0, 197, -2957, 41, 1, 2, 0
32) Derek Kraus, 11, 7, 3, 182, -2972, 15, 0, 1, 0
33) Patrick Emerling, 35, 17, 0, 164, -2990, 18, 0, 0, 0
34) Sage Karam, , 12, -2, 160, -2994, 4, 0, 0, 0
35) Josh Bilicki, , 10, -1, 149, -3005, 11, 0, 0, 0
36) Stefan Parsons, , 14, 0, 144, -3010, 5, 0, 0, 0
37) Joey Gase, , 13, 0, 142, -3012, 2, 0, 0, 0
38) Gray Gaulding, , 11, 0, 132, -3022, 10, 0, 0, 0
39) Garrett Smithley, , 13, 0, 125, -3029, 7, 0, 0, 0
40) Myatt Snider, , 4, 0, 116, -3038, 9, 0, 0, 0
41) Leland Honeyman, 45, 8, 0, 93, -3061, 23, 0, 0, 0
42) CJ McLaughlin, 28, 9, 0, 79, -3075, 14, 0, 0, 0
43) Mason Massey, 08, 5, 2, 76, -3078, 3, 0, 0, 0
44) Parker Chase, , 6, -1, 76, -3078, 0, 0, 0, 0
45) Trevor Bayne, , 3, -1, 72, -3082, 4, 0, 0, 0
46) Miguel Paludo, , 3, 0, 63, -3091, 9, 0, 0, 0
47) David Starr, , 5, 0, 54, -3100, 9, 0, 0, 0
48) Dale Earnhardt Jr, 88, 2, 13, 48, -3106, 6, 0, 0, 0
49) Layne Riggs, , 2, -1, 45, -3109, 3, 0, 0, 0
50) Preston Pardus, , 4, -1, 45, -3109, 0, 0, 0, 0
51) Dawson Cram, 74, 8, 0, 41, -3113, 4, 0, 0, 0
52) Brad Perez, , 5, -2, 40, -3114, 1, 0, 0, 0
53) Caesar Bacarella, , 3, -1, 38, -3116, 2, 0, 0, 0
54) Alex Guenette, , 3, -1, 27, -3127, 11, 0, 0, 0
55) Chad Finchum, , 3, -1, 25, -3129, 2, 0, 0, 0
56) Jordan Anderson, , 1, -1, 22, -3132, 3, 0, 0, 0
57) Jordan Taylor, , 2, -1, 21, -3133, 1, 0, 0, 0
58) Dylan Lupton, , 2, -1, 21, -3133, 0, 0, 0, 0
59) Stanton Barrett, , 2, -1, 18, -3136, 3, 0, 0, 0
60) Ryan Reed, , 1, -1, 17, -3137, 1, 0, 0, 0
61) Jj Yeley, , 2, -1, 16, -3138, 1, 0, 0, 0
62) Dexter Stacey, , 2, 0, 14, -3140, 2, 0, 0, 0
63) Jade Buford, , 2, 0, 13, -3141, 1, 0, 0, 0
64) Spencer Pumpelly, , 1, 0, 9, -3145, 4, 0, 0, 0
65) Jesse Iwuji, , 1, 0, 7, -3147, 2, 0, 0, 0
66) Natalie Decker, , 2, 0, 5, -3149, 2, 0, 0, 0
67) Brent Sherman, , 1, 0, 3, -3151, 2, 0, 0, 0
68) Max Mclaughlin, , 1, 0, 3, -3151, 0, 0, 0, 0
69) Andre Castro, , 2, 0, 2, -3152, 1, 0, 0, 0
70) Bj Mcleod, , 1, 0, 1, -3153, 1, 0, 0, 0
71) Justin Marks, , 1, 0, 1, -3153, 0, 0, 0, 0
72) Katherine Legge, , 1, 0, 1, -3153, 0, 0, 0, 0
73) Ryan Newman, 66, 1, 0, 1, -3153, 0, 0, 0, 0
74) Aj Allmendinger(i), , 5, -1, 0, -3154, 1, 2, 3, 0
75) Ty Gibbs(i), , 8, -1, 0, -3154, 0, 1, 5, 0
76) Kyle Larson(i), , 3, -1, 0, -3154, 0, 1, 3, 0
77) Aric Almirola(i), , 2, -1, 0, -3154, 0, 1, 0, 0
78) Denny Hamlin(i), , 1, -1, 0, -3154, 0, 1, 0, 0
79) William Byron(i), , 1, -1, 0, -3154, 0, 0, 0, 0
80) Chase Elliott(i), , 1, -1, 0, -3154, 0, 0, 0, 0
81) Ross Chastain(i), , 7, -1, 0, -3154, 0, 0, 0, 0
82) Kyle Busch(i), , 4, -1, 0, -3154, 0, 0, 0, 0
83) Justin Haley(i), , 5, -1, 0, -3154, 0, 0, 0, 0
84) Carson Hocevar(i), , 5, -1, 0, -3154, 0, 0, 0, 0
85) Zane Smith(i), , 1, -1, 0, -3154, 0, 0, 0, 0
86) Austin Dillon(i), , 2, -1, 0, -3154, 0, 0, 0, 0
87) Alex Bowman(i), , 1, -1, 0, -3154, 0, 0, 0, 0
88) Corey Heim(i), , 4, -1, 0, -3154, 0, 0, 0, 0
89) Daniel Su?rez(i), , 2, -1, 0, -3154, 0, 0, 0, 0
90) Tyler Reddick(i), , 2, -1, 0, -3154, 0, 0, 0, 0
91) Ty Dillon(i), , 3, -1, 0, -3154, 0, 0, 0, 0
92) Chris Hacker(i), , 2, -1, 0, -3154, 0, 0, 0, 0
93) Rajah Caruth(i), , 10, -1, 0, -3154, 0, 0, 0, 0
94) Daniel Dye(i), , 2, -1, 0, -3154, 0, 0, 0, 0
95) Matt Mills(i), , 4, -1, 0, -3154, 0, 0, 0, 0
96) Chad Chastain(i), , 4, -1, 0, -3154, 0, 0, 0, 0
97) Bayley Currey(i), , 4, -1, 0, -3154, 0, 0, 0, 0
98) Akinori Ogata(i), , 1, -1, 0, -3154, 0, 0, 0, 0
99) Mason Maggio(i), 29, 5, -1, 0, -3154, 0, 0, 0, 0
100) Timmy Hill(i), , 4, -1, 0, -3154, 0, 0, 0, 0
101) Nick Leitz(i), , 1, -1, 0, -3154, 0, 0, 0, 0
102) Conor Daly(i), , 1, -1, 0, -3154, 0, 0, 0, 0
103) Greg Van Alst, , 2, -1, 0, -3154, 0, 0, 0, 0
103) Greg Van Alst, , 2, -1, 0, -3154, 0, 0, 0, 0
104) Kaden Honeycutt(i), , 1, -1, 0, -3154, 0, 0, 0, 0
105) Cameron Lawrence, , 0, -1, 0, -3154, 0, 0, 0, 0
106) Jason White(i), , 0, -1, 0, -3154, 0, 0, 0, 0
107) Dexter Bean, , 0, -1, 0, -3154, 0, 0, 0, 0
108) Camden Murphy, , 0, -1, 0, -3154, 0, 0, 0, 0
109) Andy Lally, , 0, -1, 0, -3154, 0, 0, 0, 0
110) Ryan Vargas(i), , 0, -1, 0, -3154, 0, 0, 0, 0
111) Baltazar Leguizam?n, , 0, -1, 0, -3154, 0, 0, 0, 0
112) Casey Carden, , 0, -1, 0, -3154, 0, 0, 0, 0
113) Mason Filippi(i), , 0, -1, 0, -3154, 0, 0, 0, 0
114) Will Rodgers(i), , 0, -1, 0, -3154, 0, 0, 0, 0
115) Boris Said, , 0, -1, 0, -3154, 0, 0, 0, 0
116) Mike Harmon, , 0, -1, 0, -3154, 0, 0, 0, 0
117) Colin Garrett(i), , 0, -1, 0, -3154, 0, 0, 0, 0
118) Devin Jones, , 0, -1, 0, -3154, 0, 0, 0, 0
 -Ldr/-Nxt = Points behind Leader/Next higher, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series