Sammy Smith Wins Talladega Xfinity Race and Moves on in the Playoffs

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TALLADEGA, AL – RIS – Sammy Smith came into Saturday’s Xfinity race at the end of the line of drivers qualifying for the 2024 championship.  Not anymore.  Smith jumped from last in the Xfinity Series playoff standings to the first driver to move on to the second round by winning Saturday’s race in overtime at Talladega Superspeedway.

“It feels very good to win here,” Smith said.

Smith, who now has two career wins, snapped a 56-race losing streak after picking team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s brain about racing at Talladega. Earnhardt won six Cup Series races at the Alabama superspeedway.

Smith was in second when the race restarted with a two-lap sprint to the finish as it marked the 13th time this season an Xfinity Series race has gone to overtime. The front four broke away from the pack and it became a race for the win between Smith, Riley Herbst and Chandler Smith.

Herbst led a trio of playoff drivers in finishing third ahead of Sheldon Creed and Chandler Smith. Justin Allgaier, the top seed at the start of the playoffs, is below the cutline along with AJ Allmendinger, Shane Van Gisbergen and Parker Kligerman. All were contenders to win Saturday at Talladega until each was collected in a late accident.

Next the Xfinity Series heads to Charlotte Motor Speedway to tackle the ROVAL road race. Allmendinger a perfect 4 for 4 on the hybrid road course/oval

Unofficial Results: United Rentals 250, October 5, 2024 - Talladega Superspeedway
Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
1) 27, Sammy Smith (P), No. 8 TMC Transportation Chevrolet, 98, , 2, 5, 5, 5, 49, Running
2) 15, Ryan Sieg, No. 39 Sci Aps Ford, 98, , , 1, 1, , 35, Running
3) 7, Riley Herbst (P), No. 98 Monster Energy Ford, 98, , 6, 6, 22, , 39, Running
4) 4, Sheldon Creed (P), No. 18 Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Toyota, 98, 5, 8, , , , 42, Running
5) 3, Chandler Smith (P), No. 81 Wheelers Toyota, 98, 1, 5, 2, 11, 1, 48, Running
6) 1, Jesse Love # (P), No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet, 98, , 3, 3, 28, , 39, Running
7) 16, Jeb Burton, No. 27 Golden Corral Chevrolet, 98, , , , , , 30, Running
8) 23, David Starr, No. 14 Holt St. Chevrolet, 98, , , 1, 1, , 29, Running
9) 30, Brennan Poole, No. 44 Macc Door Systems Chevrolet, 98, , , , , , 28, Running
10) 34, Kyle Sieg, No. 28 Onsite Power Academy Ford, 98, , , , , , 27, Running
11) 5, AJ Allmendinger (P), No. 16 Morris-Shea Bridge Co. Inc. Chevrolet, 98, 2, 7, 4, 13, , 39, Running
12) 6, Parker Kligerman (P), No. 48 Big Machine Spiked Coolers Chevrolet, 98, , , , , , 25, Running
13) 38, Tommy Joe Martins, No. 45 Prime Bites Brownie Chevrolet, 98, , , , , , 24, Running
14) 19, Leland Honeyman #, No. 42 Mezrano Injury Lawyers Chevrolet, 98, , , , , , 23, Running
15) 32, Ryan Ellis, No. 43 Classic Collision Chevrolet, 98, , , , , , 22, Running
16) 12, Sam Mayer (P), No. 1 First Bank of Alabama Chevrolet, 98, 8, , 1, 1, , 24, Running
17) 33, Matt DiBenedetto, No. 38 Malvern Panalytical Ford, 98, , , , , , 20, Running
18) 21, CJ McLaughlin, No. 07 Main Street Auto Chevrolet, 98, , , , , , 19, Running
19) 31, Blaine Perkins, No. 29 UAB Medicine Ford, 98, , , 1, 1, , 18, Running
20) 9, Aric Almirola (P), No. 20 He Gets Us Toyota, 98, , , , , , 17, Running
21) 22, Dean Thompson(i), No. 26 Thompson Pipe Group Toyota, 98, 10, , , , , 0, Running
22) 29, Joey Gase, No. 35 Donate Life AL/NFPA Chevrolet, 98, , , , , , 15, Running
23) 37, Carson Ware, No. 53 TWR Wheel Repair Ford, 98, , , , , , 14, Running
24) 2, Austin Hill (P), No. 21 Bennett Transportation Chevrolet, 98, 4, 1, 2, 7, 1, 30, Running
25) 36, Dylan Lupton, No. 15 N.C. Hurricane Relief Ford, 97, , , , , , 12, Running
26) 14, Justin Allgaier (P), No. 7 BRANDT/TradeMark Nitrogen Chevrolet, 97, 3, , 2, 8, , 19, Running
27) 10, Cole Custer (P), No. 00 Haas Automation Ford, 97, 9, 9, , , , 14, Running
28) 18, Carson Kvapil, No. 88 Clarience Technologies Chevrolet, 91, , , , , , 9, Accident
29) 20, Brandon Jones, No. 9 Menards/Little HUG Chevrolet, 91, , 10, , , , 9, Accident
30) 13, Anthony Alfredo, No. 5 Dead On Tools Chevrolet, 91, 6, , , , , 12, Accident
31) 24, Parker Retzlaff, No. 31 FUNKAWAY Chevrolet, 91, , , , , , 6, Accident
32) 35, Kyle Weatherman, No. 91 DGM Racing Chevrolet, 87, , , , , , 5, Running
33) 11, Taylor Gray(i), No. 19 Operation 300 Toyota, 75, 7, , , , , 0, Accident
34) 26, Jordan Anderson, No. 32 Volpi Foods Chevrolet, 75, , , , , , 3, Accident
35) 17, Josh Williams, No. 11 Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet, 75, , , , , , 2, Accident
36) 8, Shane Van Gisbergen # (P), No. 97 WeatherTech Chevrolet, 75, , 4, , , , 8, Accident
37) 28, Jeremy Clements, No. 51 One Stop/All South Electric Chevrolet, 60, , , , , , 1, Brakes
38) 25, Nick Leitz, No. 92 Precision Measurements Inc Chevrolet, 41, , , , , , 1, Accident
(i) Ineligible for driver points, (#) Rookie, (P) Playoffs

Race Length: 98 Laps, 260.68 Miles
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 5 Mins, 12 Secs.
Average Speed: 124.927 MPH
Margin of Victory: 0.177 Seconds

Stage 1 Top 10: 81, 16, 7, 21, 18, 5, 19, 1, 00, 26
Stage 2 Top 10: 21, 8, 2, 97, 81, 98, 16, 18, 00, 9

Comments: Sammy Smith won the United Rentals 250 at Talladega Superspeedway, his second NASCAR Xfinity Series victory.

Prior to the start, the following cars dropped to the rear for the reasons indicated: Nos. 07, 35 (unapproved adjustments), No. 45 (engine change, driver change), No. 20 (inspection failures).

Cautions: 6 for 27 laps;
Laps: 27-31 (Stage 1 Conclusion [20]);
43-46 (No. 92, 27, 11, 26, 48 incident turn 4 [91]);
52-56 (Stage 2 Conclusion [91]);
76-81 (No. 19, 26, 97, 21, 32, 11 incident frontstretch [91]);
85-87 (Debris on the backstretch [91]);
93-96 (No. 9, 2, 16, 48, 00, 5, 7, 88, 31, 29, 15, 21, incident turn 1 [20]).

Lead Changes: 28 among 11 drivers;
A. Hill (P) 1-3;
A. Allmendinger (P) 4-5;
S. Mayer (P) 6;
A. Allmendinger (P) 7-8;
R. Sieg 9;
J. Love # (P) 10-20;
C. Smith (P) 21-27;
B. Perkins 28;
J. Love # (P) 29-41;
J. Allgaier (P) 42-48;
A. Hill (P) 49-52;
D. Starr 53;
R. Herbst (P) 54-59;
J. Love # (P) 60-63;
R. Herbst (P) 64-66;
S. Smith (P) 67;
R. Herbst (P) 68;
C. Smith (P) 69-72;
A. Allmendinger (P) 73-80;
S. Smith (P) 81;
A. Allmendinger (P) 82;
R. Herbst (P) 83-86;
S. Smith (P) 87;
R. Herbst (P) 88;
S. Smith (P) 89;
J. Allgaier (P) 90;
R. Herbst (P) 91-97;
S. Smith (P) 98.

Unofficial Points: United Rentals 250, Talladega Superspeedway
Rank  Driver     Car  Starts     GL   Points     Ldr  Nxt  Race Wins  Stage Wins Playoff Pts
1)   Chandler Smith (P)    81   28   -1   2122  0    0    2    7    25
2)   Austin Hill (P)  21   28   -1   2094  -28  28   3    4    26
3)   Cole Custer (P)  00   28   2    2093  -29  1    2    3    28
4)   Sheldon Creed (P) 18   28   -1   2090  -32  3    0    1    7
5)   Jesse Love # (P) 2    28   -2   2080  -42  10   1    4    13
6)   Riley Herbst (P) 98   28   -2   2078  -44  2    1    2    10
7)   Sam Mayer (P)    1    28   3    2075  -47  3    2    2    12
8)   Sammy Smith (P)  8    28   -4   2065  -57  10   1    0    6
9)   AJ Allmendinger (P)   16   28   -1   2065  -57  0    0    1    6
10)  Justin Allgaier (P)   7    28   1    2057  -65  8    2    14   34
11)       97   28   5    2054  -68  3    3    2    17
12)  Parker Kligerman (P)   48   28   1    2049  -73  5    0    1    -2
13)  Ryan Sieg  39   28   0    705  -1417 1344  0    2    0
14)  Brandon Jones    9    28   0    595  -1527 110  0    0    0
15)  Anthony Alfredo  5    28   0    548  -1574 47   0    0    0
16)  Brennan Poole    44   28   0    498  -1624 50   0    0    0
17)  Josh Williams    11   28   0    453  -1669 45   0    0    0
18)  Leland Honeyman # 42   28   -1   426  -1696 27   0    0    0
19)  Jeb Burton 27   28   -2   410  -1712 16   0    0    0
20)  Parker Retzlaff  31   28   2    409  -1713 1    0    0    0
21)  Jeremy Clements  51   28   1    393  -1729 16   0    1    0
22)  Ryan Ellis 43   28   0    383  -1739 10   0    0    0
23)  Kyle Sieg  28   26   -1   358  -1764 25   0    0    0
24)  Kyle Weatherman  91   28   1    353  -1769 5    0    0    0
25)  Aric Almirola (P) 20   9    0    343  -1779 10   2    4    0
26)  Matt DiBenedetto 38   23   -1   323  -1799 20   0    0    0
27)  Ryan Truex      10   1    303  -1819 20   2    0    0
28)  Blaine Perkins   29   27   0    303  -1819 0    0    0    0
29)  Carson Kvapil    88   9    0    226  -1896 77   0    0    0
30)  Josh Bilicki          15   0    215  -1907 11   0    0    0
31)  Hailie Deegan         17   0    174  -1948 41   0    0    0
32)  Garrett Smithley      19   0    171  -1951 3    0    0    0
33)  Austin Green          5    0    139  -1983 32   0    0    0
34)  David Starr 14   9    -2   134  -1988 5    0    0    0
35)  Joey Gase  35   12   0    130  -1992 4    0    0    0
36)  Patrick Emerling      17   2    127  -1995 3    0    0    0
37)  Connor Zilisch        2    0    97   -2025 30   1    1    0
38)  Joe Graf        4    0    93   -2029 4    0    0    0
39)  Bj Mcleod       5    0    78   -2044 15   0    0    0
40)  Jj Yeley        6    0    78   -2044 0    0    0    0
41)  Jordan Anderson  32   5    0    74   -2048 4    0    0    0
42)  Ed Jones        4    0    70   -2052 4    0    0    0
43)  Logan Bearden         7    0    62   -2060 8    0    0    0
44)  Nick Leitz 92   5    0    59   -2063 3    0    0    0
45)  Sage Karam      5    0    49   -2073 10   0    0    0
46)  Caesar Bacarella      3    0    46   -2076 3    0    0    0
47)  CJ McLaughlin    07   5    -5   46   -2076 0    0    0    0
48)  Alex Labbe      3    1    46   -2076 0    0    0    0
49)  Brad Perez      3    1    33   -2089 13   0    0    0
50)  Dale Earnhardt        1    1    32   -2090 1    0    0    0
51)  Bubba Pollard         1    1    31   -2091 1    0    0    0
52)  Natalie Decker        2    1    27   -2095 4    0    0    0
53)  Chad Finchum          5    0    27   -2095 0    0    0    0
54)  Justin Bonsignore     1    0    25   -2097 2    0    0    0
55)  Patrick Gallagher     2    0    25   -2097 0    0    0    0
56)  Tommy Joe Martins 45   1    56   24   -2098 1    0    0    0
57)  Conor Daly      1    1    23   -2099 1    0    0    0
58)  Carson Ware 53   2    -11  23   -2099 0    0    0    0
59)  Greg Van Alst         3    2    21   -2101 2    0    0    0
60)  Thomas Annunziata     3    2    20   -2102 1    0    0    0
61)  Rc Enerson      2    2    19   -2103 1    0    0    0
62)  Myatt Snider          1    2    18   -2104 1    0    0    0
63)  Preston Pardus        3    2    18   -2104 0    0    0    0
64)  Dexter Bean      1    2    17   -2105 1    0    0    0
65)  Nathan Byrd      2    2    17   -2105 0    0    0    0
66)  Daniil Kvyat          1    2    16   -2106 1    0    0    0
67)  Andre Castro          2    2    16   -2106 0    0    0    0
68)  Dylan Lupton     15   1    68   12   -2110 4    0    0    0
69)  Glen Reen       2    3    10   -2112 2    0    0    0
70)  Ryan Vargas      3    3    10   -2112 0    0    0    0
71)  Boris Said      1    3    9    -2113 1    0    0    0
72)  Mike Skeen      1    2    7    -2115 2    0    0    0
73)  Armani Williams       1    2    4    -2118 3    0    0    0
74)  Morgen Baird          1    2    4    -2118 0    0    0    0
75)  Tim Viens       1    2    2    -2120 2    0    0    0
76)  Gus Dean        1    2    1    -2121 1    0    0    0
77)  Alon Day        1    2    1    -2121 0    0    0    0
78)  John Hunter Nemechek(i)          11   2    0    -2122 1    2    2    0
79)  Christopher Bell(i)         2    2    0    -2122 0    2    2    0
80)  Kyle Larson(i)        2    2    0    -2122 0    1    0    0
81)  Chase Elliott(i)      2    2    0    -2122 0    1    0    0
82)  Ty Gibbs(i)      6    2    0    -2122 0    0    2    0
83)  Corey Heim(i)         12   2    0    -2122 0    0    0    0
84)  Taylor Gray(i)   19   12   2    0    -2122 0    0    0    0
85)  William Byron(i)      4    2    0    -2122 0    0    1    0
86)  Noah Gragson(i)       4    2    0    -2122 0    0    0    0
87)  Ross Chastain(i)      4    0    0    -2122 0    0    0    0
88)  Kyle Busch(i)         1    3    0    -2122 0    0    0    0
89)  Connor Mosack(i)      1    3    0    -2122 0    0    0    0
90)  Daniel Dye(i)         8    2    0    -2122 0    0    0    0
91)  Joey Logano(i)        3    1    0    -2122 0    0    0    0
92)  Jeffrey Earnhardt(i)        5    3    0    -2122 0    0    0    0
93)  Alex Bowman(i)        1    2    0    -2122 0    0    0    0
94)  Mason Massey(i)       3    2    0    -2122 0    0    0    0
95)  Lawless Alan(i)       2    -9   0    -2122 0    0    0    0
96)  Tyler Reddick(i)      1    3    0    -2122 0    0    0    0
97)  Brett Moffitt(i)      1    3    0    -2122 0    0    0    0
98)  Mason Maggio(i)       1    3    0    -2122 0    0    0    0
99)  Dean Thompson(i) 26   2    -3   0    -2122 0    0    0    0
100)  Dawson Cram(i)        16   4    0    -2122 0    0    0    0
101)  Kaden Honeycutt(i)          1    4    0    -2122 0    0    0    0
102)  Daniel Suårez(i)      2    4    0    -2122 0    0    0    0
103)  Josh Berry(i)         2    4    0    -2122 0    0    0    0
104)  Frankie Muniz(i)      2    4    0    -2122 0    0    0    0
105)  Stefan Parsons(i)     1    4    0    -2122 0    0    0    0
106)  Stephen Mallozzi(i)         1    3    0    -2122 0    0    0    0
107)  Ty Dillon(i)          1    2    0    -2122 0    0    0    0
108)  Akinori Ogata(i)      2    2    0    -2122 0    0    0    0
109)  Jade Buford      0    2    0    -2122 0    0    0    0
110)  Kaz Grala(i)          0    2    0    -2122 0    0    0    0
111)  Kenko Miura      0    2    0    -2122 0    0    0    0
112)  Kyle Keller      0    2    0    -2122 0    0    0    0
113)  Stanton Barrett       0    2    0    -2122 0    0    0    0
 -Ldr/-Nxt = Points behind Leader/Next higher, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

Ronald Fleshman and John Davison

Ron Fleshman  and John Davison are Editors at ris-news.com

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Volume 2024, Issue 10, Posted 8:10 PM, 10.05.2024