Sam Mayer’s championship dreams looked to be dashed – just before a mad dash of his own gave him another shot at a title.
On a day that started with a black flag – and almost ended with a second-place finish – perseverance was the key for Mayer, who passed fellow NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff driver Parker Kligerman on the next-to-last lap during a green-white-checkered overtime finish and held on to win Saturday’s Drive For The Cure 250 presented by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of NC on the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL™.
Driving the No. 1 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports, the 21-year-old from Franklin, Wisc., earned his seventh career NASCAR Xfinity Series win and his second consecutive ROVAL™ triumph. Mayer overcame a 13-point playoff deficit to start the day after expertly moving past Kligerman during an overtime finish which came after NASCAR ruled a late caution period came just before Kligerman, leading at the time, took the white flag during regulation.
For Kligerman, who finished sixth after suffering a tire rub in overtime, all he could do was sit in his window and watch Mayer’s celebratory burnout from pit road.
A.J. Allmendinger was second, with pole winner Shane Van Gisbergen in third, Austin Hill in fourth and Chandler Smith in fifth.
Kligerman, Van Gisbergen, Sheldon Creed and Riley Herbst were eliminated from championship contention, leaving eight drivers left to battle for the title over the season’s final four races. Justin Allgaier, who finished seventh, joined Mayer as drivers who began the day outside the championship field but raced their way in. Allmendinger won Stage 1 while Allgaier took Stage 2.
Mayer was shown the black flag while leading after the first lap for a start violation.
SAM MAYER, NO. 1 JR MOTORSPORTS CHEVROLET (RACE WINNER): “Luckily, [the caution light] came on early. The last restart was unbelievable. I just turned underneath [Kligerman] on the exit of Turn 7. It worked out really well. We wanted to defend our race win from last year. This one is definitely sweeter with all the road-course aces in the field. This was probably the toughest Xfinity [Series] field on the ROVAL™ and we came out on top, so I’m super proud of that. I said this morning, ‘If you’re in my way in Turn 7, you’re not going to have a good day,’ and I kind of meant that for everyone except [Kligerman]. I was able to put him in a bad spot there [after the last restart] and then kind of drive away, but we raced each other clean. I think this was one of the cleanest Xfinity races on the ROVAL™ in a long time, too.”
A.J. ALLMENDINGER, NO. 16 KAULIG RACING CHEVROLET (RUNNER-UP): “We were on the line of, we were in, but if we crashed we were out. I feel bad for Parker. I thought he got it at the line there. I thought [Mayer] and [Kligerman], for what was at stake, I thought it was pretty fair. It was cleaner than I expected.”
SHANE VAN GISBERGEN, NO. 97 KAULIG RACING CHEVROLET (THIRD-PLACE FINISHER): “Our car speed was really, really good. I didn’t know what the points [standings] were in the car [as the race unfolded]. I was doing the best I could. [If] you’re relying on people to take each other out, I don’t want to win that way.”
TICKETS:
The action continues Sunday with the Bank of America ROVAL™ 400. Tickets are available at www.charlottemotorspeedway.com or by calling 1-800-455-FANS (3267). Kids 12 and under get in for just $10.
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