Sam Mayer headed to Homestead-Miami Speedway on October 21st, 2023 without a win on an oval track, but he accomplished just that by putting the No. 1 NASCAR Chevy Camaro in Victory Lane with less than a quarter second lead.
The win marked Mayer’s fourth of the 2023 racing season and keeps him in the hunt for the 2023 Xfinity Series championship. He led 46 laps and fended off a white-flag charge from Riley Herbst, driver of the No. 98 Ford Mustang, recovering from a minor brush with the wall to defend his lead all the way to the finish line.
“It’s unreal, we won on an oval,” Mayer said after the race. “This Chevrolet Camaro was so good. It’s all about putting a full race together. I’m so proud of these guys. They kicked tail on pit road and we made it happen with these HMS (Hendrick Motorsports) engines.”
He added, “It’s just really cool to be able to beat an amazing organization like that (Herbst’s Stewart-Haas Racing team). We’ve got to turn it on a little harder going into Phoenix.”
Other NASCAR Chevy teams were not so lucky. Justin Allgaier, driver of the No. 7 Camaro, suffered a tire issue after a pit stop and finished 15th. Currently, he’s fifth in the Playoffs, three points below Austin Hill, driver of the No. 21 Camaro.
Meanwhile, Dale Earnhardt Jr. took control of the No. 88 NASCAR Chevy Camaro for the second time this season. He started 23rd and had a brush with Josh Berry, driver of the No. 8 Camaro – which is owned by Earnhardt – but managed to salvage a fifth-place result.
“Luckily it didn’t hurt our car and we were able to finish really good, so I’m happy about that,” Earnhardt said.
| Finish | Start | Car Number | Driver | Team | Laps Run | Laps Led | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 | 1 | Sam Mayer (P) | Accelerate Pros Talent Chevrolet | 200 | 46 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 2 | 7 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Monster Energy Ford | 200 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 3 | 2 | 20 | John Hunter Nemechek (P) | Pye Barker Fire & Safety Toyota | 200 | 7 | Toyota TRD Supra |
| 4 | 4 | 21 | Austin Hill (P) | United Rentals Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 5 | 23 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 6 | 15 | 10 | Daniel Hemric (P) | Cirkul Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 7 | 10 | 48 | Parker Kligerman | Spiked Light Coolers Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 8 | 17 | 9 | Brandon Jones | Menards/Pelonis Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 9 | 5 | 18 | Sammy Smith # (P) | Pilot Flying J Toyota | 200 | 0 | Toyota TRD Supra |
| 10 | 11 | 19 | Joe Graf Jr. | Wawa Toyota | 200 | 0 | Toyota TRD Supra |
| 11 | 20 | 11 | Derek Kraus | Celsius Chevrolet | 200 | 21 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 12 | 16 | 31 | Parker Retzlaff # | FUNKAWAY Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 13 | 1 | 00 | Cole Custer (P) | Haas Automation Ford | 199 | 114 | Ford Mustang |
| 14 | 14 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | Sci Aps Ford | 199 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 15 | 3 | 7 | Justin Allgaier (P) | hellowater Chevrolet | 199 | 8 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 16 | 18 | 91 | Kyle Weatherman | Tweaker Energy Drinks Chevrolet | 199 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 17 | 26 | 92 | Josh Williams | StarTron/Alloy Chevrolet | 199 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 18 | 33 | 44 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | ForeverLawn Chevrolet | 199 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 19 | 29 | 6 | Brennan Poole | KSDT CPA Chevrolet | 199 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 20 | 28 | 27 | Jeb Burton | Alsco Uniforms Chevrolet | 199 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 21 | 22 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Fly and Form Structures Chevrolet | 199 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 22 | 25 | 38 | Kyle Sieg | Lefcourt Brothers Ford | 199 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 23 | 27 | 45 | Leland Honeyman | Nuthin Fancy/Realtree Chevrolet | 199 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 24 | 37 | 43 | Ryan Ellis | Classic Collision Chevrolet | 199 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 25 | 36 | 35 | Patrick Emerling | Sci Aps Chevrolet | 198 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 26 | 9 | 2 | Sheldon Creed (P) | Whelen Chevrolet | 198 | 4 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 27 | 35 | 08 | Mason Massey | Anderson Power Services Ford | 198 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 28 | 31 | 78 | Anthony Alfredo | Nuthin Fancy Chevrolet | 197 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 29 | 34 | 2 | Blaine Perkins # | AutoParkit.com Chevrolet | 196 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 30 | 19 | 26 | Kaz Grala | CRUSH Lemonade Toyota | 194 | 0 | Toyota TRD Supra |
| 31 | 21 | 24 | Connor Mosack | Toyota Genuine Parts Toyota | 190 | 0 | Toyota TRD Supra |
| 32 | 8 | 8 | Josh Berry | Tire Pros Love The Drive Chevrolet | 171 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 33 | 30 | 29 | Mason Maggio(i) | Flitz Polish Ford | 153 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 34 | 12 | 16 | Chandler Smith # (P) | Quick Tie Products Inc. Chevrolet | 138 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 35 | 6 | 25 | Brett Moffitt | AM Technical Solutions Ford | 97 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 36 | 32 | 74 | Dawson Cram | Lerner & Rowe Injury Lawyers Chevrolet | 65 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 37 | 38 | 28 | CJ McLaughlin | Sci Aps Ford | 37 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 38 | 24 | 66 | Ryan Newman | Generx Generators Ford | 27 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver
P – Playoffs eligible
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