Sam Mayer slipped the No. 1 NASCAR Chevy Camaro into the final berth in the Xfinity Series Round of 8, winning on the Charlotte Roval on October 7th, 2023.
Mayer outdueled the No. 00 Ford Mustang of Cole Custer for the lead after a restart on Lap 63, muscling his way past him. Mayer to stay ahead for the remainder of the race, driving to his third victory in the division this year.
“I knew we had time,” said Mayer after the race. “Our car was so fast – it really felt unbeatable… We kicked their tails today, and it just feels so great.”
As for the Playoffs, he said, “This is our second-chance moment. I think we can make something out of it… We can go on and do great things because of this win.”
Sheldon Creed, driver of the No. 2 NASCAR Chevy, also secured a slot in the Round of 8, beating Daniel Hemric, driver of the No. 11 Toyota TRD Supra, by two points, thanks to his 10th-place finish at the Roval despite an ill-handling race car.
“We had no front turn,” Creed said. “I was talking to our teammate Austin (Hill) about it. Both of our cars did not turn all day… I had to work for that one. I did not think we would be in by two [points] – I thought we would be better than that.”
| Finish | Start | Car Number | Driver | Team | Laps Run | Laps Led | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1 | Sam Mayer (P) | Accelerate Pros Talent Chevrolet | 67 | 50 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 2 | 7 | 00 | Cole Custer (P) | Haas Automation Ford | 67 | 4 | Ford Mustang |
| 3 | 3 | 8 | Josh Berry (P) | High Rock Vodka Chevrolet | 67 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 4 | 9 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Monster Energy Ford | 67 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 5 | 14 | 26 | Kaz Grala | CRUSH Strawberry Lemonade Toyota | 67 | 0 | Toyota TRD Supra |
| 6 | 6 | 48 | Parker Kligerman (P) | Spiked Light Coolers Chevrolet | 67 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 7 | 4 | 10 | Daniel Hemric (P) | Action Industries Chevrolet | 67 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 8 | 38 | 20 | John Hunter Nemechek (P) | Mobil 1 Toyota | 67 | 2 | Toyota TRD Supra |
| 9 | 8 | 21 | Austin Hill (P) | Bennett Transportation Chevrolet | 67 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 10 | 5 | 2 | Sheldon Creed (P) | Whelen/Team Fox Chevrolet | 67 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 11 | 22 | 18 | Sammy Smith # (P) | Pilot Flying J Toyota | 67 | 0 | Toyota TRD Supra |
| 12 | 17 | 16 | Chandler Smith # (P) | Barger Precast/Quick Tie Products Inc. Chevrolet | 67 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 13 | 25 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | Sci Aps Ford | 67 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 14 | 31 | 19 | Myatt Snider (P) | Tree Top Toyota | 67 | 0 | Toyota TRD Supra |
| 15 | 10 | 91 | Alex Labbe | Chevrolet | 67 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 16 | 12 | 11 | Jordan Taylor | LA Golf Chevrolet | 67 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 17 | 32 | 6 | Brennan Poole | Azalea Gynecology Chevrolet | 67 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 18 | 29 | 08 | Stefan Parsons | Miller Street Dance Academy Chevrolet | 67 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 19 | 28 | 44 | Rajah Caruth(i) | Circle Chevrolet | 67 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 20 | 33 | 92 | Josh Williams | Alloy Employer/Call 811 Chevrolet | 67 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 21 | 26 | 45 | Leland Honeyman | Eighth Order Chevrolet | 67 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 22 | 23 | 31 | Parker Retzlaff # | FUNKAWAY Chevrolet | 67 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 23 | 15 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Kevin Whitaker Chevrrolet Chevrolet | 67 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 24 | 16 | 24 | Connor Mosack | Sherry Strong Toyota | 67 | 0 | Toyota TRD Supra |
| 25 | 18 | 07 | Josh Bilicki | Engine Parts Plus Ford | 67 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 26 | 13 | 4 | Kyle Weatherman | TeamJDMotorsports.com Chevrolet | 67 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 27 | 20 | 66 | Sage Karam | Custom Patch Hats Ford | 67 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 28 | 24 | 02 | Blaine Perkins # | Gratis Chevrolet | 67 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 29 | 11 | 9 | Brandon Jones | Menards/Pentair Myers Chevrolet | 67 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 30 | 21 | 78 | Anthony Alfredo | Blue Otter Polarized Chevrolet | 67 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 31 | 35 | 38 | Joe Graf Jr. | G-Coin Ford | 67 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 32 | 36 | 28 | Kyle Sieg | Ford | 67 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 33 | 37 | 35 | Alex Guenette | National Fire Protection Association Toyota | 67 | 0 | Toyota TRD Supra |
| 34 | 19 | 27 | Jeb Burton (P) | Fly Alliance/Puryear Chevrolet | 66 | 1 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 35 | 34 | 53 | Conor Daly(i) | National Fire Protection Association Chevrolet | 66 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 36 | 30 | 43 | Ryan Ellis | Southern Elevator Chevrolet | 63 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 37 | 2 | 7 | Justin Allgaier (P) | BRANDT/BRANDT Foundation Chevrolet | 60 | 10 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 38 | 27 | 25 | Brett Moffitt | Superior Pools & Spas Ford | 40 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver
P – Playoffs eligible
Subscribe to GM Authority for more Chevy news, NASCAR news, GM motorsports news and around-the-clock GM news coverage.
No Comments yet