The Xfinity Series race at Talladega Superspeedway on October 5th, 2024 was an eventful one for the NASCAR Chevy teams. The No. 8 Chevy Camaro SS of Sammy Smith crossed the line first, fending off the pack on the way to the stripe and securing his slot in the next round of the 2024 Playoffs. However, his JR Motorsports (JRM) teammate, Sam Mayer, was disqualified and finished dead last after his No. 1 Camaro failed postrace inspection.
Smith executed a last-lap pass to win at NASCAR’s fastest track on Saturday. He lunged ahead of the No. 39 Ford Mustang Dark Horse of Ryan Sieg and the No. 98 Mustang of Riley Herbst with less than one lap to go, riding his momentum all the way around the trioval to win the race. The margin of victory was 0.177 seconds. Sieg finished second, followed by Herbst on the final podium spot.
Smith was dead last in the Playoffs and in danger of being eliminated, but his Talladega win turned his luck around in a big way. He attributes part of his triumph to pointers from JRM owner, Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was a superspeedway ace during his fulltime racing career.
“It’s been a really tough year,” said Smith. “It’s been a while and it’s been a struggle, but I’m very happy to be here and looking forward to getting better on these ovals and road courses.”
“We sat down Wednesday,” Smith added, referencing his conversation with Earnhardt. “It wasn’t a whole lot, but asking him what he would do in certain situations [on the big track]. Feels really good to win again.”
Jesse Love, who is also Playoffs eligible, was the next-best NASCAR Chevy team, finishing sixth in the No. 2 Camaro.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Mayer crossed the line 16th. However, postrace inspection found that his No. 1 NASCAR Chevy Camaro measured too low in the rear. He finished dead last as a result and was granted no points toward the Playoffs, and is currently 11th in the Playoffs standings, in danger of being eliminated. JRM indicated that it will appeal the disqualification and attempt to get the No. 1 NASCAR Chevy team its points back.
Finish | Start | Car Number | Driver | Team | Laps Run | Laps Led | Car |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 27 | 8 | Sammy Smith (P) | TMC Transportation Chevrolet | 98 | 5 | Chevrolet Camaro |
2 | 15 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | Sci Aps Ford | 98 | 1 | Ford Mustang |
3 | 7 | 98 | Riley Herbst (P) | Monster Energy Ford | 98 | 22 | Ford Mustang |
4 | 4 | 18 | Sheldon Creed (P) | Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Toyota | 98 | 0 | Toyota TRD Supra |
5 | 3 | 81 | Chandler Smith (P) | Wheelers Toyota | 98 | 11 | Toyota TRD Supra |
6 | 1 | 2 | Jesse Love # (P) | Whelen Chevrolet | 98 | 28 | Chevrolet Camaro |
7 | 16 | 27 | Jeb Burton | Golden Corral Chevrolet | 98 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
8 | 23 | 14 | David Starr | Holt St. Chevrolet | 98 | 1 | Chevrolet Camaro |
9 | 30 | 44 | Brennan Poole | Macc Door Systems Chevrolet | 98 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
10 | 34 | 28 | Kyle Sieg | Onsite Power Academy Ford | 98 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
11 | 5 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger (P) | Morris-Shea Bridge Co. Inc. Chevrolet | 98 | 13 | Chevrolet Camaro |
12 | 6 | 48 | Parker Kligerman (P) | Big Machine Spiked Coolers Chevrolet | 98 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
13 | 38 | 45 | Tommy Joe Martins | Prime Bites Brownie Chevrolet | 98 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
14 | 19 | 42 | Leland Honeyman # | Mezrano Injury Lawyers Chevrolet | 98 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
15 | 32 | 43 | Ryan Ellis | Classic Collision Chevrolet | 98 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
16 | 33 | 38 | Matt DiBenedetto | Malvern Panalytical Ford | 98 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
17 | 21 | 07 | CJ McLaughlin | Main Street Auto Chevrolet | 98 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
18 | 31 | 29 | Blaine Perkins | UAB Medicine Ford | 98 | 1 | Ford Mustang |
19 | 9 | 20 | Aric Almirola (P) | He Gets Us Toyota | 98 | 0 | Toyota TRD Supra |
20 | 22 | 26 | Dean Thompson(i) | Thompson Pipe Group Toyota | 98 | 0 | Toyota TRD Supra |
21 | 29 | 35 | Joey Gase | Donate Life AL/NFPA Chevrolet | 98 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
22 | 37 | 53 | Carson Ware | TWR Wheel Repair Ford | 98 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
23 | 2 | 21 | Austin Hill (P) | Bennett Transportation Chevrolet | 98 | 7 | Chevrolet Camaro |
24 | 36 | 15 | Dylan Lupton | N.C. Hurricane Relief Ford | 97 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
25 | 14 | 7 | Justin Allgaier (P) | BRANDT/TradeMark Nitrogen Chevrolet | 97 | 8 | Chevrolet Camaro |
26 | 10 | 00 | Cole Custer (P) | Haas Automation Ford | 97 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
27 | 18 | 88 | Carson Kvapil | Clarience Technologies Chevrolet | 91 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
28 | 20 | 9 | Brandon Jones | Menards/Little HUG Chevrolet | 91 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
29 | 13 | 5 | Anthony Alfredo | Dead On Tools Chevrolet | 91 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
30 | 24 | 31 | Parker Retzlaff | FUNKAWAY Chevrolet | 91 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
31 | 35 | 91 | Kyle Weatherman | DGM Racing Chevrolet | 87 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
32 | 11 | 19 | Taylor Gray(i) | Operation 300 Toyota | 75 | 0 | Toyota TRD Supra |
33 | 26 | 32 | Jordan Anderson | Volpi Foods Chevrolet | 75 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
34 | 17 | 11 | Josh Williams | Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet | 75 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
35 | 8 | 97 | Shane Van Gisbergen # (P) | WeatherTech Chevrolet | 75 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
36 | 28 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | One Stop/All South Electric Chevrolet | 60 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
37 | 25 | 92 | Nick Leitz | Precision Measurements Inc Chevrolet | 41 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
38 | 12 | 1 | Sam Mayer (P) | First Bank of Alabama Chevrolet | 98 | 1 | Chevrolet Camaro |
# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver
P – Playoffs eligible
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