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No. 8 NASCAR Chevy Wins Xfinity Talladega, No. 1 Chevy Disqualified

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.”

Image of the Xfinity Series race at Talladega with NASCAR Chevy Camaro race cars out front.

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.

NASCAR Xfinity Series Race, Talladega Superspeedway, October 5, 2024
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

Alexandra is a Colorado-based journalist with a passion for all things involving horsepower, be it automotive or equestrian.

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