June 15, 2024 | By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service

Sam Mayer holds off Riley Herbst for overtime NASCAR Xfinity Series win at Iowa

NEWTON, Ia. — In a race of tire management and hurt feelings, Sam Mayer held off Riley Herbst in overtime to win Saturday’s Hy-Vee Perks 250 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ return to Iowa Speedway after a four-year hiatus.

Mayer’s No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet crossed the finish line 0.146 seconds ahead of the No. 98 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford of Herbst, who felt Mayer had abused him earlier in the race.

The victory was Mayer’s second of the season and the sixth of his career, all coming within the last 29 races in the series.

“We struggled (Friday in practice), and the team went to work,” said Mayer, who started fifth when qualifying was canceled because of rain earlier on Saturday. “Obviously, we did pretty good overnight, making different changes on this race car.

“I feel really good. I could do another 100 laps — with a race car like this, it would be a lot of fun.”

Mayer held the lead when John Hunter Nemechek slammed the outside wall in Turn 4 with his left front tire down, the result of close quarters racing with Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Sheldon Creed.

That accident on Lap 245 caused the ninth caution of the afternoon and sent the race three laps beyond its scheduled distance.

In the overtime, Mayer and Herbst took the green flag side-by-side and remained in that posture into Turn 1, but Mayer cleared the race runner-up off Turn 2 and held the top spot the rest of the way.

“I like racing Sam, but Stage 1 or 2 he just absolutely brooms me,” Herbst said. “We were racing clean for fourth, and he takes us back to 10th and then doors me down the back straightaway before the green-white-checker.

“It’s just frustrating the way he wants to do that, but all in all, it was fun. I’m happy to be back on ovals. The speed is back in the 98.”

Corey Heim finished a career-best third after starting 22nd because of the qualifying rainout. Sammy Smith was fourth, followed by Creed, who survived the dust-up with Nemechek after a restart on Lap 238.

Cole Custer, Matt DiBenedetto, Chandler Smith, Ross Chastain and Daniel Dye completed the top 10.

If any driver had cause for frustration, it was Chandler Smith, who led a race-high 131 laps and swept the first two stages. Smith restarted third to begin the final stage, but lack of short-run speed quickly dropped him to 12th, and he never recovered.

Austin Hill likewise had reason to bemoan his result. Overcoming early handling issues, Hill charged into the top five in the final stage, but a cut left front tire sent him hard into the Turn 1 wall on Lap 218, causing the seventh caution.

Hill finished 29th and dropped to third in the series standings, 41 points behind Custer, the current leader and defending series champion. Chandler Smith, second in the standings, trails Custer by one point.


NASCAR Xfinity Series Race Number 15
Race Results for the Hy-Vee Perks 250 - Saturday, June 15, 2024
Iowa Speedway - Newton, IA - 0.875 - Mile Paved

Total Race Length - 253 Laps - 221.375 Miles

Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Saturday, 6/15/2024 @ 06:48 PM Eastern

Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Stage 1 Pos Stage 2 Pos Pts Status Tms Laps Playoff Pts
1 5 1 Sam Mayer Roto-Rooter Chevrolet 253 3 2 57 Running 3 47 5
2 12 98 Riley Herbst Monster Energy Ford 253  8 38 Running 2 7
3 22 26 Corey Heim(i) yahoo! Toyota 253 8 4 0 Running  
4 17 8 Sammy Smith TMC Tramsportation Chevrolet 253 5 5 45 Running  
5 3 18 Sheldon Creed Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Toyota 253 2 6 46 Running  
6 7 00 Cole Custer Haas Automation Ford 253 6 9 38 Running  
7 24 38 Matt Dibenedetto Rema Ford 253   30 Running  
8 6 81 Chandler Smith Mobil 1 Toyota 253 1 1 49 Running 2 131 2
9 28 92 Ross Chastain(i) Rich Mar Florist Chevrolet 253  3 0 Running  
10 37 10 Daniel Dye(i) Race to Stop Suicide Chevrolet 253   0 Running  
11 10 48 Parker Kligerman Spiked Lite Coolers Chevrolet 253   26 Running  
12 15 39 Ryan Sieg Sci Aps Ford 253   25 Running 1 8
13 25 42 Leland Honeyman # RANDCO Industries Chevrolet 253   24 Running  
14 20 43 Ryan Ellis Shine Water Chevrolet 253   23 Running  
15 19 5 Anthony Alfredo Ferguson Chevrolet 253   22 Running  
16 36 35 Joey Gase Iowa Donor Network Chevrolet 253   21 Running  
17 31 14 David Starr  Chevrolet 253   20 Running  
18 29 19 Brett Moffitt(i) Destiny Homes Toyota 252 7  0 Running  
19 21 28 Kyle Sieg RSS Racing Ford 252   18 Running  
20 27 11 Josh Williams Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet 252   17 Running 1 4
21 16 51 Jeremy Clements Whitetail Smokeless Chevrolet 252   16 Running 1 7
22 34 4 Dawson Cram # Teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet 252   15 Running  
23 32 07 Patrick Emerling Hoker Trucking LLC Chevrolet 252   14 Running  
24 30 27 Jeb Burton State Water Heaters Chevrolet 250   13 Running  
25 33 15 Hailie Deegan # AirBox Ford 250   12 Running  
26 35 6 Garrett Smithley Teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet 250   11 Running  
27 8 20 John Hunter Nemechek(i) Daisy Brands Toyota 244 9  0 Accident 2 35
28 14 44 Brennan Poole Macc Door Systems Chevrolet 218   9 Oil Line  
29 1 21 Austin Hill Bennett Transportation Chevrolet 217  10 9 Accident  
30 4 7 Justin Allgaier BRANDT/Precision Build Chevrolet 200 4 7 18 Accident 1 14
31 9 2 Jesse Love # Whelen Chevrolet 149 10  7 Accident  
32 13 31 Parker Retzlaff FVP Verified. Proven. Chevrolet 103   5 Electrical  
33 23 91 Kyle Weatherman DriveSmartWarranty.com Chevrolet 87   4 Accident  
34 2 97 Shane Van Gisbergen # Kubota Chevrolet 86   3 Accident  
35 18 29 Blaine Perkins AutoParkit.com Ford 86   2 Accident  
36 26 9 Brandon Jones Menards/Pelonis Chevrolet 38   1 Engine  
37 11 16 AJ Allmendinger Cirkul Chevrolet 32   1 Accident  
38 38 53 Glen Reen  Chevrolet 20   1 Carburetor  

Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 36 Mins, 27 Secs. Average Speed: 84.899 MPH Margin of Victory: 0.146 Seconds

Stage 1 Top 10: 81, 18, 1, 7, 8, 00, 19, 26, 20, 2
Stage 2 Top 10: 81, 1, 92, 26, 8, 18, 7, 98, 00, 21

Caution Flags: 9 for 71 laps; Laps: 35-41 (No. 16 Incident Turn 4 [29]); 73-82 (No. 27 Incident Turn 2 / Stage 1 Conclusion [4]); 88-96 (No. 91, 29, 97 Incident Backstretch [07]); 125-132 (No. 07 Spin Turn 2 [14]); 151-160 (No. 2 Incident Turn 4 / Stage 2 Conclusion [14]); 203-210 (No. 7 Incident Turn 4 [35]); 219-224 (No. 21 Incident Turn 1 [5]); 231-237 (Fluid on track [38]); 246-251 (No. 20 Incident Turn 4 [39]).

Lead Changes: 13 among 8 drivers; A. Hill 0; J. Allgaier 1-14; C. Smith 15-37; J. Nemechek(i) 38-41; J. Clements 42-48; C. Smith 49-156; J. Williams 157-160; R. Sieg 161-168; S. Mayer 169-206; J. Nemechek(i) 207-237; R. Herbst 238-243; S. Mayer 244-250; R. Herbst 251; S. Mayer 252-253.

(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

Next Race: June 22, 2024 - New Hampshire Motor Speedway

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