XFINITY Series Iowa Speedway

NASCAR XFINITY Series

Loop Data Box Score

Hy-vee PERKS 250

Saturday, June 15th, 2024

Iowa Speedway, Newton, IA

  • 26 Chevrolet
  • 5 Toyota
  • 7 Ford

  • Thursday, June 13th, 2024
  • NASCAR Wire Service - Reid Spencer
NASCAR Xfinity Series returns to an oval after Kiwi domination

If the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ first trip to Iowa Speedway since 2019 will be a tutorial of sorts for New Zealander Shane van Gisbergen, it’s familiar and welcome territory for Justin Allgaier, who will compete there for the 17th time in Saturday’s Hy-Vee PERKS 250 (3:30 p.m. ET on USA, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Van Gisbergen, a three-time Australian Supercars champion, is fresh from back-to-back victories on road courses at Portland and Sonoma, but the Kiwi has never won on a NASCAR oval and hasn’t posted a top 10 on an oval track since his sixth-place finish at Phoenix in the fourth race of the season.

Understandably, van Gisbergen will need to sharpen his skills on conventional NASCAR tracks during the remaining regular-season races in order to be a contender for the championship. Included in the list of Playoff tracks is just one road course, the Charlotte Roval.

Allgaier, on the other hand, is an adept road racer as well as a perennial contender on Xfinity ovals, and in the field for Saturday’s race, only Jeremy Clements (19) and Joey Gase (17) have more Iowa starts.

The driver of the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet has scored 12 top 10s in his 16 starts at the 0.875-mile track, with a win in 2018 and three other top fives to his credit there.

Already locked into the series Playoffs with a victory at Darlington, Allgaier can add to his current total of 15 Playoff points (bolstered by a whopping 10 stage wins) with a victory at Iowa.

“I’m really looking forward to our return to Iowa this weekend,” Allgaier said. “This has always been one of my favorite tracks, and it’s great to be going back there.

“JRM was always really strong (there), and I see no reason why we won’t have that same speed again when we unload for practice on Friday. Hopefully we can have a smooth weekend and be fighting for the win on Saturday.”

The only variable Allgaier hasn’t faced at Iowa is the partially repaved surface—a necessity given the age and degradation of the original asphalt there.

  • Iowa Speedway
  • Hy-vee PERKS 250
  • Pole Winner: Austin Hill
  • Age: 30
  • Team: No. 21 - Bennett Transportation Chevrolet
  • Owner: Richard Childress Racing
  • Crew Chief: Andy Street
  • Start positions set by NASCAR's Performance Metrics Qualifying (PMQ).
  • Austin Hill won the Pole Award for the Hy-vee PERKS 250 by having the highest total PMQ.
  • PMQ is a total number calculated on four performance metrics from the previous race:
  • 15% of the driver's fastest lap time position.
  • 25% of the driver's final race finish position.
  • 25% of the owner's final race position.
  • 35% of the Owner Points position.

  • Saturday, June 15th, 2024
  • NASCAR Wire Service - Reid Spencer
Sam Mayer holds off Riley Herbst for overtime NASCAR Xfinity Series win at Iowa

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.

  • Drivers Entered: 38
  • Laps Scheduled: 250
  • Laps Actual: 253 - NASCAR OVERTIME!
  • Margin of Victory: 0.146 Seconds
  • Time of Race: 2 Hours 36 Minutes 27 Seconds
  • Average Speed: 84.899
  • Cautions: 9 for 71 laps
  • Lead Changes: 13
  • Green Flag Passes: 1,552 (8.5 passes per green flag lap)

  • Hy-Vee Perks 250
  • Race Winner: Sam Mayer
  • Age: 20
  • Team : No 1 - Roto-Rooter Chevrolet
  • Owner: LW Miller
  • Crew Chief: Mardy Lindley
  • Sam Mayer won the Hy-Vee Perks 250, his sixth victory in 99 Xfinity Series races
  • This is his second victory and eighth top-10 finish in 2024
  • This is his first victory and first top-10 finish in one race at Iowa Speedway
  • Riley Herbst (second) posted his second top-10 finish in three races at Iowa Speedway It is his sixth top-10 finish in 2024
  • Corey Heim (third) posted his first top-10 finish in one races at Iowa Speedway
  • Leland Honeyman (13th) was the highest finishing rookie
  • Cole Custer leads the point standings by 1 points over Chandler Smith
Austin Hill leads the pack of cars
Newton, Iowa - June 15, 2024 : Austin Hill, driver of the #21 Bennett Transportation Ford, leads the pack of cars during the NASCAR Xfinity Series Hy-Vee Perks 250 at Iowa Speedway.
Sean GardnerGetty Images

Race weekend links appear as data becomes available.

Hy-vee PERKS 250 at Iowa Speedway Loop Data Box Score results
DRIVER ST MID CLO FIN HI LOW ARP PL DIF GFP GFxP PD QPS % QPS FST % T15 LED % LED LAPS DR TOT PTS
Sam Mayer 5 11 2 1 1 12 4.2 4 42 32 10 38 90.48 18 100.0 47 18.6 253 133.50 57
Riley Herbst 12 13 4 2 1 24 9.0 10 65 53 12 50 76.92 4 89.7 7 2.8 253 97.20 38
Corey Heim 22 10 6 3 3 22 9.4 19 94 70 24 66 70.21 12 88.1 0 0.0 253 100.10 0
Sammy Smith 17 2 9 4 1 20 7.4 13 59 44 15 53 89.83 10 98.4 0 0.0 253 105.70 45
Sheldon Creed 3 9 5 5 1 19 4.7 -2 36 39 -3 33 91.67 18 98.8 0 0.0 253 115.80 46
Cole Custer 7 3 3 6 2 11 4.9 1 42 40 2 40 95.24 8 100.0 0 0.0 253 108.30 38
Matt DiBenedetto 24 18 17 7 7 28 18.2 17 70 59 11 25 35.71 0 24.1 0 0.0 253 77.70 30
Chandler Smith 6 1 8 8 1 13 4.1 -2 27 30 -3 27 100.00 50 100.0 131 51.8 253 131.80 49
Ross Chastain 28 5 7 9 3 28 10.0 19 75 48 27 51 68.00 3 84.2 0 0.0 253 89.30 0
Daniel Dye 37 14 11 10 8 37 16.8 27 76 56 20 32 42.11 1 48.2 0 0.0 253 76.90 0
Parker Kligerman 10 24 10 11 7 25 13.9 -1 61 49 12 41 67.21 2 75.1 0 0.0 253 80.00 26
Ryan Sieg 15 23 19 12 1 25 14.7 3 63 59 4 36 57.14 5 63.2 8 3.2 253 83.00 25
Leland Honeyman Jr 25 17 13 13 9 28 18.9 12 54 48 6 15 27.78 0 26.5 0 0.0 253 67.30 24
Ryan Ellis 20 15 12 14 3 27 16.5 6 53 78 -25 17 32.08 0 36.4 0 0.0 253 74.20 23
Anthony Alfredo 19 21 15 15 10 30 20.7 4 53 52 1 7 13.21 0 13.8 0 0.0 253 61.00 22
Joey Gase 36 22 14 16 9 36 25.2 20 38 54 -16 4 10.53 0 14.2 0 0.0 253 50.70 21
David Starr 31 27 16 17 14 36 26.9 14 16 12 4 1 6.25 0 2.0 0 0.0 253 50.20 20
Brett Moffitt 29 4 21 18 3 29 14.1 11 77 58 19 36 46.75 8 59.3 0 0.0 252 79.50 0
Kyle Sieg 21 20 22 19 16 30 21.2 2 55 63 -8 0 0.00 0 0.0 0 0.0 252 54.80 18
Josh Williams 27 16 18 20 1 29 21.0 7 49 77 -28 7 14.29 1 13.4 4 1.6 252 59.60 17
Jeremy Clements 16 26 23 21 1 28 20.3 -5 57 81 -24 7 12.28 1 17.4 7 2.8 252 69.30 16
Dawson Cram 34 25 24 22 16 34 25.7 12 12 19 -7 0 0.00 0 0.0 0 0.0 252 45.20 15
Patrick Emerling 32 29 20 23 18 35 26.8 9 32 26 6 0 0.00 0 0.0 0 0.0 252 43.00 14
Jeb Burton 30 31 25 24 12 35 26.5 6 25 11 14 3 12.00 0 5.5 0 0.0 250 62.30 13
Hailie Deegan 33 28 26 25 25 38 30.1 8 11 20 -9 0 0.00 0 0.0 0 0.0 250 36.80 12
Garrett Smithley 35 30 27 26 25 37 30.8 9 12 14 -2 0 0.00 0 0.0 0 0.0 250 35.80 11
John Hunter Nemechek 8 7 1 27 1 24 6.8 -19 46 58 -12 44 95.65 20 96.4 35 14.3 244 95.10 0
Brennan Poole 14 19 29 28 11 29 21.7 -14 37 51 -14 7 18.92 0 9.9 0 0.0 218 53.70 9
Austin Hill 1 12 28 29 1 21 12.4 -28 52 57 -5 49 94.23 3 76.3 0 0.0 217 77.70 9
Justin Allgaier 4 8 30 30 1 15 12.1 -26 42 32 10 38 90.48 7 79.1 14 7.0 200 88.00 18
Jesse Love 9 6 31 31 4 30 17.9 -22 34 39 -5 31 91.18 0 57.7 0 0.0 149 79.00 7
Parker Retzlaff 13 32 32 32 12 32 26.9 -19 24 44 -20 3 12.50 0 7.1 0 0.0 103 48.30 5
Kyle Weatherman 23 33 33 33 14 30 30.6 -10 19 24 -5 0 0.00 0 0.4 0 0.0 87 35.80 4
Shane van Gisbergen 2 34 34 34 2 35 33.2 -32 11 8 3 0 0.00 0 0.0 0 0.0 86 29.30 3
Blaine Perkins 18 35 35 35 17 31 32.5 -17 11 30 -19 0 0.00 0 0.0 0 0.0 86 31.50 2
Brandon Jones 26 36 36 36 14 33 33.2 -10 13 6 7 2 15.38 0 2.0 0 0.0 38 39.00 1
AJ Allmendinger 11 37 37 37 10 13 33.7 -26 5 6 -1 5 100.00 0 12.7 0 0.0 32 40.00 1
Glen Reen 38 38 38 38 37 38 38.0 0 4 4 0 0 0.00 0 0.0 0 0.0 20 23.20 1