XFINITY Series Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course

NASCAR XFINITY Series

Pit Stops

Drive for the Cure 250

Saturday, October 7th, 2023

Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course, Concord, NC

  • 28 Chevrolet
  • 8 Ford
  • 6 Toyota

  • Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course
  • Drive for the Cure 250 presented by BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina
  • Pole Winner: Sam Mayer
  • Age: 20
  • Team : No. 1 - Accelerate Pros Talent Chevrolet
  • Owner: L.W. Miller
  • Crew Chief: Mardy Lindley
  • Sam Mayer won the Pole Award for the Drive for the Cure 250 presented by BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina with a lap of 82.045 seconds, 101.798 mph.
  • This is his second pole in 80 NASCAR Xfinity Series races.
  • This is his first pole and 15th top-10 start in 2023.
  • This is his first pole in three races at Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course.
  • Justin Allgaier (second) posted his 22nd top-10 start of 2023 and his fifth in six races at Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course.
  • Josh Berry (third) posted his first top-10 start at Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course. It is his 17th in 29 races this season.
  • Chandler Smith (17th) was the fastest qualifying rookie.

  • Saturday, October 7th, 2023
  • NASCAR Wire Service - Reid Spencer
Sam Mayer stays alive in NASCAR Xfinity Playoffs with dominating win

The NASCAR Xfinity Series has a new road course ace.

“We may be Allmendinger 2.0,” Sam Mayer quipped after winning Saturday’s Drive for the Cure 250 presented by BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course and clinching a spot in the Round of 8 in the series Playoffs.

The reference was to AJ Allmendinger, winner of the previous four Xfinity races at the 2.32-mile, 17-turn circuit. With Allmendinger ineligible for the race as a full-time NASCAR Cup driver this year, Mayer took over and got the win he needed to advance in the Playoffs.

Mayer earned the final spot in the Round of 8 at the expense of seventh-place finisher Daniel Hemric, who ran third in a three-way drag race to the finish line with Parker Kligerman and Kaz Grala—when a fifth-place result would have been enough to survive the round.

“They came out in the bottom of the seventh and hit a home run,” said Hemric, who finished second in each of the first two stages and was bounced from the postseason only because Mayer won from last place in the Xfinity Playoff standings.

Lining up second next to Cole Custer for a restart on Lap 63 of 67, Mayer muscled his way past Custer’s No. 00 Ford through Turns 3 and 4 a lap later and pulled away to win by .909 seconds.

“I knew we had time,” said Mayer, who led five times for 50 laps. “Our car was so fast—it really felt unbeatable… We kicked their tails today, and it just feels so great.”

The victory was the third for the 20-year-old driver of the No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet—all this year and all on road courses.

“This is our second-chance moment,” Mayer said. “I think we can make something out of it… We can go on and do great things because of this win.”

Kligerman, Josh Berry and Jeb Burton joined Hemric on the Playoff sidelines. Kligerman missed out by five points after coming home sixth.

Berry finished third despite battling issues with his power steering but fell short in a must-win situation, as did Burton, who stayed out on old tires for a restart on Lap 60 and crashed into Justin Allgaier’s Chevrolet in Turn 1.

Sheldon Creed, on the other hand, squeaked into the Round of 8 by two points over Hemric after running 10th on Saturday.

“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—I thought we would be better than that.”

After the Lap 63 restart, Hemric’s fate was in the hands of Custer, who couldn’t keep Mayer behind him.

“We struggled on the short run, for sure,” Custer said. “It’s frustrating. There are definitely things on the replay I could have done different, but our guys did a great job all day, getting our car to where we could compete for a win—but we just needed a little more.”

Riley Herbst ran fourth, with Kaz Grala fifth. Kligerman, Hemric, Stage 2 winner John Hunter Nemechek, Hill and Creed completed the top 10.

  • Drivers Entered: 42 (4 drivers will not make the race)
  • Laps Scheduled: 67
  • Margin of Victory: 0.909 Seconds
  • Time of Race: 2 Hours 0 Minutes 31 Seconds
  • Average Speed: 77.387
  • Cautions: 4 for 12 laps
  • Lead Changes: 10
  • Green Flag Passes: 1,369 (24.9 passes per green flag lap)

  • Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course
  • Drive for the Cure 250 presented by BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina
  • Race Winner: Sam Mayer
  • Age: 20
  • Team : No. 1 - Accelerate Pros Talent Chevrolet
  • Owner: L.W. Miller
  • Crew Chief: Mardy Lindley
  • Sam Mayer won the Drive for the Cure 250 presented by BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina, his third victory in 80 Xfinity Series races.
  • This is his third victory and 16th top-10 finish in 2023.
  • This is his first victory and second top-10 finish in three races at Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course.
  • Cole Custer (second) posted his third top-10 finish in three races at Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course. It is his 19th top-10 finish in 2023.
  • Josh Berry (third) posted his second top-10 finish in two races at Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course.
  • Sammy Smith (11th) was the highest finishing rookie.
  • John Hunter Nemechek leads the point standings by 35 points over Cole Custer.
Cole Custer celebrates in victory lane
Avondale, Arizona - November 4, 2023 : Cole Custer, driver of the #00 Haas Automation Ford, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway.
Jared C TiltonGetty Images

Pit Stop Summary Report

Summary of each driver's pit stop during the race. Detailed Report is below the Summary Report.

DRIVER ST FIN # STOPS AVG DRV TIME DRV RNK AVG CREW TIME CREW RANK AVG TOT TIME TOT RNK FASTEST STOP SLOWEST STOP
Justin Allgaier 2 37 3 27.095 5 15.042 1 42.136 1 41.362 43.040
Riley Herbst 9 4 3 27.256 7 15.193 3 42.449 2 41.658 43.933
Cole Custer 7 2 3 27.047 4 15.471 5 42.518 3 41.597 43.786
Austin Hill 8 9 3 27.506 11 15.160 2 42.666 4 40.757 43.631
Sheldon Creed 5 10 3 27.253 6 15.449 4 42.702 5 41.836 43.697
Sam Mayer 1 1 3 26.813 1 15.938 8 42.751 6 42.010 43.327
John Hunter Nemechek 38 8 3 27.029 3 15.927 7 42.956 7 42.220 43.972
Daniel Hemric 4 7 3 27.020 2 16.271 9 43.291 8 42.400 44.161
Josh Berry 3 3 3 27.529 12 15.827 6 43.356 9 41.610 44.435
Parker Kligerman 6 6 3 27.383 8 16.650 10 44.033 10 42.578 46.372
Alex Labbe 10 15 2 27.737 16 16.666 11 44.403 11 43.402 45.404
Jeb Burton 19 34 2 27.553 13 16.867 13 44.420 12 43.193 45.646
Kaz Grala 14 5 3 27.388 9 17.256 15 44.645 13 43.194 47.312
Brandon Jones 11 29 3 27.777 17 17.095 14 44.872 14 42.988 45.941
Sammy Smith 22 11 3 28.340 21 16.739 12 45.079 15 44.100 46.620
Connor Mosack 16 24 3 27.614 14 17.914 17 45.528 16 43.731 46.815
Chandler Smith 17 12 3 27.621 15 18.010 18 45.632 17 43.141 47.427
Jordan Taylor 12 16 3 27.902 18 18.874 23 46.776 18 46.130 47.438
Myatt Snider 31 14 3 29.150 30 17.629 16 46.779 19 45.613 48.336
Ryan Ellis 30 36 1 28.903 25 18.118 19 47.021 20 47.021 47.021
Kyle Sieg 36 32 3 28.464 22 18.807 21 47.272 21 46.615 48.581
Ryan Sieg 25 13 2 28.096 20 19.232 24 47.328 22 46.482 48.173
Jeremy Clements 15 23 2 28.584 24 18.836 22 47.420 23 45.619 49.220
Rajah Caruth 28 19 1 27.505 10 20.006 28 47.511 24 47.511 47.511
Josh Williams 33 20 2 29.100 29 18.518 20 47.618 25 47.382 47.853
Brett Moffitt 27 38 2 28.487 23 19.286 25 47.773 26 47.222 48.323
3 29.395 31 19.353 26 48.748 27 46.438 50.805
Blaine Perkins 24 28 2 28.986 28 19.853 27 48.839 28 47.839 49.838
Anthony Alfredo 21 30 1 28.006 19 20.854 31 48.860 29 48.860 48.860
Parker Retzlaff 23 22 2 28.921 27 20.020 29 48.941 30 48.107 49.774
Joe Graf Jr 35 31 1 28.918 26 20.787 30 49.705 31 49.705 49.705

Pit Stop Detailed Report

Each 2- and 4-wheel pit stop during the race.

DRIVER LDR LAP DRV LAP DRV TIME CREW TIME TOT TIME TYPE
57 56 28.253 18.185 46.438 4-wheel change
40 40 29.448 19.553 49.001 4-wheel change
21 21 30.485 20.320 50.805 4-wheel change
Justin Allgaier 55 54 26.614 14.748 41.362 4-wheel change
Justin Allgaier 21 21 27.193 14.814 42.007 4-wheel change
Justin Allgaier 37 37 27.477 15.563 43.040 4-wheel change
Parker Kligerman 40 40 26.862 15.716 42.578 4-wheel change
Parker Kligerman 56 56 27.232 15.916 43.148 4-wheel change
Parker Kligerman 21 21 28.054 18.318 46.372 4-wheel change
Brett Moffitt 41 35 28.337 18.885 47.222 4-wheel change
Brett Moffitt 22 15 28.637 19.686 48.323 4-wheel change
Jeb Burton 36 35 26.977 16.216 43.193 4-wheel change
Jeb Burton 21 21 28.129 17.517 45.646 4-wheel change
Ryan Ellis 21 21 28.903 18.118 47.021 4-wheel change
Ryan Sieg 56 56 27.605 18.877 46.482 4-wheel change
Ryan Sieg 21 21 28.587 19.586 48.173 4-wheel change
Daniel Hemric 40 40 26.751 15.649 42.400 4-wheel change
Daniel Hemric 56 56 27.062 16.250 43.312 4-wheel change
Daniel Hemric 21 21 27.247 16.914 44.161 4-wheel change
Cole Custer 56 56 27.038 14.559 41.597 4-wheel change
Cole Custer 37 37 26.966 15.204 42.170 4-wheel change
Cole Custer 17 16 27.136 16.650 43.786 4-wheel change
John Hunter Nemechek 17 16 26.771 15.449 42.220 4-wheel change
John Hunter Nemechek 56 56 27.429 15.248 42.677 4-wheel change
John Hunter Nemechek 40 40 26.888 17.084 43.972 4-wheel change
Kaz Grala 56 56 26.944 16.250 43.194 4-wheel change
Kaz Grala 37 36 27.462 15.966 43.428 4-wheel change
Kaz Grala 17 16 27.759 19.553 47.312 4-wheel change
Alex Labbe 56 56 27.687 15.715 43.402 4-wheel change
Alex Labbe 17 16 27.787 17.617 45.404 4-wheel change
Austin Hill 37 36 27.277 13.480 40.757 4-wheel change
Austin Hill 21 21 27.861 15.749 43.610 4-wheel change
Austin Hill 56 56 27.381 16.250 43.631 4-wheel change
Brandon Jones 37 37 26.705 16.283 42.988 4-wheel change
Brandon Jones 17 16 27.536 18.151 45.687 4-wheel change
Brandon Jones 56 56 29.091 16.850 45.941 4-wheel change
Jeremy Clements 56 56 28.135 17.484 45.619 4-wheel change
Jeremy Clements 40 40 29.033 20.187 49.220 4-wheel change
Joe Graf Jr 41 40 28.918 20.787 49.705 4-wheel change
Josh Williams 57 56 29.866 17.516 47.382 4-wheel change
Josh Williams 21 21 28.334 19.519 47.853 4-wheel change
Myatt Snider 17 16 28.863 16.750 45.613 4-wheel change
Myatt Snider 37 36 28.537 17.851 46.388 4-wheel change
Myatt Snider 56 56 30.051 18.285 48.336 4-wheel change
Riley Herbst 37 36 26.910 14.748 41.658 4-wheel change
Riley Herbst 56 56 27.274 14.481 41.755 4-wheel change
Riley Herbst 17 16 27.583 16.350 43.933 4-wheel change
Anthony Alfredo 56 56 28.006 20.854 48.860 4-wheel change
Sheldon Creed 21 21 27.221 14.615 41.836 4-wheel change
Sheldon Creed 56 56 26.924 15.649 42.573 4-wheel change
Sheldon Creed 40 40 27.615 16.082 43.697 4-wheel change
Josh Berry 56 56 27.630 13.980 41.610 4-wheel change
Josh Berry 16 16 27.472 16.550 44.022 4-wheel change
Josh Berry 37 36 27.485 16.950 44.435 4-wheel change
Blaine Perkins 40 40 28.553 19.286 47.839 4-wheel change
Blaine Perkins 21 21 29.418 20.420 49.838 4-wheel change
Kyle Sieg 40 40 27.730 18.885 46.615 4-wheel change
Kyle Sieg 56 56 28.768 17.851 46.619 4-wheel change
Kyle Sieg 21 21 28.895 19.686 48.581 4-wheel change
Sam Mayer 37 37 26.762 15.248 42.010 4-wheel change
Sam Mayer 56 56 26.600 16.316 42.916 4-wheel change
Sam Mayer 17 17 27.078 16.249 43.327 4-wheel change
Chandler Smith 56 56 27.525 15.616 43.141 4-wheel change
Chandler Smith 40 40 26.831 19.496 46.327 4-wheel change
Chandler Smith 21 21 28.508 18.919 47.427 4-wheel change
Parker Retzlaff 56 56 28.855 19.252 48.107 4-wheel change
Parker Retzlaff 37 36 28.987 20.787 49.774 4-wheel change
Rajah Caruth 56 56 27.505 20.006 47.511 4-wheel change
Connor Mosack 56 56 27.143 16.588 43.731 4-wheel change
Connor Mosack 37 36 27.820 18.218 46.038 4-wheel change
Connor Mosack 17 16 27.880 18.935 46.815 4-wheel change
Sammy Smith 56 56 27.984 16.116 44.100 4-wheel change
Sammy Smith 40 40 28.034 16.483 44.517 4-wheel change
Sammy Smith 21 21 29.003 17.617 46.620 4-wheel change
Jordan Taylor 37 36 27.694 18.436 46.130 4-wheel change
Jordan Taylor 17 16 28.133 18.628 46.761 4-wheel change
Jordan Taylor 56 56 27.880 19.558 47.438 4-wheel change