Results

Drive for the Cure 250

Saturday, October 12th, 2024

Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course, Concord, NC

  • 25 Chevrolet
  • 6 Toyota
  • 7 Ford

  • Wednesday, October 9th, 2024
  • NASCAR Wire Service - Reid Spencer
NASCAR Xfinity elimination race has all the ingredients for intense drama

It would be difficult to imagine a tighter race for the final spots in the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Round of 8 entering Saturday’s Drive for the Cure 250 Presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course.

Only 23 points separate seventh-place AJ Allmendinger from 12th-place Parker Kligerman as the series prepares to trim its Playoff field from 12 drivers to eight. Justin Allgaier, who entered the Playoffs as the top seed, is seven points below the cut in ninth place, followed by Shane van Gisbergen (-10), Sam Mayer (-13) and Kligerman.

Initially, all eyes will turn to Allmendinger, who is undefeated in four Xfinity starts at the 17-turn, 2.280-mile circuit, which has undergone significant changes to Turns 6, 7 and 16 since last year’s race.

“I’m always super pumped to get to the Roval,” said Allmendinger, who did not run last year’s Xfinity race but picked up his first NASCAR Cup Series win there. “The last five years we’ve made such great memories, and hopefully we can continue to make some more.

“The new layout will be a little bit different compared to what we have run in the past, so that will be a new challenge. Overall, we’re going there with the mentality to try to get as many points as possible in the stages and get the best finish we can to hopefully get us into the next round of the Playoffs.”

Allmendinger’s main competition is likely to come from his Kaulig Racing teammate, Van Gisbergen, who like Allmendinger, also is racing in the Cup series this weekend. The three-time Australian Supercars champion has three Xfinity Series road course victories this season—at Portland, Sonoma and the Chicago Street Course.

“It’s going to be a big challenge, as it’s not like anything I’ve ever driven before,” Van Gisbergen said. “The track is a hybrid, not really a road course, and the cars are compromised to run on the oval as well. Going to be a fun weekend, but also going to be tough.

“We are on the other side of the playoff cut line than we want to be on, so just want to be up there at the front and get as many points as possible, which should hopefully put us in a good position for an awesome result in my WeatherTech Chevy.”

Mayer, who won last year’s Roval Playoff race from the pole, hopes to erase his 13-point deficit. Both Sammy Smith and Chandler Smith already have clinched spots in the Round of 8, leaving six berths up for grabs on Saturday.

  • Drive for the Cure 250 Presented by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina
  • Pole Winner: Shane Van Gisbergen
  • Age: 35
  • Team : No 97 - WeatherTech Chevrolet
  • Owner: Matthew Kaulig
  • Crew Chief: Kevin Walter
  • Shane Van Gisbergen won the Pole Award for the Drive for the Cure 250 Presented by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina with a lap of 84523 seconds, 97110 mph
  • This is his third pole in 29 NASCAR Xfinity Series races
  • This is his third pole and eighth top-10 start in 2024
  • This is his first pole in one races at Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course
  • Sam Mayer (second) posted his 15th top-10 start of 2024 and his third in four races at Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course
  • AJ Allmendinger (third) posted his third top-10 start at Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course It is his 21st in 29 races this season
  • Shane Van Gisbergen (first) was the fastest qualifying rookie

  • Drivers Entered: 38
  • Laps Scheduled: 67
  • Laps Actual: 72 - NASCAR OVERTIME!
  • Margin of Victory: 01.474 Seconds
  • Time of Race: 2 Hours 25 Minutes 35 Seconds
  • Average Speed: 66.290
  • Cautions: 7 for 20 laps
  • Lead Changes: 12
  • Green Flag Passes: 1,506 (29.0 passes per green flag lap)

  • Drive for the Cure 250 Presented by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina
  • Race Winner: Sam Mayer
  • Age: 21
  • Team : No 1 - QPS Employment Group Chevrolet
  • Owner: LW Miller
  • Crew Chief: Mardy Lindley
  • Sam Mayer won the Drive for the Cure 250 Presented by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, his seventh victory in 113 Xfinity Series races
  • This is his third victory and 12th top-10 finish in 2024
  • This is his second victory and third top-10 finish in four races at Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course
  • AJ Allmendinger (second) posted his fifth top-10 finish in five races at Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course It is his 15th top-10 finish in 2024
  • Shane van Gisbergen (third) posted his first top-10 finish in one races at Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course
  • Shane van Gisbergen (third) was the highest finishing rookie
  • Chandler Smith leads the point standings by 23 points over Austin Hill
Sam Mayer takes the checkered flag to win
Concord, North Carolina - October 12, 2024 : Sam Mayer, driver of the #1 QPS Employment Group Chevrolet, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Xfinity Drive for the Cure 250 presented by BCBS at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Jared C TiltonGetty Images
Drive for the Cure 250 at Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course results
FIN ST # DRIVER MAKE TOT PTS FIN PTS STG PTS PO PTS LAPS LED X LED S1 S2 STATUS
2 3 16 AJ Allmendinger Chevrolet 51 35 15 1 72 18 1 1 6 Running
9 13 20 Aric Almirola Toyota 35 28 7 0 72 0 0 0 4 Running
7 9 7 Justin Allgaier Chevrolet 49 30 18 1 72 6 1 3 1 Running
6 22 48 Parker Kligerman Chevrolet 31 31 0 0 72 12 1 0 0 Running
15 27 27 Jeb Burton Chevrolet 22 22 0 0 72 0 0 0 0 Running
22 26 38 Matt DiBenedetto Ford 15 15 0 0 72 0 0 0 0 Running
31 30 43 Ryan Ellis Chevrolet 6 6 0 0 58 0 0 0 0 Running
27 36 15 Dylan Lupton Ford 10 10 0 0 71 0 0 0 0 Running
17 25 28 Ryan Sieg Ford 20 20 0 0 72 0 0 0 0 Running
38 24 44 Brennan Poole Chevrolet 1 1 0 0 32 0 0 0 0 Accident
13 14 00 Cole Custer Ford 24 24 0 0 72 0 0 0 0 Running
8 4 19 Josh Bilicki Toyota 32 29 3 0 72 10 1 9 10 Running
14 19 91 Alex Labbe Chevrolet 23 23 0 0 72 0 0 0 0 Running
4 6 21 Austin Hill Chevrolet 40 33 7 0 72 0 0 4 0 Running
11 15 9 Brandon Jones Chevrolet 26 26 0 0 72 0 0 0 0 Running
20 21 51 Jeremy Clements Chevrolet 17 17 0 0 72 0 0 0 0 Running
36 23 11 Josh Williams Chevrolet 1 1 0 0 32 0 0 0 0 Accident
32 12 98 Riley Herbst Ford 8 5 3 0 57 0 0 8 0 Driveshaft
16 11 5 Anthony Alfredo Chevrolet 21 21 0 0 72 0 0 0 0 Running
21 29 50 Preston Pardus Chevrolet 16 16 0 0 72 0 0 0 0 Running
35 5 18 Sheldon Creed Toyota 7 2 5 0 38 0 0 6 0 Accident
33 34 29 Blaine Perkins Ford 4 4 0 0 56 0 0 0 0 Running
23 35 39 Kyle Sieg Ford 14 14 0 0 72 0 0 0 0 Running
1 2 1 Sam Mayer Chevrolet 53 40 8 5 72 13 3 0 3 Running
24 37 92 Dawson Cram Chevrolet 0 0 0 0 72 0 0 0 0 Running
29 28 07 Sage Karam Chevrolet 10 8 2 0 63 0 0 0 9 Brakes
5 7 81 Chandler Smith Toyota 36 32 4 0 72 1 1 10 8 Running
12 20 31 Parker Retzlaff Chevrolet 25 25 0 0 72 0 0 0 0 Running
26 31 45 Brad Perez Chevrolet 11 11 0 0 72 0 0 0 0 Running
18 10 88 Connor Mosack Chevrolet 0 0 0 0 72 5 2 7 2 Running
10 16 8 Sammy Smith Chevrolet 27 27 0 0 72 0 0 0 0 Running
28 33 42 Leland Honeyman Jr Chevrolet 15 9 6 0 65 0 0 0 5 Accident
37 18 26 Ed Jones Toyota 1 1 0 0 32 0 0 0 0 Accident
19 8 2 Jesse Love Chevrolet 24 18 6 0 72 0 0 5 0 Running
3 1 97 Shane van Gisbergen Chevrolet 47 34 13 0 72 7 3 2 7 Running
30 17 32 Austin Green Chevrolet 7 7 0 0 58 0 0 0 0 Engine
25 38 14 Nathan Byrd Chevrolet 12 12 0 0 72 0 0 0 0 Running
34 32 35 Thomas Annunziata Toyota 3 3 0 0 52 0 0 0 0 Accident

Race Infractions

Penalties imposed prior to or during the race.

Driver Infraction Penalty Lap Lap Assessed Flag
Ed Jones Pre-Race to the Rear Unapproved Adjustments Tail End 0 0 White
Thomas Annunziata Pre-Race to the Rear Unapproved Adjustments Tail End 0 0 White
Sam Mayer Jumping the start Pass Thru 0 2 Green
Nathan Byrd Unspecified Not serving Stop & Go after missing Chicane Pass Thru 10 12 Green
Thomas Annunziata Unspecified Missed Chicane Tail End 19 24 Green/Yellow
Thomas Annunziata Pitting before pit road is open Tail End 20 24 Yellow
Dylan Lupton Pitting before pit road is open Tail End 21 24 Yellow
Ryan Ellis Pitting before pit road is open Garage Tail End 21 0 Yellow
Ryan Ellis Too many crewmember(s) in contact with pit service area Garage Tail End 23 0 Yellow
Thomas Annunziata Unspecified Choose Violation Tail End 23 24 Yellow
Leland Honeyman Jr Too many crewmember(s) in contact with pit service area Tail End 28 29 Yellow
Anthony Alfredo Pitting before pit road is open Tail End 34 37 Yellow
Riley Herbst Pitting before pit road is open Tail End 34 37 Yellow
Ryan Sieg Pitting before pit road is open Tail End 34 37 Yellow
Sheldon Creed Pitting before pit road is open Tail End 34 37 Yellow
Dylan Lupton Pitting before pit road is open Tail End 34 37 Yellow
Thomas Annunziata Pitting before pit road is open Tail End 39 43 Yellow
Thomas Annunziata Crewmember(s) over the wall too soon Tail End 39 43 Yellow
Riley Herbst Pitting before pit road is open Pass Thru 39 51 Green/Yellow
Riley Herbst Too many crewmember(s) in contact with pit service area Pass Thru 39 51 Green/Yellow
Riley Herbst Speeding on pit road Pass Thru 39 51 Green/Yellow
Ryan Sieg Pitting before pit road is open Tail End 40 43 Yellow
Anthony Alfredo Pitting before pit road is open Tail End 40 43 Yellow
Brad Perez Pitting before pit road is open Tail End 40 43 Yellow
Sheldon Creed Pitting before pit road is open Garage Tail End 40 0 Yellow
Justin Allgaier Unspecified Missed Chicane - Garage Pass Thru 62 0 Green
Riley Herbst Pitting before pit road is open Garage Tail End 67 0 Yellow