Sam Mayer wins first Xfinity Series race at his home track Road America: Sam Mayer took a dramatic double overtime victory in Saturday’s Road America 180 at the iconic Elkhart Lake, Wisc. road course – the 21-year old hometown favorite claiming his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory at his home race track; rolling into victory lane, climbing onto his driver’s side window and pulling apart his drivers suit like Superman to a happy and familiar crowd.(Read more)(7-29-2023)
It took until double overtime for #1-Sam Mayer to grab the lead in a hard-fought battle with #24-Sage Karam, #7-Justin Allgaier and #48-Parker Kligerman, but once he did he went on to win the Xfinity Series race at Road America. It’s the first win for #1-Mayer in 71 career starts.
#48-Kligerman picked up his best finish of the season in second. #21-Austin Hill went off course a couple of times but finished third. #24-Karam earned his best career finish in fourth, while #98-Riley Herbst overcame two spins to place fifth.
#8-Josh Berry finished sixth, as #26-Kaz Grala, #91-Josh Bilicki, #10-AJ Allmendinger and #9-Brandon Jones filled out the top 10.
#7-Allgaier won both stages and spun while battling for the lead in the second overtime, which dropped him to 18th in the running order after leading 42 of 49 laps.
There were two lead changes among three drivers and eight cautions for 15 yellow flag laps.
The average speed of the race was 65.265 mph.
See race details at: Race Results, Drivers Points Standings, Owners Points Standings, Cumulative Report, Penalty Report.
Road America Paint Schemes
Race Fast Facts – Road America:
Sam Mayer won the Road America 180, his first victory in 72 Xfinity Series races.
This is his first victory and 12th top-10 finish in 2023.
This is his first victory and first top-10 finish in four races at Road America.
Parker Kligerman (second) posted his third top-10 finish in four races at Road America. It is his ninth top-10 finish in 2023.
Austin Hill (third) posted his second top-10 finish in three races at Road America.
Parker Retzlaff (14th) was the highest finishing rookie.
Austin Hill leads the point standings by 14 points over John Hunter Nemechek.
Xfinity Series Standings after Road America (Race 20 of 33):
1)#21-Austin Hill (4 wins, regular season championship leader)
2)#20-John Hunter Nemechek (4 wins)
3)#00-Cole Custer (2 wins)
4)#7-Justin Allgaier (1 win)
5)#1-Sam Mayer (1 win)
6)#16-Chandler Smith (1 win)
7)#18-Sammy Smith (1 win)
8)#27-Jeb Burton (1 win)
9)#8-Josh Berry 612, +107
10)#11-Daniel Hemric 579, +74
11)#98-Riley Herbst 530, +25
12)#2-Sheldon Creed 527, +22
Currently below playoff cutline
13)#48-Parker Kligerman 505, -22
14)#9-Brandon Jones 466, -61
15)#25-Brett Moffitt, 445, -82
See the Drivers Points Standings and Owners Points Standings.
Cars to the rear: #4-Kyle Weatherman, #8-Josh Berry, #38-Joe Graf Jr., #39-Ryan Sieg, #43-Ryan Ellis (all for unapproved adjustments); #08-Alex Labbe, #11-Daniel Hemric (changed engines); #9-Brandon Jones, #18-Sammy Smith, #51-Jeremy Clements (backup car)
Pit Stall Selections
In an eventful qualifying session, #10-AJ Allmendinger won the pole for the Henry 180 Xfinity Series race at Road America. His speed of 111.606 mph set a new track record, and it’s his 10th career pole; six of which have come on road courses.
Two-time road course winner in 2023 #00-Cole Custer came up just shy of the pole (111.352 mph). #7-Justin Allgaier dropped to third (111.164 mph) after being quickest in practice. #98-Riley Herbst (110.598 mph) and #1-Sam Mayer (110.476 mph) rounded out the top five.
#24-Sage Karam earned the best starting spot of his career, and its the best effort for Sam Hunt Racing in team history. #19-Connor Mosack ranked seventh in qualifying, with #20-John Hunter Nemechek, #26-Kaz Grala and #18-Sammy Smith completing the top 10. #18-Smith got into the wall on his lap.
See the complete Road America Starting Lineup.
Qualifying Fast Facts — Road America
AJ Allmendinger(i) won the Pole Award for the Road America 180 with a lap of 130.574 seconds,
111.606 mph.
This is his 10th pole in 97 NASCAR Xfinity Series races.
This is his second pole and third top-10 start in 2023.
This is his third pole in six races at Road America.
Cole Custer (second) posted his 17th top-10 start of 2023 and his fourth in five races at Road America.
Justin Allgaier (third) posted his sixth top-10 start at Road America. It is his 15th in 20 races this
season.
Sammy Smith (10th) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
Qualifying Order
Practice for the Xfinity Series race at Road America is complete. After 50 minutes, the top five, slowest, news and notes:
#7-Justin Allgaier 110.100 mph
#98-Riley Herbst 109.343 mph
#10-AJ Allmendinger 109.254 mph
#00-Cole Custer 109.251 mph
#20-John Hunter Nemechek 109.234 mph
Slowest: #9-Brandon Jones 92.206 mph
Most laps run: #16-Chandler Smith, 16
Notes: It was an eventful session that started on the warmup lap, when #9-Brandon Jones made contact with the wall, believing he ran over dirt or oil. Seconds later, #2-Sheldon Creed went off course in the kink and smacked the wall. #25-Brett Moffitt also went for a spin in the kink. #07-Katherine Legge and #27-Jeb Burton both went off course into the grass. #39-Ryan Sieg destroyed his left front suspension when he ran over a set of rumble strips. #4-Kyle Weatherman and #45-Leland Honeyman both drove through gravel traps. As time expired, #08-Alex Labbe had an engine expire.
See full Road America Practice Results.
Crew Rosters
Goodyear Tire Notes
There are 38 cars on the entry list for the Xfinity Series race at Road America. No drivers/teams will miss the event.
Notables: #4-Kyle Weatherman, #07-Katherine Legge, #08-Alex Labbe, #10-AJ Allmendinger, #19-Connor Mosack, #24-Sage Karam, #35-Stanton Barrett, #44-Brad Perez, #45-Leland Honeyman, #91-Alex Labbe. See the full entry list on the Road America Entry List page.
Road America At-Track Schedule