In a race dominated by pole sitter Ty Gibbs, it was Sam Mayer using a late race restart and his front bumper to score the victory at Watkins Glen Internation in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race. It is Mayer’s second career victory in the Xfinity Series, both coming on road courses and in the 2023 season.
Gibbs, who is a regular in the NASCAR Cup Series, started from the pole and led 70 of 86 laps. He was looking for his second career win at The Glen before a late race caution was waved. Parker Retzlaff of Jordan Anderson Racing lost control of his car and was stuck in sand off of turn six. This incident set up a restart which triggered a multi-car wreck in turn five. After being used up by Gibbs on the previous restart, Mayer wasn’t going to forget what happened.
The final restart occurred in NASCAR overtime, a two-lap dash to determine the finishing order. Mayer lined up behind Gibbs in row two and dove in Gibbs in turn one which sent the Toyota of Gibbs spinning and collecting Austin Hill in a then second place position.
Mayer’s work was far from over as Sheldon Creed was able to pass Mayer. Creed then lost control of his car in turn seven approaching the final lap. Mayer quickly skirted inside of the Chevrolet to cruise to victory.
Results
With Mayer and Creed occupying the first two positions, Parker Kligerman survived to take third place. Cup Series regular Ross Chastain and Toyota development driver Connor Mosack rounded out the top five. In a day of survival, John Hunter Nemechek and Cole Custer overcame earlier incidents to take sixth and seventh. Chandler Smith, Alex Bowman, and Jeb Burton took home the remaining top ten spots. Full results can be found here.
Action from The Glen wraps up on Sunday as the NASCAR Cup Series tackles the birthplace of American Road Racing. Denny Hamlin will start from the pole. Green flag waves at 3 p.m. with coverage on USA Network and MRN Radio.
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