NASCAR Monday Mash-Up: From Roval to Round of 8
This weekend at the Charlotte Roval didn’t provide the chaos and wild finish that we all hoped it would. Still, it was a NASCAR elimination weekend. Perhaps that alone gave the race at the Roval a little more intensity while watching from home. But, we never got that big moment.
Then again, in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, we did have a big crash at the end that changed things dramatically. But even then, Sam Mayer was dominant for most of the day and led a lot of laps on Saturday. His win felt inevitable even when he was restarting on the second row.
Next up is another Xfinity and Cup doubleheader, but it’s Las Vegas for an intermediate track. These tracks have put on great races for most of the season. But before we get to Vegas, let’s go over the Roval action.
Xfinity Series walk-off for Sam Mayer
Coming into the weekend, Sam Mayer had to win to advance. He had some bad luck and made some bad moves throughout the playoffs prior. So, it put him in a bad spot.
During this race, we did see some minor issues for drivers. For the most part, the pit cycles were typical and expected of the Roval. Mayer won the pole and was fast out of the gate. Despite Justin Allgaier taking the lead early, Mayer was right there waiting to take control.
Once he did, Mayer was able to control the race, more or less.
On a late restart, Jeb Burton and Justin Allgaier were both on the front row. Burton just didn’t have the tires and couldn’t make the turn, he slid out of Turn 1 and into Allgaier, wrecking them both and causing a slight traffic jam in the process.
Cole Custer and Sam Mayer would then battle it out. Mayer just had the best car in the race and might arguably be one of the top road course racers. He has three wins on the road this year and could claim himself the top Xfinity Driver on the lefts and rights.
More importantly, Sam Mayer goes to the Round of 8 and could get his way into Phoenix over the next few weeks. However, with no road courses left, Mayer will likely have to do something he has never done before and win a race on an oval.
For now, Mayer is celebrating.
John Hunter Nemechek, Austin Hill, Justin Allgaier, Sam Mayer, Cole Custer, Chandler Smith, Sheldon Creed, and Sammy Smith are in the Round of 8.
NASCAR Cup Series eliminations
Again, the NASCAR Cup Series race was more of what we have come to expect from the Roval and road courses in general. Not a lot of chaos and slamming into walls. When cars did spin out, they were able to keep going or at least make it to pit road, most of the time.
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However, we did see some issues on the course for various drivers.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in his Pizza Rolls car caught fire with 13 laps to go. Stenhouse himself was fine, but it was a scary image as the car filled with smoke and the driver was not visible on the broadcast.
He got out and watched as the safety crew extinguished the flames. Ricky thought it was funny, though.
Denny Hamlin spun out and was a DNF in this race. However, he clinched his spot in the playoffs by earning enough points in the first two stages. So, it doesn’t really matter all that much. He’s pissed about the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series schedule, though.
Josh Bilicki got taken out by Corey LaJoie as the 7 car came off pit road. It was a strange wreck and Bilicki said it was “Typical Corey.”
In the end, this race came down to AJ Allmendinger, William Byron, and Kyle Busch. Busch had to win to get to the next round. It just wasn’t in the cards for him. Allmendinger was too good in the closing laps and put this one away with an emotional finish.
Eliminations were Kyle Busch, Bubba Wallace, Ross Chastain, and Tyler Reddick.
The NASCAR Playoffs are now down to the Round of 8. William Byron, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Chris Buescher, Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, and Ryan Blaney are your remaining drivers.