Sam Mayer earns walk-off win at the Roval, advances to Xfinity Series Round of 8

Sam Mayer won the pole to start the day and he is going to take the checkered flag to end it in a dominating victory at the Roval. He had to win to make the NASCAR Xfinity Series Round of 8 and he did just that. This is his third win of the season, all three coming on road courses.

Early on, Sam Mayer was challenged by his teammate Justin Allgaier. He was also challenged by teammate Josh Berry who was in a similar points situation and had to win.

Despite pressure from his teammates and other drivers like Cole Custer, he held on and pulled away late. Mayer chose to forgo stage points in Stages 1 and 2 in order to get the best tire and fuel advantage he could. It all worked out in the end.

Sam Mayer is going to the Round of 8.

REPOST to congratulate Sam Mayer!

He wins his way into the Round of 8 at the Charlotte ROVAL! #NASCARPlayoffs | @XfinityRacing pic.twitter.com/sXUsDTa7UK

— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 7, 2023

JR Motorsports gets Justin Allgaier and Sam Mayer into the Round of 8. They have a really strong chance to make the Championship Four if they keep running so well throughout these playoffs. Josh Berry was eliminated after the race.

Daniel Hemric was another driver who just missed out on making the transfer. Sheldon Creed took the final spot into the Round of 8 leaving Hemric and Parker Kligerman on the outside looking in as well as Jeb Burton.

So, we have our Round of 8. The NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs will continue at Las Vegas. This championship race is wide open for those still in the hunt.

Sam Mayer still chasing a championship

At 20 years old, Sam Mayer has been having a breakout season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. He gets his first career win and follows it up with three wins in total. He still has a chance to get more before these playoffs are all said and done.

Mayer has shown at times that he is still a young driver. However, I was more or less impressed with his performance at the Roval. He did bump Cole Custer to make a pass. I’m not sure he needed to do that, but he did, and it’s part of the game. Custer had a chance to give him a shove back and didn’t.

Say what you will, Mayer has gotten results. He compared himself to AJ Allmendinger in the postrace interview on the fronstretch. He’s got a while to go before he gets to the level of The Dinger, but Mayer has shown his prowess on road courses lately.

After winning that race at Road America, he’s been a different driver. He is more aggressive and it has worked out for him for the most part. If it keeps working, will remain to be seen.

John Hunter Nemechek, Just Allgaier, and Sam Mayer gets wins to advance. Cole Custer makes it on points, along with Austin Hill, Chandler Smith, Sammy Smith, and Sheldon Creed.