Race 23 of 33: Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway
Track Specs: 1.366-mile oval / 150 laps
Race Winner: Christopher Bell
Smith’s finish: 5th
Allgaier’s finish: 10th
Kvapil’s finish: 14th
Mayer’s finish: 28th
Jones’ finish: 32nd
Sammy Smith
Sammy Smith, driver of the No. 8 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet, earned his best finish yet at Darlington Raceway, taking the checkered flag in the fifth position. The one-day show for the NASCAR Xfinity Series saw Smith qualify in 11th for the afternoon event. The scorching temperatures made for a grueling day both physically and mentally, especially since Smith’s cool-shirt failed soon after the race began. The No. 8 JR Motorsports team rallied through adversity, with Smith running in the top 10 for the majority of the day. Heading to the Track Too Tough To Tame for the second time this season, crew chief Adam Wall and team set up a strong car that Smith was comfortable with, asking for only minor changes all day to help with grip on the hot track surface. The final stage was clear of cautions until the end, which caused a green-white-checkered overtime scenario. In the end, Smith came home with a fifth-place finish, his best at Darlington, and scored vital stage points in both segments.
“Today was tough physically since my cool shirt failed early on. It was a mental game from there and my spotter Tyler Monn helped to keep me in a calm and focused mindset. I am proud of the finish we brought home for Pilot Flying J, especially with the stage points we earned. That really helps us.”
Justin Allgaier
Justin Allgaier, driver of the No. 7 BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet, scored valuable stage points at the end of both Stage One and Stage Two before taking the checkered flag in the 10th position in the Saturday-afternoon matinee for the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Darlington Raceway. Wit this result, Allgaier has now finished inside the top 10 in eight consecutive races dating back to a fourth-place finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in June. Additionally, Allgaier held firm as the points leader in the NXS Playoff Grid following today’s finish, 28 points clear of the field with just three races remaining in the regular season.
“Jim (Pohlman, crew chief) and all the guys on this JR Motorsports team gave me a rally strong BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet today. I wish that last restart would’ve gone more our way., but it definitely feels good to know that we’re sitting in a really good points position with just a couple of races left before the playoffs. Now it’s on to Atlanta where we’ll go have some fun and see what we can do.”
Carson Kvapil
In his second career start at Darlington Raceway, Carson Kvapil put together a steady performance in his No. 88 Clarience Technologies Chevrolet ultimately earning a 14th-place finish. The 21-year-old driver ran as high as eighth in the closing stages, but a late-race caution forced a pit stop and a green-white-checkered finish. Over the final laps, Kvapil battled traffic to wind up a little farther back in the order. Despite being stuck fighting two- and three-wide for position, Kvapil was able navigate through the log-jam to bring his Clarience Technologies Camaro home in the 14th position.
“This trip to Darlington was a lot more comfortable than the first one in the spring, and our Clarience Technologies Chevrolet had good speed at times during the race. This place is so hard to get a hold on, and we struggled with grip all day, but we were in a good spot at the end. I was just too tight on the green-white-checkered finish, but it was a good day overall.”
Sam Mayer
Sam Mayer, driver of the No. 1 10X Health Chevrolet, set his machine up for success after qualifying third for the Saturday afternoon NASAR Xfinity Series event at Darlington Raceway. Mayer wasted no time charging to the front, passing for second on lap 20 and taking the race lead a few laps later. The young driver started to pull away from the field until his left rear tire went flat heading into the third turn, sending Mayer straight to pit road for an unscheduled pit stop for four tires and fuel. During the pit stop, the team discovered that the tire had cut a brake line, and that resulted in Mayer having no rear brakes for the remainder of the race. Falling off the lead lap, the Franklin, Wis. native spent the rest of the event working to get back in the lead lap, but ultimately settled for a 28th-place finish.
“This No. 1 10X Health Chevrolet was extremely fast today. Mardy (Lindley, crew chief) and the guys had great strategy in mind and put together an absolute rocket-ship. It’s just unfortunate that we didn’t get a chance to come away with a finish this group deserves. We will keep our heads held high and focus on what is ahead and be ready to go next week in Atlanta.”
Brandon Jones
Brandon Jones, driver of the No. 9 Menards/Patriot Lighting Chevrolet, had a strong start to the weekend, qualifying in the seventh position for Saturday’s feature at Darlington Raceway. Jones maintained his position within the top 10 for the majority of Stage One, until an on-track incident on the final lap of the stage forced the JR Motorsports driver to pit for repairs. After battling the damage to the left side of his Menards/Patriot Lighting Chevrolet for the remainder of the race, Jones took the checkered flag in 32nd position. He is currently 14th in points with three races remaining in the regular season.
“We qualified well and had a fast race car coming into the weekend, so it hurt to not be able to race to our full ability. But I am proud of the hard work this team put in today to keep us in the fight and we are going to come back stronger next week in Atlanta. We know what we need to do now and will be ready to go at my home track.”
