Race 28 of 33: United Rentals 250 at Talladega Superspeedway
Track Specs: 2.66-mile tri-oval / 98 laps
Race Winner: Sammy Smith
Allgaier’s finish: 25th
Kvapil’s finish: 27th
Jones’ finish: 28th
Mayer’s finish: 38th
Sammy Smith
Sammy Smith, driver of the No. 8 TMC Chevrolet, secured his first victory of the season and the second of his NASCAR Xfinity Series career on Saturday afternoon at the unpredictable Talladega Superspeedway. The victory couldn’t have come at a better time, as it locked Smith into the Round of 8 in the NXS Playoffs for the second straight season. Smith qualified 27th for the United Rentals 250, but within the first six laps, the young driver charged his way into the top 10 and closed out Stage One in 11th. Crew chief Phillip Bell made some adjustments as Smith was able to drive to second to close out Stage Two. He spent the majority of the final stage in the top three as the field saw three cautions, one of which resulted in a red flag. Smith and spotter Tyler Monn utilized the idle time to strategize which lane they would choose on the overtime restart. Smith quickly found the bottom lane and drove his way to the front and into the lead. Holding on over the final lap and a half, Smith was able to cross the finish line first and take the No. 8 TMC Chevrolet to victory.
“I can’t even express how happy I am to get this victory. I couldn’t have dreams of the race going any better. My team went into this race with a solid strategy, knowing what needed to happen for us to be able to transfer to the Round of 8. Tyler (Monn) did a great job guiding me through traffic all day. It’s great to get a victory for my partners TMC and Pilot Flying J as well. I just can’t thank everyone enough.”
Justin Allgaier
Justin Allgaier, driver of the No. 7 BRANDT Professional Agriculture/TradeMark Nitrogen Chevrolet, scored valuable stage points at the end of Stage One and was in position to fight for the win in the closing laps of Saturday afternoon’s NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Talladega Superspeedway. However, after taking the race lead with just four laps remaining, Allgaier was caught on the outside line and ultimately collected in a multi-car accident as the pack entered Turn 1, causing severe damage to both the front and rear of his JR Motorsports Camaro. Despite the damage, the No. 7 team, through will and determination, repaired what they could to take the checkered flag in the 25th position. The Illinois native now sits just seven points below the cutline with one race remaining in the Round of 12 next weekend at the Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
“Our BRANDT Professional Agriculture/TradeMark Nitrogen Chevrolet was extremely fast today. We did all we could out there to get the win, and it’s just really unfortunate that we aren’t coming out of her with the finish we deserved. But this group never gives up. We’ll keep our heads held high and be ready to give it all we have next week at the Roval. We didn’t hear that final bell and we will keep fighting until the very end.”
Carson Kvapil
Carson Kvapil had a strong run in his first NASCAR Xfinity Series start at Talladega Superspeedway, racing the majority of the 94-lap feature within the top 15. The young driver, who will compete full-time next season for JRM, utilized the draft to maintain his track position and work his way through the field. In the close laps Kvapil looked to make a charge with his Clarience Technologies Chevrolet before he was collected in a multi-car incident as the field entered the first corner. The subsequent damage proved too severe for the driver of the No. 88 to continue, relegating Kvapil to a 27th-place finish.
“Superspeedway racing is unpredictable, but this Clarience Technologies Chevrolet was pretty good all day long. This place is really big and you have to drive it a certain way, so coming into the weekend I just wanted to learn as much as I could. I wish we could have gotten the finish we deserved for my last race of the season, but I’ll file all this away and use it for the superspeedways next season.”
Brandon Jones
Brandon Jones, driver of the No. 9 Menards/Little HUG Chevrolet, was set for a strong finish at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday afternoon, until a late-race on-track incident brought an abrupt end to his day. After qualifying in the 20th position, the 27-year-old Georgia native utilized the draft to work his way through the pack over the course of the opening two stages. A pit-stop strategy made by crew chief Adam Wall saw Jones restart the final stage on the front row. Unfortunately, with three laps remaining, Jones’ day came to a halt due to a crash in the pack in Turn One. In the end, Jones was ultimately scored with a 28th-place finish.
“Even though we didn’t qualify where we would have liked to, this team gave me a fast Menards/ Little HUG Chevrolet capable of moving through the field. I hate we didn’t get the finish we deserved, but we plan to move forward and refocus on the Roval next weekend.”
Sam Mayer
Sam Mayer, driver of the No. 1 First Bank of Alabama Chevrolet, battled hard throughout Saturday afternoon’s NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Talladega Superspeedway. Mayer, who ran inside the top 10 for much of the day, found himself in position to contend for the win in the closing laps during NASCAR’s version of overtime. Doing all he could, Mayer was left without any drafting help as the field took the white flag, shuffling the JR Motorsports driver back to 16th by the time the checkered flag waved. However, Mayer’s finish was nullified after an infraction was found during post-race technical inspection. As a result, Mayer was ultimately scored with a 38th-place finish.
“We know what we need to do next week at the Roval. We were able to make that happen last year and I know we can do it again. Our First Bank of Alabama Chevrolet was really strong today. We’ll keep fighting and do all we can next week to get ourselves into the next round.”