Race 30 of 33: Ambetter Health 302 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Track Specs: 1.5-mile tri-oval / 201 laps
Race Winner: AJ Allmendinger
Allgaier’s finish: 3rd
Mayer’s finish: 14th
Jones’ finish: 17th
Smith’s finish: 32nd
Justin Allgaier
Justin Allgaier, driver of the No. 7 BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet, scored a Stage Two victory and battled hard throughout the final stage of Saturday evening’s NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway before taking the checkered flag in the third position. With tonight’s top-three result, Allgaier now sits 32 points above the playoff cutline with two races remaining in the Round of 8 as the NXS heads to Homestead-Miami Speedway next weekend.
“We did what we needed to do tonight with our BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet. Jim (Pohlman, crew chief) called a great race and we had a really strong car right from the drop of the green flag. I’m really happy to be coming away from here with a solid finish. We know what we need to do with just two races left in the round and if we go out and execute like we did today, I know we are going to have a great chance to move on to Phoenix.”
Sam Mayer
Sam Mayer, driver of the No. 1 10X Health Chevrolet, was poised for a solid run at Las Vegas Motor Speedway after putting his No. 1 Chevrolet fourth in line to start the Saturday-evening NASCAR Xfinity Series event. After a few shuffles back to mid-pack, the young driver held on for a 10th-place finish in Stage One and lined up seventh for the restart. Over the course of the 201-lap event, Mayer battled tight and loose conditions that made it difficult for him to find the right line to gain track position. Crew chief Mardy Lindley made multiple adjustments throughout the final stage to allow Mayer more drive that helped him climb back into the top 10 with 14 laps remaining. Running inside the top 10, Mayer fought for position through NASCAR’s version of overtime before being shuffled out of line and back to 14th by the time the checkered flag waved. After tonight’s efforts, the 21-year-old currently sits three spots below the cutline, 47 points behind the leader with two races left in the NXS Playoffs Round of 8.
“Tonight was just not our night, unfortunately, and I hate it for this No. 1 JR Motorsports team as they work so hard each and every week to bring fast cars. We have our work cut out for us heading to Homestead next week, but we know what we need to do and I have no doubt in my mind that we can do just that.”
Brandon Jones
After capturing his fourth pole of the season, Brandon Jones led the field to green for the Ambetter Health 302 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Saturday afternoon. The 27-year-old Georgia native then led the opening five laps until an on-track incident brought out the first caution of the day. Jones would continue to battle for position through the remainder of the first two stages, taking both green-and-white checkered flags within the top 10. Unfortunately, Jones sustained damage to the rear bumper of his Menards/Pelonis Chevrolet during the start of the final stage that severely impacted the handling of his race car. Utilizing feedback from his team, Jones fought until the end to take the checkered flag in the 17th position.
“This Menards/Pelonis Chevrolet was fast all weekend and I hate that we didn’t get the result to show for it but I am so proud of this team for never giving up. We are going to keep looking forward to Homestead next week and focus on finishing the season strong.”
Sammy Smith
Sammy Smith, driver of the No. 8 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet, entered this afternoon’s NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with his JR Motorsports team looking to keep the positive momentum going Qualifying in the fifth position, Smith looked poised to march toward the front, taking the lead from teammate Brandon Jones on an early-race restart. Smith ran in the top five for most of Stage One before pitting for adjustments. From there, the Johnson, Iowa native remained inside the top 10 until a restart incident caused damage to the nose and fender of his No. 8 Camaro. Smith and his crew fought hard, but in the end were ultimately scored with a 32nd-place finish in the opening race of the Round of 8.
