Race 31 of 33: Credit One NASCAR AMEX Credit Card 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway
Track Specs: 1.5-mile oval / 200 laps
Race Winner: Austin Hill
Allgaier’s finish: 8th
Mayer’s finish: 9th
Zilisch’s finish: 12th
Jones’ finish: 19th
Smith’s finish: 22nd
Justin Allgaier
Justin Allgaier, driver of the No. 7 Precision Build/BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet, scored a well-earned and methodical eighth-place finish on Saturday evening in the NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Allgaier fought hard throughout the 200-lap event and secured extremely valuable stage points at the conclusion of both Stages One and Two prior to taking the checkered flag with his third consecutive top-10 result. With tonight’s finish, Allgaier now sits 35 points above the cut line heading into the final race of the Round of 8 next weekend at Martinsville Speedway, where the JR Motorsports driver brought home the victory last season to advance to the Championship 4.
“We came here and knew we needed to have a strong points day and I’m thankful that we did just that. Jim (Pohlman, crew chief) gave me a great Precision Build/BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet today. I know it’s not a win like we were hoping for, but the points we gained today puts us in a good position next weekend at Martinsville. We just need to execute like we have been throughout this round and we’ll find ourselves where we want to be heading into Phoenix in two weeks.”
Sam Mayer
Sam Mayer, driver of the No. 1 10X Health Chevrolet, had his eyes set on the prize in the NASCAR Xfinity Series event Saturday evening at Homestead-Miami Speedway after locking the No. 1 Chevrolet into the ninth position to start the second race in the Round of 8. During Stage One, Mayer patiently saved his tires as much as possible until the end of the stage as he went after stage points, scoring a sixth-place finish. Throughout the majority of the second and third stages, the young driver struggled with both tight and free conditions while trying to make up track position riding the high line. Mayer battled hard throughout the closing laps to take the checkered flag in the ninth position. With one race remaining in the Round of 8, Mayer and the No. 1 JR Motorsports team are 47 points below the cutline to make it into the Championship 4 heading to Martinsville Speedway.
“Today was just not our day, honestly, and that’s unfortunate. But I am right behind my guys and I know they are right behind me so we will go and do what we need to do in Martinsville and go fight for a championship the following week.”
Brandon Jones
Brandon Jones, driver of the No. 9 Menards/Tuscany Chevrolet, qualified in the 20th position for the 200-lap NASCAR Xfinity Series feature at Homestead-Miami Speedway Saturday afternoon. During the opening laps Jones made quick work of the field, advancing into the top 15 where he would stay for the remainder of Stage One. Throughout the next two stages Jones battled the handling of his Chevrolet Camaro and worked to maintain his position in the field. A strategy call for a late-race green-flag pit stop saw Jones rejoin the field in 25th. With only a handful of laps remaining, Jones made his way into the top 20 where he would ultimately take the checkered flag in 19th.
“Homestead is a tough track and I wish our finish had a better reflection on how strong our Menards/Tuscany Chevrolet was today. We’ll rebound from today and be ready to get after it next week at one of my favorite tracks in Martinsville. We ran well there in the spring, so I hope we can bring another fast car and finish out the season strong.”
Connor Zilisch
Connor Zilisch made his third start of the 2024 season on Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway and brought home a 12th-place finish in the No. 88 Roto-Rooter Chevrolet. The young driver ran a steady, smooth race on the tricky, line-sensitive 1.5-mile South Florida oval under the direction of veteran crew chief Andrew Overstreet and spotter T.J. Majors. Staying calm, the young driver experimented with different lines and flirted with the outside barrier on occasion, but ran in the top 10 in the closing stages on the way to another solid finish. In three starts for JRM this season, Zilisch has a win, two top-five finishes and an average result of 5.6.
“It was a good run for me today in this Roto-Rooter Chevrolet. We alternated between being tight and being loose pretty much all day and running the fence like we wanted to was a little dicey at times, but Andrew (Overstreet) made good adjustments and T.J. talked me through some stuff. We’ll take this finish and put what we learned in the memory bank.”
Sammy Smith
Sammy Smith, driver of the No. 8 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet, started his second NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff event at Homestead-Miami Speedway strong with a 10th-place qualifying effort. After rolling in row five for the Credit One NASCAR Amex Credit Card 300, Smith fell a few spots as he struggled with a loose-handling car. The JR Motorsports team fought radio issues, a loose condition and tire cording for most of the Saturday afternoon event. Persevering through the variety of obstacles, Smith worked on his line and fought for every position he could. In the end, Smith and his team finished 22nd on the 1.5-mile oval. Smith has one last shot to make it into the Championship 4 next weekend when the NXS takes the green flag in the final race of the Round of 8 at Martinsville Speedway.
