Race 5 of 33: Focused Health 250 at Circuit of the Americas
Track Specs: 3.41-mile road course / 50 laps
Race Winner: Kyle Larson
Mayer's finish: 9^th
Allgaier's finish: 13^th
Jones' finish: 16^th  
Smith's finish: 36^th 

Sam Mayer

After a hard-fought battle at Circuit of the Americas on Saturday, Sam Mayer, driver of the No. 1 Roto-Rooter Chevrolet, scored a ninth-place finish to lead the team. Mayer battled loose conditions throughout the majority of Stage One, but held on to the top-10 position. With four laps remaining in the stage, crew chief Mardy Lindley called the No. 1 Chevrolet down pit road for four tires and fuel as well as damage repair from contact on the right front that led to the young driver finishing 15^th in Stage One. Mayer started Stage Two in fifth after the pit cycle fell through the field and continued to race for track position up front. Due to short-cutting a corner, the Franklin, Wis. native served a pass-through penalty, setting him at the back of the field to ultimately finish 27^th in Stage Two. After another pit cycle, Mayer took the green flag for the final stage in 11^th. The field started to shake up as a caution came out with three laps to go that put the No. 1 sixth in line. Just after the restart, another yellow-flag waved and put the field into overtime. It also put Mayer in contention for the victory as he used the choose option to line up on the outside of the front row. Mayer was scored ninth at the checkered flag.

“Super proud of our No. 1 Roto Rooter Chevrolet today. The guys gave me a really fast car and although we battled a lot of challenges, I think today we really showed what we can prove this season. I am looking forward to Richmond and hopefully we can be in contention for a good finish there.”

Brandon Jones

Brandon Jones, driver of the No. 9 Menards/Spectracide Chevrolet, qualified in the 18^th position for the 46-Lap feature at Circuit of the Americas, the 3.41-mile road course. Jones battled a loose race car for the majority of Stage One and, in an attempt to gain valuable positions starting Stage Two, crew chief Phillip Bell made the decision to short the stage, pitting under green on lap 11 of 14. This allowed Jones to restart the second stage in the 17^th position. This strategy would pay off in the end, putting Jones in the position to lead the final two laps of the stage. Unfortunately, due to a track-limit violation after the green-and-white checkered waved, Jones was not scored as the winner of the stage and had to restart the final segment from the tail of the field. After the race went into overtime due to a full-course caution, Jones was able to work his way back into the top 20, ultimately finishing 16^th. 

"We struggled this weekend with a loose race car and had a lot to overcome after qualifying 18^th. Road courses are a different beast and this No. 9 team worked hard to put a strong car out on the track. Phillip (Bell, crew chief) and I worked hard on our strategy coming into the weekend and I wish the results would have shown that. We are going to regroup this week and keep looking forward to the next race."

Justin Allgaier

Justin Allgaier, driver of the No. 7 BRANDT Professional Agriculture / Rev1 Energy Chevrolet, charged toward the front during NASCAR’s version of overtime, improving 11 positions to take the checkered flag in 13^th in the NASCAR Xfinity Series event at the Circuit of the Americas on Saturday afternoon. Allgaier, who ran inside the top-10 for much of the final stage, was forced to rally through the field not once, but twice during the scheduled 46-lap matinee before securing the top-15 result. With today’s finish, the JR Motorsports driver sits eighth in the championship standings, just 22 markers outside of the top five.

"We overcame a lot of adversity today with our BRANDT Professional Agriculture / Rev1 Energy Chevrolet. Jim (Pohlman, crew chief) and all the guys on this No. 7 team made some great adjustments throughout the course of the race that put us up toward the front there near the end. Unfortunately the cautions ran long before that final restart and we had to come to pit road,  but I am proud of the effort by everyone today. We never gave up and fought back there at the end. Now it’s on to Richmond, one of my favorite places on the schedule."

Sammy Smith

The No. 8 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet team made its first trip to Texas together and started on a strong note, qualifying 13^th on Friday for Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Circuit of the Americas. Smith and crew chief Adam Wall felt they would be a competitive top-five car and proved that to be true as Smith ran in the top five throughout Stage One, earning valuable stage points with a second-place finish. The remainder of the race, Smith kept his nose clean and drove a steady race until being collected in a late incident that left the Pilot Flying J Chevrolet with too much damage to repair. As a result, Smith was forced to bring his No. 8 Camaro behind the wall, ending his day short of the finish. In the end, Smith was scored 36^th.

"I felt like our Pilot Flying J Chevrolet really had what it needed for us to finally break into the top five. I hate it for my guys because we were running up front all day, had great pit stops and picked up stage points. We’ll put our heads together and regroup for Richmond."