Sam Mayer locks up Championship 4 spot with Homestead win

Here are some takeaways from the Round of 8 playoff race at Homestead.

From a race-winning car to the bubble

The first two stages at Homestead played out just like Cole Custer needed. He started from pole, won stage 1 and then finished third in stage 2. Custer continued leading during the final stage and after green flag pit stops.

The situation completely changed on Lap 151. Custer, who had a lead of more than four seconds, began to suddenly slow down. He headed to pit road with a flat right-front tire while Sam Mayer inherited the lead.

The cause of the flat tire, as Custer explained, was him hitting the wall. He had run up by the wall all race long but pushed too hard during the final stage.

“We had such a fast car and our guys did such a great job,” Custer told NBC Sports. “They deserved to win today. I just got in too deep. I didn’t feel like I was pushing it, and I think I just passed a (lapped car) and I just got out of my rhythm. I just got in a little too deep and hit the fence.”

Instead of winning for the second time at Homestead and locking up a spot in the Championship 4, Custer headed back to Charlotte only three points above the cutline. Now he has to fight for every point at Martinsville, a track where he has one Xfinity start and one top-three finish.

A hot streak for a young contender

Sam Mayer broke through and scored his first Xfinity win on July 29 at Road America. He has since won at Watkins Glen International, the Charlotte Roval and Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Mayer has four wins in the last 12 races. John Hunter Nemechek has three in this same span of time while Justin Allgaier has two. Ty Gibbs, Denny Hamlin and Riley Herbst won the other three races.

“Oh my God, that’s crazy,” Mayer said about his recent hot streak during his post-race media session.

This recent run of success makes Mayer a driver to watch during the season finale at Phoenix. Will he score his second oval win in Xfinity?

Mayer only has four Xfinity starts at the one-mile track. His best finish is 11th in this season’s spring race.

These are not the best stats but Mayer also finished 35th or worse in three of the five races on 1.5-mile ovals this season before winning at Homestead to reach the Championship 4.

Continuing the momentum

Riley Herbst broke through and scored his first career national series win last week at Las Vegas, his home track. He led a career-high 103 laps and won by nearly 15 seconds.

Spotter Tim Fedewa told NBC Sports the week after this win that Herbst had “gotten the monkey off his back” and that he would only continue to get better and better as his NASCAR career continues.

Herbst’s father Troy said that the remaining races in 2023 were like the playoffs. He expressed the belief that there would be more wins.

Herbst nearly proved his father right on Saturday. He ran inside the top 10 in the first two stages and then he used a faster car to chase down Mayer in the final stage. He got to Mayer’s bumper but could not complete the pass on the final lap.

Herbst ran out of time after spending several laps trying to pass John Hunter Nemechek for second. If there had been one more lap, He would have potentially scored his second straight win. Though he told NBC Sports after the race that this was a hypothetical.

Herbst did not get the win. He still left Homestead with a second-place finish and tied his single-season mark of eight top-five finishes.

Herbst has also finished eighth or better in seven of the past nine races. This includes three straight finishes of fourth or better.

Herbst has two more opportunities to keep building momentum behind the wheel of the No. 98. One of these races takes place at Phoenix, where Herbst has finished fourth or better in three of the past five races.

Only one race remains before the Xfinity Series season finale at Phoenix Raceway. This elimination race will take place at Martinsville Speedway.

Only one driver is in a comfortable position heading to the Virginia short track. John Hunter Nemechek is 44 points above the first driver outside of a transfer spot to the Championship 4. He only lost three points after finishing third with 17 stage points.

Updated driver points | Updated owner points

“We are still in a really good points spot going into Martinsville,” Nemechek said after the race. “Just have to go execute — solid points day today, and that’s all you can ask for. Doesn’t matter how you get to Phoenix, just that you get there.”

Austin Hill and Cole Custer are the other two drivers above the cutline. They are both three points ahead of Justin Allgaier heading into the final race of the Round of 8.

The other three drivers below the cutline are in must-win situations. Sammy Smith is 49 points back of Custer and Hill after finishing ninth.

Chandler Smith is 54 points back after finishing 34th. He was involved in a multi-car crash on Lap 97 and then he later headed to the garage with an engine issue.

Sheldon Creed is the last driver below the cutline. He is 65 points back after finishing 26th. He was on the cusp of a top-10 finish before spinning into the outside wall and heading to pit road at the end of the race.

Six drivers led laps at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday.

Click here to see where everyone finished at Homestead.

Click here for the penalty report.

Click here for the cumulative race report.

Sam Mayer has checked off a career goal. He won his first Xfinity race on an oval track.

The driver of the No. 1 inherited the lead with fewer than 50 laps remaining at Homestead. He held off multiple challengers on late-race restarts and then he beat Riley Herbst on one final drag race to the checkered flag.

Following Herbst was John Hunter Nemechek, Austin Hill, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Daniel Hemric, Parker Kligerman, Brandon Jones, Sammy Smith and Joe Graf Jr.

Cole Custer finished 13th after a flat tire and a penalty for too many crew members over the wall. Justin Allgaier finished 15th after battling loose wheels in the final stage.

Sheldon Creed, who gambled by staying out on old tires, hit the wall at the end of the race after turning off the nose of another car. He headed to pit road from 12th and finished 26th. Chandler Smith finished 34th after heading to the garage with an engine issue.

Mayer, who won his first three races on road courses, punched his ticket to the Championship 4. He is the first driver to lock up a spot at Phoenix.

The caution has flown at Homestead-Miami Speedway for Josh Berry.

The incident occurred after the race went green. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Berry were racing next to each other when Earnhardt got loose and sent Berry into the outside wall in Turn 2.

This contact caused heavy damage to Berry’s car and led to it being slow on the track. He was able to make it back to pit road but fell multiple laps down.

Earnhardt continued making laps around the track under caution while voicing concern about a potential flat tire. His team said over the radio that all of his tires still had air.

The caution has come out again at Homestead-Miami Speedway with 37 laps remaining.

The cause of the caution was a tire carcass leaning against the wall on pit road.

Sam Mayer was in the lead at the time of the caution. Austin Hill was in second. Both drivers were in pursuit of the win that would lock up a spot in the Championship 4.

Riley Herbst, John Hunter Nemechek and Sheldon Creed were all racing inside of the top five. Daniel Hemric, Sammy Smith, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Brandon Jones and Parker Retzlaff were the other drivers inside of the top 10.

The caution sent the leaders down pit road for fresh tires. Sheldon Creed was the exception. He stayed out on the track to inherit the lead.

Cole Custer has had to make an unscheduled pit stop with fewer than 50 laps remaining at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Custer was slow on the track as he crossed the start-finish line with 49 laps to go. The cause was a flat right-front tire. He had to limp his way around the track before making his way back to pit road.

The issue got worse for Custer. He received a penalty for too many crew members over the wall. He had to serve a pass-through penalty that dropped him further outside of the top 20.

Prior to the flat tire, Custer had a 4.7-second lead over Sam Mayer in second. He had a 9.1-second lead over third place.

The tire issue took Custer from being in position to secure a spot in the Championship 4 to below the cutline.

The final set of green flag pit stops have taken place at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Sheldon Creed and Austin Hill stopped with 62 laps left in the Xfinity race. Cole Custer, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Sammy Smith, Ryan Ellis, Brandon Jones and others followed.

Stopping early did not give Creed and Hill an advantage. They still blended back onto the track behind Cole Custer and Sam Mayer.

One playoff driver also headed down pit road during the green flag cycle, albeit for a different reason. Chandler Smith headed behind the wall with smoke coming out of the No. 16.

Smith had sustained significant damage in an incident on Lap 97 but had cleared the DVP clock. A mechanical issue sent him behind the wall.

Justin Allgaier has made an early pit stop during the final stage of the Xfinity race at Homestead.

Allgaier, who was running fourth at the time, headed down pit road for fresh tires. He had previously voiced concerns about a possible loose wheel or a tire going down.

The No. 7 team confirmed after the pit stop that Allgaier had a loose left-rear wheel.

Allgaier fell one lap behind the leaders but was in the free pass position in the event of a caution. Though he used his fresh tires to move through the field and chase down the leaders so that he could unlap himself.

Two stages are complete at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Two drivers have been unable to score any points during the Round of 8 playoff race.

Chandler Smith, who was collected in a wreck on Lap 97, missed out on points in the first two stages. Sammy Smith also missed out on points in the first two stages.

Cole Custer has scored the most points on the day. He won stage 1 and then finished third in stage 2. He locked up 18 points and one playoff point.

John Hunter Nemechek is second with 17 points earned. Sam Mayer is third with 16 points earned. Justin Allgaier is fourth with 11 points earned.

Sheldon Creed earned seven points in stage 1 but missed out on points in stage 2. Austin Hill earned five points across the first two stages.

The caution has flown on Lap 97 for a crash that collected Chandler Smith.

The incident occurred as the field went four-wide. Contact between Brandon Jones and Derek Kraus led to contact between Kraus and Smith.

Smith hit Sheldon Creed before spinning into the middle of the field. Brett Moffitt’s car then hit the 16 and sustained race-ending damage.

Smith entered the race 15 points out of the final transfer spot to the Championship 4. He was the first driver below the cutline and one point ahead of Sam Mayer. He missed out on points in the first two stages and then headed back to pit road after the multi-car crash.

Kaulig Racing was able to make repairs to Smith’s No. 16. He met minimum speed and cleared the DVP clock. He was 33rd and two laps down.

Cole Custer won the first stage at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Derek Kraus won the second after a pit strategy decision.

John Hunter Nemechek finished the stage second. He was followed by Cole Custer, Sam Mayer, Justin Allgaier, Parker Kligerman, Kyle Sieg, Riley Herbst, Austin Hill and Daniel Hemric.

Chandler Smith in 11th, Sammy Smith in 12th and Sheldon Creed in 14th were the playoff drivers that missed out on stage points.

The caution came out after Dawson Cram spun on Lap 68. This set up a scenario where the drivers would have 17 laps of green flag racing before the end of stage 2.

The majority of drivers stayed out on track. Kraus pitted from 14th and got fresh tires. He used them to chase down and pass all of the cars ahead of him. He took the lead from Nemechek on Lap 78 and then he scored the stage win.

Kraus will have one fewer set of tires during the final stage of Saturday’s race but will have experience running up front at the 1.5-mile Florida oval.

The caution has flown midway through stage 2 of the Xfinity race at Homestead.

The incident was for Dawson Cram spinning in the 74 car. He ended up in the grass while his wheel continued rolling down the track.

Replay showed that Cram lost the wheel and then spun into the outside wall. He then slid down the track.

The majority of leaders stayed out on track after the caution flew. Derek Kraus chose to pit from the top 15 and get fresh tires and fuel. Jeremy Clements and a few other drivers followed.

Prior to the Cram incident, a playoff driver nearly brought out the caution. Chandler Smith lost control while racing next to Josh Berry. He started to spin but was able to save the 16 car. The race remained green.

Cole Custer started Saturday’s Xfinity race at Homestead from the pole. He led every lap in stage 1.

Custer won the opening stage, scoring 10 points and one playoff point in the process. Sam Mayer finished second after tagging the wall multiple times. John Hunter Nemechek, Sheldon Creed and Brett Moffitt rounded out the top five.

Justin Allgaier in sixth and Austin Hill in eighth were the other playoff drivers scoring stage points. Chandler Smith ended the stage 11th. Sammy Smith ended the stage 14th.

Ryan Newman, who had been solidly inside the top 20, headed to the garage with a mechanical issue. He was unable to continue in the race and finished 38th.

CJ McLaughlin ended the day 37th after pulling onto pit road as a fire broke out under the hood of the 28 car.

The Xfinity drivers have completed 14 laps at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Three have separated themselves.

Cole Custer continues to lead at the 1.5-mile track after starting from pole. Justin Allgaier was in second but fell to third on Lap 14 after John Hunter Nemechek passed him.

Austin Hill, the driver running in fourth, fell to four seconds behind the top three drivers while continuing to fight for a spot in the Championship 4.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. moved up to 15th after passing Parker Kligerman. He continued to chase down Daniel Hemric. Ryan Newman, making his first Xfinity start since 2012, moved from 24th at the start to 19th.

The second race of the Round of 8 is officially underway.

Cole Custer led the field to green after winning the pole. He had points-leader John Hunter Nemechek on his inside. Austin Hill and Justin Allgaier were behind him.

Once the green flag waved, Custer cleared Nemechek for the lead while Austin Hill immediately began battling for second place. The field fanned out as drivers went three- and four-wide.

Hill briefly took second from Nemechek, but Allgaier took it from him. Meanwhile, Custer continued to put distance between himself and the field.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., who started 23rd, moved up to 17th in the first five laps of the race.

Cole Custer scored his first career Xfinity win at Homestead-Miami Speedway back in 2017. He swept the first two stages and led 182 laps. Custer celebrated in Victory Lane for the first time while William Byron finished third and won the championship.

Homestead has been one of Custer’s best tracks. He finished second in the two Xfinity races at Homestead after his win. He finished second in both championships behind Tyler Reddick. Now he will start from pole and try to continue his past success while securing a spot in the Championship 4.

“It’s really frustrating, I think, because we were so close,” Custer said about finishing second in the championship standings during a media session. “We ran great races, I think, both of those years. At the end of the day it came down to Tyler Reddick up against the wall.

“…How Tyler ran the wall was really impressive. I think I’ve gotten better at it since then. I know how to get my car better to run the wall also. It was frustrating those two years because it was so close.”

Other storylines to watch:

--Dale Earnhardt Jr. makes his return to the Xfinity lineup for the second time this season. His first start of the year was at Bristol. He led 47 laps but finished 30th after a fire in his cockpit.

Earnhardt will make his seventh Xfinity start at Homestead on Saturday afternoon. He will start 23rd after Friday evening’s qualifying session in which he went out on the track first.

Earnhardt’s best finish at Homestead in Xfinity is second behind Joe Nemechek in 1999. He finished fifth in his last start at Homestead (2020).

--Four drivers are below the cutline — Chandler Smith (-15), Sam Mayer (-16), Sammy Smith (-35) and Sheldon Creed (-41). They have three combined Xfinity starts at Homestead.

Mayer finished fifth last October, Chandler finished seventh and Creed finished 17th. Sammy Smith has never started a race at Homestead in any series.

This lack of experience will be something to watch as all four drivers try to turn their playoffs around.