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Mayer survives overtime shootout for dramatic Xfinity victory at Iowa

By
Andrew Kim
-
Photo by Ron Olds for SpeedwayMedia.com.

Sam Mayer preserved his tires to the very end and fended off a late challenge from Riley Herbst during an overtime shootout to win the Hy-Vee PERKS 250 at Iowa Speedway on Saturday, June 15.

The 20-year-old Mayer from Franklin, Wisconsin, led three times for 47 of 253 over-scheduled laps in an event where he started fifth and ran up front for the majority of the event. Amid a series of on-track carnages that knocked a multitude of front runners out of contention due to tire explosions, Mayer, who nearly wrecked at the start of the second stage period on Lap 82 but led for the first time on Lap 169, made the event’s final pass for the lead on Herbst with seven laps remaining. Then amid an overtime shootout, Mayer managed to fend off Herbst for two laps to score his second NASCAR Xfinity Series victory of the 2024 season and cap off an eventful afternoon of competition in Iowa Speedway’s return to hosting Xfinity events.

With on-track qualifying that was scheduled to occur on Saturday canceled due to inclement weather, the starting lineup for the main event was determined through a performance metric system from the NASCAR Rule Book. As a result, Austin Hill was awarded the pole position.

Rookie Shane van Gisbergen, winner of last weekend’s Xfinity event at Sonoma Raceway, was scheduled to start alongside Hill on the front row but he dropped to the rear of the field in a backup car after he wrecked his primary car during Friday’s practice session. Patrick Emerling also dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to his respective entry.

When the green flag waved and the race started, Austin Hill muscled ahead with a brief advantage through the frontstretch until Justin Allgaier, who was scheduled to start in fourth place but moved up to start alongside Hill on the front row in second place, used the outside lane to his advantage as he rocketed his No. 7 BRANDT/Precision Build Chevrolet Camaro into the lead through the first two turns. Sheldon Creed then tried to battle Hill for the runner-up spot through the backstretch, but he slipped up the track while making light contact with Hill’s No. 21 Bennett Transportation Chevrolet Camaro. The contact cause Creed to slip into a side-by-side battle with Sam Mayer for third place as Hill retained second while Allgaier proceeded to lead the first lap.

During the proceeding four laps, Creed retained third place while teammate Chandler Smith moved his No. 81 Mobil 1 Toyota Supra into fourth place over Mayer. Amid a flurry of battles ensuing within the middle of the pack, Brennan Poole got loose off the front nose of Sammy Smith and nearly slipped up the track and into the path of Jeremy Clements in Turn 3, but all kept their respective entries running straight. Amid the tight side-by-side battles as the competitors in the mid-pack region fanned out to multiple lanes, Allgaier retained the lead by nearly half a second over Hill as Chandler Smith, Creed and Mayer were running in the top five.

Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Allgaier was leading by three-tenths of a second over Hill followed by Chandler Smith, Creed and John Hunter Nemechek while Mayer, Cole Custer, rookie Jesse Love, Riley Herbst and Corey Heim trailed in the top 10. Behind, Parker Kligerman followed suit in 11th place ahead of AJ Allmendinger, Ryan Sieg, Sammy Smith and Parker Retzlaff while Anthony Alfredo, Brandon Jones, Matt DiBenedetto, Brett Moffitt and Ross Chastain were in the top 20 ahead of Jeb Burton, Kyle Sieg, Brennan Poole, Leland Honeyman and Jeremy Clements. Meanwhile, Shane van Gisbergen was up to 33rd place while teammates Josh Williams and Daniel Dye were mired in 28th and 29th, respectively.

Five laps later, Chandler Smith overtook Allgaier to assume the lead. Smith would stretch his advantage to a second over Allgaier by the Lap 20 mark as Nemechek and Creed were up to third and fourth, respectively. Meanwhile, Hill, who was battling loose conditions, dropped to fifth while Mayer, Custer, Love, Herbst and Allmendinger followed suit in the top 10.

At the Lap 30 mark, Chandler Smith stabilized his advantage to more than a second over teammate Nemechek while third-place Creed, another Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, trailed by four seconds. In the midst of the three Joe Gibbs Racing competitors running first through third on the track, Allgaier trailed in fourth place by six seconds while Hill retained fifth. Allgaier and Hill would then battle for fourth place as Mayer, Custer, Herbst, Love and Allmendinger were in the top 10. By then, van Gisbergen was lapped by the leaders.

Three laps later, the event’s first caution period flew after Allmendinger, who was running 10th, blew a right-front tire and veered dead straight into the Turn 4 outside wall at full speed before he parked his damaged No. 16 Cirkul Chevrolet Camaro on the frontstretch’s grass and retired from the event. During the event’s first caution period, nearly the entire field led by Chandler Smith pitted while the rest led by teammate Nemechek and including Jeremy Clements and Ryan Ellis remained on the track. Shortly after the pit stops, Brandon Jones nursed his No. 9 Menards Chevrolet Camaro back to pit road as smoke was seen billowing out of his car with the driver battling oil pressure issues that would send the Georgian to the garage.

When the event restarted under green on Lap 42, Nemechek gained a brief advantage from the outside lane through the frontstretch, but he then went wide in Turn 1, which allowed Jeremy Clements to move his No. 51 Whitetail Smokeless Chevrolet Camaro into the lead from the inside lane. Clements would retain the lead through Lap 48 before Chandler Smith reassumed the lead. Smith would be followed by teammates Creed and Nemechek along with Mayer by the Lap 50 mark while Clements dropped to fifth ahead of Hill.

By Lap 60, Chandler Smith extended his advantage to more than a second over teammate Creed as Mayer, Nemechek and Custer trailed in the top five. Behind, Allgaier was up to sixth place and Clements dropped to seventh place, with Sammy Smith, Herbst and Moffitt following suit in the top 10 ahead of Love, Hill, Heim, Chastain and Ryan Sieg.

Nearing the Lap 70 mark, Chandler Smith continued to extend his advantage as he was leading by nearly three seconds over teammate Creed while JR Motorsports’ Mayer, Allgaier and Sammy Smith were up in the top five. Meanwhile, Nemechek dropped to ninth as he trailed Custer, teammate Moffitt and Heim on the track as Love occupied 10th place.

Two laps later, the event’s second caution period flew after Jeb Burton, who was running 14th, blew a right-front tire and scrubbed the outside wall through Turns 1 and 2. Burton’s incident was enough for the first stage period scheduled to conclude on Lap 75 to officially conclude under caution as Chandler Smith claimed his fourth Xfinity stage victory of the 2024 season. Teammate Creed followed suit in second ahead of Mayer, Allgaier and Sammy Smith while Custer, Moffitt, Heim, Nemechek and Love were scored in the top 10.

Under the stage break, the entire lead lap field led by Chandler Smith pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Chandler Smith retained the lead after exiting first followed by teammate Creed, Custer, Sammy Smith, Mayer and Moffitt.

The second stage period started on Lap 82 as teammates Chandler Smith and Creed occupied the front row. At the start, both Joe Gibbs Racing teammates dueled for the lead until Smith muscled ahead from the outside lane while Creed got loose on the inside lane. Creed was then placed in a tight four-wide battle against Herbst, Mayer and Moffitt for fourth place through the backstretch while Custer and Sammy Smith grabbed second and third, respectively, through the backstretch.

Mayer then slid sideways after getting hit by Moffitt through Turns 3 and 4, but he kept his car running straight as the oncoming field behind scattered and fanned out to avoid hitting him. Amid the war of attrition in the middle of the pack, Chandler Smith proceeded to lead Custer by a tenth of a second by the Lap 85 mark while third-place Sammy Smith trailed by four-tenths of a second in third.

On Lap 87, the caution returned after van Gisbergen, who was mired in the top 25, got loose entering the backstretch and slipped up the track and into Blaine Perkins, which resulted in Perkins slapping the outside wall as van Gisbergen slid down the track and was hit hard by Kyle Weatherman, which took all three out of contention and spoiled van Gisbergen’s hopes of winning three consecutive Xfinity races.

As the event restarted under green on Lap 96, the two Smiths, Chandler and Sammy, battled for the lead, with the former edging ahead for nearly a lap from the outside lane until Sammy mounted the pressure on Chandler for the top spot after the latter slipped up the track. With the battle for the lead intensifying during the following lap, Chandler Smith would muscle ahead followed by Custer while Sammy Smith slipped to third. Behind, Chastain and Moffitt carved their way up to fourth and fifth, respectively, while Love trailed in sixth as Chandler Smith was leading by two-tenths of a second by the Lap 100 mark.

Fifteen laps later, Chandler Smith was leading by more than a second over Custer followed by Sammy Smith, Moffitt and Love while Chastain, Nemechek, Herbst, Allgaier and Mayer were in the top 10. Behind, Heim trailed in 11th place ahead of Creed, Kligerman, Ryan Sieg and Hill while Ryan Ellis, Leland Honeyman, Daniel Dye, Brennan Poole and Clements were scored in the top 20.

Then on Lap 123 and with a multitude of competitors battling for car control on the track’s paved surface, the caution flew after Patrick Emerling spun in Turn 1. During the caution period, some including Moffitt, Hill, Josh Williams, Ryan Sieg, Kligerman, Clements, Dawson Cram and Joey Gase pitted while the rest led by Chandler Smith remained on the track.

With the event restarting under green on Lap 132, Chandler Smith muscled ahead of Custer to retain the lead as Custer slipped through the first two turns. Custer’s misfortune cost him three spots as Sammy Smith, Chastain and Allgaier all moved up the leaderboard. Soon after, Allgaier and Custer made contact, but they continued to race in the top 10 as the field fanned out. Amid the battles in the middle of the pack, the battle for the lead between the two Smiths, Chandler and Sammy, began to intensify as the latter challenged the former for the top spot. Chastain and Mayer would close in to make the battle for the lead a four-car battle while Chandler Smith retained the top spot.

Just past the Lap 140 mark, Chandler Smith continued to lead by three-tenths of a second over Sammy Smith as Mayer, Chastain and Creed followed suit within a second in the top five. Behind, Heim was up to sixth place while Allgaier, Herbst, Love and Custer trailed in the top 10 ahead of Hill, DiBenedetto, Nemechek, Daniel Dye and Moffitt.

Then on the final lap of the second stage period, the caution flew due to 14th-place runner Love cutting a right-front tire and going dead straight into the outside wall in between Turns 3 and 4 as his event came a late end. The drama for Love would continue as his damaged No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro went up in flames while being towed back to the garage.

Love’s incident was enough for the second stage period scheduled to conclude on Lap 150 to officially conclude under caution as Chandler Smith captured his fifth Xfinity stage victory of the 2024 season and second of the day. Mayer muscled his way up to second place as he was followed by Chastain, Heim and Sammy Smith while Creed, Allgaier, Herbst, Custer and Hill were scored in the top 10.

During the stage break, nearly the entire lead lap field led by Chandler Smith returned to pit road for service while Josh Williams remained on the track, with the latter assuming the lead. Amid the pit stops, Ryan Sieg exited pit road second after he opted for a full tank of fuel to his entry.

With 90 laps remaining, the final stage commenced as Williams and Ryan Sieg occupied the front row. At the start, Chandler Smith tried to force his way in between both for the lead, but Sieg muscled ahead with the lead. In addition, Mayer overtook both to assume the runner-up while Chandler Smith slipped. This resulted with Smith dropping out of race-winning contention and out of the top 10 on the track while Sieg was leading ahead of Mayer and a bevy of battles ensuing behind them.

With 80 laps remaining, Mayer, who overtook Ryan Sieg for the lead two laps earlier, was leading by six-tenths of a second over Creed followed by Ryan Sieg, Custer and Moffitt while Nemechek, Heim, Hill, Williams and Sammy Smith were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Chandler Smith was still mired in 12th.

Ten laps later, Mayer stabilized his advantage to half a second over Creed as Custer, Nemechek and Moffitt trailed in the top five. Behind, Chandler Smith retained 12th place as he was racing in between Allgaier and Chastain while Heim, Hill, Ryan Sieg, Sammy Smith and Williams were mired in the top 10.

Another 10 laps later, Mayer slightly extended his advantage to nine-tenths of a second over Creed as Custer, Nemechek and Heim followed suit in the top five. Meanwhile, Ryan Sieg and Moffitt, both of whom pitted under green a few laps earlier, were mired back in 25th and 27th, respectively.

With 50 laps remaining, Mayer stabilized his advantage to a second over Creed as Nemechek moved up to third place ahead of Custer and Heim. By then, Williams and Matt DiBenedetto had pitted under green. Another lap later, the caution flew after Allgaier blew a right-front tire and went dead straight into the outside wall entering Turn 4 as his strong run came to a late end.

During the caution period, the lead lap field led by Mayer pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Nemechek emerged with the lead after he exited first while teammate Creed, Mayer, Custer, Hill and Chandler Smith followed suit in the top six.

As the event restarted with 40 laps remaining, Nemechek muscled ahead with the lead from the outside lane followed by teammate Creed while Hill put the bumper to Mayer and moved Mayer in the middle of a three-wide battle as Hill tried to march his way back to the front. Then as Kligerman went wide and nearly hit the outside wall in between Turns 3 and 4, the battle for the lead intensified between teammates Nemechek and Creed as they dueled in front of Custer through the frontstretch. Creed then briefly wiggled in Turn 1, which allowed Nemechek to muscle back ahead as Custer and Hill overtook Creed for second and third on the track.

Then with 33 laps remaining, Hill’s chances of contending for the victory evaporated after a blown left-front tire sent Hill straight into the outside wall in Turn 1. With Hill out of contention, Nemechek had retained the lead while Custer, Creed, Mayer and Chandler Smith were scored in the top five.

Down to the final 26 laps of the event, the event restarted under green. At the start, Nemechek continued to make the outside lane work to his advantage as he muscled away from the field followed by Custer while Mayer, who restarted as the first competitor on the inside lane, settled in third and in front of Creed. Mayer would then overtake Custer for the runner-up spot during the following lap. He would retain the spot over Herbst and Custer over the next four laps before the caution flew as Brennan Poole went up in smoke and dropped fluid around the circuit.

The start of the next restart period with 13 laps remaining featured Nemechek fending off Herbst for nearly a lap before Herbst drew his No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang alongside Nemechek’s No. 20 Daisy Brands Toyota Supra in a late battle for the lead through the frontstretch. Herbst then managed to clear Nemechek and emerge with the lead and with both lanes to his control during the following lap while Creed battled Nemechek for the runner-up spot.

Shortly after, Nemechek and Creed made contact that resulted in Nemechek generating a tire rub and slipping out of the top five. Amid the contact, Mayer made his way into the runner-up spot. Heim, Custer and Chastain moved into the top five while Herbst retained the lead by three-tenths of a second with 10 laps remaining.

Then with seven laps remaining, Mayer drag-raced against Herbst through the backstretch before he assumed the lead in his No. 1 Roto-Rooter Chevrolet Camaro. As Mayer started to pull away from Herbst and Heim with the lead, the caution returned with five laps remaining after Nemechek, who was trying to nurse his car to the finish amid his tire rub and late run-in with teammate Creed, ended up against the outside wall towards Turn 4 with a flat tire. Nemechek’s incident was enough to send the event into overtime.

The start of the first overtime attempt featured Herbst and Mayer battling dead even for the lead approaching the first turn. As Creed got loose and nearly slid into Heim, Mayer managed to rocket ahead of Herbst through the first two turns and lead through the backstretch.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Mayer was leading by two-tenths of a second over Herbst as Heim tried to join the battle. With both Herbst and Heim unable to mount a final lap charge, Mayer was able to nurse his car around the Iowa circuit smoothly for a final time before he cycled back to the frontstretch and claimed the checkered flag by a tenth of a second.

With the victory, Mayer, who ended up with a flat left-rear tire after Herbst gave Mayer a post-race bump into the side to express his displeasure from an earlier on-track contact and proceeded to blow his right-rear tire from his post-race burnout, notched his sixth career win in his 99th Xfinity Series career start, his second of the 2024 season and his first since winning at Texas Motor Speedway in April.

In addition to becoming the fourth multi-race winner of this year’s Xfinity Series season, Mayer became the 15th competitor overall to win an Xfinity event at Iowa in the speedway’s return to hosting NASCAR Xfinity events since the 2019 season. The Wisconsin native also delivered the 10th victory of the season for the Chevrolet nameplate and the third of the season for JR Motorsports.

“We struggled yesterday and this Roto-Rooter team went to work,” Mayer said on USA Network. “Obviously, we did pretty good overnight making good decisions on this race car. Man, I’m out of breath because I was just huffing in a bunch of smoke, but I feel really good. I could do another 100 laps, for sure. With a race car like this, it’d be a lot of fun. We definitely got a little bit tight there at the end of the second stage, so I was a little concern [of the tire wear] there. [Crew chief] Mardy [Lindley] said the tires look all good. We took care of [the car] and we did our job and now, we get to celebrate.”

As Mayer celebrated on the frontstretch, Herbst was left disappointed on pit road and with a small axe to grind towards Mayer after the latter had made contact with the former earlier prior to their late-race battle for the victory. Nonetheless, Herbst was also left pleased with his performance and the resilience being exhibited by Stewart-Haas Racing amid the team’s closure at this season’s conclusion. Currently, Herbst’s racing plans for the 2025 season remains to be determined.

“It was just frustrating,” Herbst said. “It was an up-and-down day, for sure. I felt like we were okay yesterday and we got it better. We worked all night. [The No. 98 team] did a really good job. We worked our day back up through the field, got some track position and then, the guy who won [Mayer], I mean, he just absolutely brooms us into [Turns] 1 and 2, so that was frustrating. Then for him to door me down the straightaway before the green white checkered [restart], I don’t know.

“That was a bit frustrating, but all in all, it was fun to race with them on the green-white checkered. I’m just most proud in that the speed’s back in the No. 98 Monster Energy car. It was really fast today, so I appreciate everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing for sticking together. It’s been a hard last couple of months and it’s gonna be a hard couple months going forward as well with everything that’s going on. Everybody staying together is awesome. Hopefully, we can continue to bring the speed to New Hampshire next week.”

Corey Heim piloted the No. 26 Yahoo! Toyota Supra from Sam Hunt Racing to a career-best third place in his 11th career start in the Xfinity Series while Sammy Smith and Sheldon Creed finished in the top five.

Cole Custer came home in sixth place while Matt DiBenedetto, Chandler Smith, Ross Chastain and Daniel Dye completed the top 10 in the final running order.

There were 13 lead changes for eight different leaders. The race featured nine cautions for 71 laps. In addition, 17 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.

Following the 15th event of the 2024 Xfinity Series season, Cole Custer leads the regular-season standings by a single point over Chandler Smith while Austin Hill trails by 41 points and Justin Allgaier trails by 44 points.

Results.

1. Sam Mayer, 47 laps led

2. Riley Herbst, seven laps led

3. Corey Heim

4. Sammy Smith

5. Sheldon Creed

6. Cole Custer

7. Matt DiBenedetto

8. Chandler Smith, 131 laps led, Stages 1 & 2 winner

9. Ross Chastain

10. Daniel Dye

11. Parker Kligerman

12. Ryan Sieg, eight laps led

13. Leland Honeyman

14. Ryan Ellis

15. Anthony Alfredo

16. Joey Gase

17. David Starr

18. Brett Moffitt, one lap down

19. Kyle Sieg, one lap down

20. Josh Williams, one lap down, four laps led

21. Jeremy Clements, one lap down, seven laps led

22. Dawson Cram, one lap down

23. Patrick Emerling, one lap down

24. Jeb Burton, three laps down

25. Hailie Deegan, three laps down

26. Garrett Smithley, three laps down

27. John Hunter Nemechek – OUT, Accident, 35 laps led

28. Brennan Poole – OUT, Oil Line

29. Austin Hill – OUT, Accident

30. Justin Allgaier – OUT, Accident, 14 laps led

31. Jesse Love – OUT, Accident

32. Parker Retzlaff – OUT, Electrical

33. Kyle Weatherman – OUT, Accident

34. Shane van Gisbergen – OUT, Accident

35. Blaine Perkins – OUT, Accident

36. Brandon Jones – OUT, Engine

37. AJ Allmendinger – OUT, Accident

38. Glen Reen – OUT, Carburetor

Next on the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the series’ annual visit to New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire, for the SciAps 200. The event is scheduled to occur next Saturday, June 22, and air at 3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.

Sam Mayer holds off Riley Herbst for overtime NASCAR Xfinity Series win at Iowa

By
Official Release
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NEWTON, IOWA - JUNE 15: Sam Mayer, driver of the #1 Roto-Rooter Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series Hy-Vee Perks 250 at Iowa Speedway on June 15, 2024 in Newton, Iowa. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

June 15, 2024
By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

NEWTON, Iowa — In a race of tire management and hurt feelings, Sam Mayer held off Riley Herbst in overtime to win Saturday’s Hy-Vee Perks 250 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ return to Iowa Speedway after a four-year hiatus.

Mayer’s No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet crossed the finish line 0.146 seconds ahead of the No. 98 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford of Herbst, who felt Mayer had abused him earlier in the race.

The victory was Mayer’s second of the season and the sixth of his career, all coming within the last 29 races in the series.
“We struggled (Friday in practice), and the team went to work,” said Mayer, who started fifth when qualifying was canceled because of rain earlier on Saturday. “Obviously, we did pretty good overnight, making different changes on this race car.

“I feel really good. I could do another 100 laps — with a race car like this, it would be a lot of fun.”

Mayer held the lead when John Hunter Nemechek slammed the outside wall in Turn 4 with his left front tire down, the result of close quarters racing with Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Sheldon Creed.

That accident on Lap 245 caused the ninth caution of the afternoon and sent the race three laps beyond its scheduled distance.

In the overtime, Mayer and Herbst took the green flag side-by-side and remained in that posture into Turn 1, but Mayer cleared the race runner-up off Turn 2 and held the top spot the rest of the way.

“I like racing Sam, but Stage 1 or 2 he just absolutely brooms me,” Herbst said. “We were racing clean for fourth, and he takes us back to 10th and then doors me down the back straightaway before the green-white-checker.

“It’s just frustrating the way he wants to do that, but all in all, it was fun. I’m happy to be back on ovals. The speed is back in the 98.”

Corey Heim finished a career-best third after starting 22nd because of the qualifying rainout. Sammy Smith was fourth, followed by Creed, who survived the dust-up with Nemechek after a restart on Lap 238.

Cole Custer, Matt DiBenedetto, Chandler Smith, Ross Chastain and Daniel Dye completed the top 10.

If any driver had cause for frustration, it was Chandler Smith, who led a race-high 131 laps and swept the first two stages. Smith restarted third to begin the final stage, but lack of short-run speed quickly dropped him to 12th, and he never recovered.

Austin Hill likewise had reason to bemoan his result. Overcoming early handling issues, Hill charged into the top five in the final stage, but a cut left front tire sent him hard into the Turn 1 wall on Lap 218, causing the seventh caution.

Hill finished 29th and dropped to third in the series standings, 41 points behind Custer, the current leader and defending series champion. Chandler Smith, second in the standings, trails Custer by one point.

NASCAR Xfinity Series Race – Hy-Vee Perks 250
Iowa Speedway
Newton, Iowa
Saturday, June 15, 2024
1. (5) Sam Mayer, Chevrolet, 253.
2. (12) Riley Herbst, Ford, 253.
3. (22) Corey Heim(i), Toyota, 253.
4. (17) Sammy Smith, Chevrolet, 253.
5. (3) Sheldon Creed, Toyota, 253.
6. (7) Cole Custer, Ford, 253.
7. (24) Matt Dibenedetto, Ford, 253.
8. (6) Chandler Smith, Toyota, 253.
9. (28) Ross Chastain(i), Chevrolet, 253.
10. (37) Daniel Dye(i), Chevrolet, 253.
11. (10) Parker Kligerman, Chevrolet, 253.
12. (15) Ryan Sieg, Ford, 253.
13. (25) Leland Honeyman #, Chevrolet, 253.
14. (20) Ryan Ellis, Chevrolet, 253.
15. (19) Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet, 253.
16. (36) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 253.
17. (31) David Starr, Chevrolet, 253.
18. (29) Brett Moffitt(i), Toyota, 252.
19. (21) Kyle Sieg, Ford, 252.
20. (27) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, 252.
21. (16) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 252.
22. (34) Dawson Cram #, Chevrolet, 252.
23. (32) Patrick Emerling, Chevrolet, 252.
24. (30) Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, 250.
25. (33) Hailie Deegan #, Ford, 250.
26. (35) Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, 250.
27. (8) John Hunter Nemechek(i), Toyota, Accident, 244.
28. (14) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, Oil Line, 218.
29. (1) Austin Hill, Chevrolet, Accident, 217.
30. (4) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, Accident, 200.
31. (9) Jesse Love #, Chevrolet, Accident, 149.
32. (13) Parker Retzlaff, Chevrolet, Electrical, 103.
33. (23) Kyle Weatherman, Chevrolet, Accident, 87.
34. (2) Shane Van Gisbergen #, Chevrolet, Accident, 86.
35. (18) Blaine Perkins, Ford, Accident, 86.
36. (26) Brandon Jones, Chevrolet, Engine, 38.
37. (11) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, Accident, 32.
38. (38) Glen Reen, Chevrolet, Carburetor, 20.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 84.899 mph.
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 36 Mins, 27 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.146 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 9 for 71 laps.
Lead Changes: 13 among 8 drivers.
Lap Leaders: A. Hill 0;J. Allgaier 1-14;C. Smith 15-37;J. Nemechek(i) 38-41;J. Clements 42-48;C. Smith 49-156;J. Williams 157-160;R. Sieg 161-168;S. Mayer 169-206;J. Nemechek(i) 207-237;R. Herbst 238-243;S. Mayer 244-250;R. Herbst 251;S. Mayer 252-253.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Chandler Smith 2 times for 131 laps; Sam Mayer 3 times for 47 laps; John Hunter Nemechek(i) 2 times for 35 laps; Justin Allgaier 1 time for 14 laps; Ryan Sieg 1 time for 8 laps; Jeremy Clements 1 time for 7 laps; Riley Herbst 2 times for 7 laps; Josh Williams 1 time for 4 laps.
Stage #1 Top Ten: 81,18,1,7,8,00,19,26,20,2
Stage #2 Top Ten: 81,1,92,26,8,18,7,98,00,21

Cadillac Racing at Le Mans: 8-hour report

By
Official Release
-

All three Cadillac V-Series.Rs in podium contention in changeable weather

LE MANS, France (June 15, 2024) – Cadillac Racing’s trio of Hypercars continue to contest for podium spots through eight hours of the 92nd 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R, with Alex Lynn, Earl Bamber and Alex Palou sharing time behind the wheel of the hybrid Cadillac, was running fifth. It started the race seventh.

The No. 3 Cadillac V-Series.R, with Sebastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande and Scott Dixon swapping the seat, was running 10th It started the race on the outside of the front row.

The No. 311 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R, co-driven by Pipo Derani, Jack Aitken and Felipe Drugovich, was running ninth. It started the race 18th.

All Cadillac cars were on the lead lap at the green following deployment of the Safety Car at 6 hours, 36 minutes into the race for contact between two Hypercars that required barrier repair. The caution lasted 92 minutes.

An ambient temperature of 64 degrees F (18 C) and wind gusts up to 22 mph (35 km/h) greeted official starter Zinedine Zidane as he waved the French flag to commence the endurance classic for the 62 entries in three classes.

Light rain on the Mulsanne Straight and two corners about 90 minutes into the race prompted most of the Hypercar field of 23 to pit for rain tires that saw only five laps by the Cadillac racecars before switching back to Michelin slicks. Intermittent showers covering sections of the race course returned through one-third of the race.

Three Hypercars retired, while the Cadillac V-Series.Rs showed reliability and pace on the 8.47-mile (13.629 kilometers) Circuit de la Sarthe.

The No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R qualified second in Hyperpole but a five grid-spot penalty levied by FIA stewards from the on-track incident at Spa-Francorchamps in May awaited. Still, it was the highest starting position in the race for Cadillac, which made its maiden trip to Le Mans in 1950 with two entries by privateers.

Hyperpole, a qualifying format introduced in 2020 at Circuit de la Sarthe, follows the previous night’s 60-minute qualifying practice that determined the cars in each of the three classes that fill the top eight positions on the grid based on lap time.

Last year, the nascent three-car program turned heads with strong qualifying efforts and third-, fourth- and 17th-place overall finishes in Cadillac Racing’s return to Sarthe after a 21-year absence.

‘No Perfect Formula’

The documentary about Cadillac Racing’s road to the Le Mans podium. WATCH

You’re looking live trackside

All three Cadillac V-Series.Rs will have an onboard camera for a different perspective of the June 15-16 race. WATCH

No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R

Alex Palou: “My first stint at Le Mans was amazing. It was tough, especially with the conditions. We were losing sunlight, it was raining, went on wets and the track started drying. I had a bit of everything and reeled in a few cars. We had some issues at the beginning of the race with balance of the car, but we’re back in the game.”

French: “Mon premier relais au Mans a été extraordinaire. C’était difficile, surtout à cause des conditions.

Nous perdions la lumière du soleil, il pleuvait, nous avons mis des pneus pluie et la piste a commencé à sécher.J’ai eu un peu de tout et j’ai pu doubler quelques voitures.

Nous avons eu quelques problèmes en début de course avec l’équilibre de la voiture, mais nous sommes de retour dans le jeu.”

No. 3 Cadillac V-Series.R

Sebastien Bourdais: “The start of the race was pretty clean. Pace on its own is fine, but when we get stuck in traffic we can’t make the lap time and fall further behind. It’s frustrating. All the cars that stayed out because it didn’t really rain – it was like one straight, one corner, another corner – but it wasn’t really wet enough to pay dividends on the wets and we lost the lead train. There’s a lot of time left, so we’ll keep fighting.”

French: “Le début de la course a été plutôt propre. Le rythme en lui-même est bon, mais quand nous sommes coincés dans le trafic, nous ne pouvons pas faire le temps au tour et nous prenons du retard. C’est frustrant. Toutes les voitures qui sont restées à l’extérieur parce qu’il ne pleuvait pas vraiment – c’était comme une ligne droite, un virage, un autre virage – mais ce n’était pas assez humide pour payer les dividendes des pneus pluie et nous avons perdu le train de tête. Il reste beaucoup de temps, alors nous allons continuer à nous battre.”

Renger van der Zande: “In that Dunlop corner on the exit it just snapped on me and I was close to the wall and then into the wall. At least it was a pancake into it. I was so lucky to not get more damage. The car felt good after that and I think we were making progress, so we’re happy with that. We lost a lot of time with the rain tires for a short time, so that put us on the back foot. We’re here to win and we’ll throw everything at it.”

French: “Dans le virage Dunlop, à la sortie, j’ai perdu le contrôle et j’étais proche du mur, puis j’ai foncé dans le mur. J’ai eu beaucoup de chance de ne pas avoir plus de dégâts. La voiture se comportait bien après cela et je pense que nous avons progressé, donc nous sommes satisfaits. Nous avons perdu beaucoup de temps avec les pneus pluie pendant une courte période, ce qui nous a mis en difficulté. Nous sommes ici pour gagner et nous allons tout faire pour y parvenir.

Scott Dixon: “It was a bit of everything because we had the rain and went to the wets that set us back to the leaders. And for my stint it started to rain again and there were some slow zones, so it was just messy. It was stop-go, stop-go. There was no real pattern to it. Luckily, we stayed on the lead lap, the car is in one piece and we’ll see how it goes.”

French: C’était un peu de tout, parce que nous avons eu la pluie et nous sommes passés aux pneus pluie, ce qui nous a ramenés vers les leaders. Et pour mon relais, il a recommencé à pleuvoir et il y avait des zones de ralentissement, donc c’était un peu le bazar. C’était du stop-go, stop-go. Il n’y avait pas vraiment de scénario. Heureusement, nous sommes restés dans le tour de tête, la voiture est saine et sauve et nous verrons comment cela se passe.”

No. 311 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R

Pipo Derani: “We can already say it’s a lot better than last year, so that’s very positive. It was a good first stint – a triple stint almost. We gained positions. Unfortunately, the rain kind of pulled back everything we gained because we came in for the rain tires and then the track dried quite quickly, so Jack (Aitken) had to come back in for slicks. Overall, I’m happy with how we were able to progress. It gives us good hope. Still a long way to go. We’ll keep chipping away.”

French: “Nous pouvons déjà dire que c’est beaucoup mieux que l’année dernière, c’est donc très positif. C’était un bon premier relais, presque un triple relais. Nous avons gagné des positions. Malheureusement, la pluie nous a fait perdre tout ce que nous avions gagné car nous nous sommes arrêtés pour des pneus pluie et la piste a séché assez rapidement par après, si bien que Jack (Aitken) a dû rentrer pour des pneus slicks. Dans l’ensemble, je suis content de la façon dont nous avons pu progresser. Cela nous donne bon espoir. Il reste encore beaucoup de chemin à parcourir. Nous allons continuer à progresser.”

Kyle Larson collects NASCAR Cup Series pole at Iowa Speedway

By
Angie Campbell
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Photo by Ron Olds for SpeedwayMedia.com

Kyle Larson scored the Busch Light Pole Award Saturday at Iowa Speedway. The Hendrick Motorsports driver will lead the field to green in the NASCAR Cup Series debut at the 0.875-mile track.

It is Larson’s fourth pole this season and his 20th career pole. He outpaced the field with a 136.458 mph qualifying lap in 23.084 seconds in his No. 5 Chevrolet.

“Obviously, happy to get the pole,” Larson said. “It helped to go out last, probably. I’m sure the track was continuing to get a little bit better. We got to watch SMT (data) of everybody’s runs, so that helps. But it also makes you a little bit more nervous when you see everybody out there struggling. Thankfully, my lap was mostly comfortable, a little bit loose like everybody was. But we were able to piece together two pretty consistent laps and be fast enough on that second lap to get it done.”

Ryan Blaney will start beside Larson on the front row in his No. 12 Team Penske Ford after a 136.311 mph lap.

“It would have been nice [to win the pole], obviously,” Blaney commented. “But that’s a big improvement from yesterday. We did a lot of work overnight and this morning to figure out how to be better than where we were yesterday at the end of practice. We’re really proud of that effort.”

Josh Berry, William Byron and Brad Keselowski completed the top five fastest drivers in the qualifying session followed by Chase Briscoe, Kyle Busch, Tyler Reddick, Chase Elliott and Christopher Bell to round out the top 10. Bell, however, will start from the rear of the field after crashing during practice which necessitated going to a backup car for the race.  

Austin Cindric will also go to a backup car after a tire failure during practice.

Sunday’s Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol will be broadcast on the USA network at 7 p.m. ET with radio coverage provided by MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Complete Starting Lineup:

  1.  Kyle Larson
  2. Ryan Blaney
  3. Josh Berry
  4. William Byron
  5. Brad Keselowski
  6. Chase Briscoe
  7. Kyle Busch
  8. Tyler Reddick
  9. Chase Elliott
  10. Christopher Bell (Will start at the rear of the field)
  11. Joey Logano
  12. Denny Hamlin
  13. Daniel Suarez
  14. Todd Gilliland
  15. Chris Buescher
  16. Bubba Wallace
  17. Ross Chastain
  18. AJ Allmendinger
  19. Justin Haley
  20. Carson Hocevar
  21. Austin Cindric (Will start at the rear of the field)
  22. Michael McDowell
  23. Noah Gragson
  24. Corey LaJoie
  25. Harrison Burton
  26. Zane Smith
  27. Ty Gibbs
  28. Kaz Grala
  29. Ryan Preece
  30. Daniel Hemric
  31. Martin Truex Jr.
  32. Erik Jones
  33. Alex Bowman
  34. John H Nemechek
  35. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
  36. Austin Dillon

Kaulig Racing Race Recap | Hy-Vee PERKS 250

By
Official Release
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DANIEL DYE
No. 10 Race to Stop Suicide Chevrolet Camaro

  • Daniel Dye started 37th, per the rule book, after qualifying for the Hy-Vee PERKS 250 was canceled due to weather.
  • Dye made up 10 spots within the first 15 laps in the No. 10 Race to Stop Suicide Chevrolet. The first caution of the day came out on lap 35, and Dye told his crew chief that he needed to be tighter through the corners. He pitted on lap 36 for tires and fuel. Restarting from 22nd place, Dye made his way up to 19th, before a caution with three laps remaining ended the opening stage under yellow.
  • During the first stage break, Dye radioed that the No. 10 Chevy was still too free. He pitted for four tires, fuel and an adjustment to tighten him up. A wreck on lap 88 brought out the next caution, as Dye gained one spot, putting him 21st. He restarted 20th on lap 97 and made it up to 16th, before the next caution came out on lap 125. Dye was told he was running the fastest times on track before the yellow came out. He stayed out during the caution and restarted 12th on lap 133. A caution with one to go ended the second stage under yellow. Dye was scored 14th.
  • During the final stage break, Dye radioed that the balance of his No. 10 Chevrolet was near perfect. He pitted for a full service before starting the final stage in 16th. Dye gained five spots before the next caution came out with 48 to go. He pitted for fuel and the team’s final set of sticker tires before restarting 12th. The next caution came out seven laps later, and Dye remained on track before restarting 10th with 26 to go. The eighth caution of the day came out with 20 laps remaining. After a lengthy cleanup, the field went back to green with 13 laps remaining. Another caution fell with five laps remaining, resulting in a green- white-checkered finish. Dye crossed the line in 10th.

“It was a hard fight all day. We just fought free conditions pretty much everywhere, but the worst into [turn] three. The No. 10 Race to Stop Suicide Chevy was definitely solid, and I think we can be better. I would definitely love to come back and race here.” – Daniel Dye  

JOSH WILLIAMS
No. 11 Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet Camaro

  • Josh Williams started 27th, as per the rule book, after qualifying for the Hy-Vee PERKS 250 was canceled due to weather.
  • Williams struggled to make moves during the 34-lap opening run, so after the caution came out on lap 35, he pitted for tires, fuel and a left-side air pressure adjustment. He gained spots in the pits and restarted in 20th on lap 42. As the stage’s end grew near, crew chief Kevin Walter told Williams to take care of the right-front tire due to potential blistering and failures. The yellow flag waved on lap 73 due to the race’s second right-front tire failure, ending stage one with Williams running 26th.
  • Williams pitted for a full-service stop, and the Alloy Employer Services team made major adjustments geared towards alleviating the right-side tires’ blistering. Williams restarted in 25th on lap 83 and moved into 22nd by the time the yellow flag waved on lap 88. He restarted on lap 96 in 21st, losing one spot by the lap-124 caution. Williams pitted for tires, fuel, an air pressure adjustment, and a grille tape reduction under caution, and after coming down again to top off on fuel, he restarted in 26th with 18 laps to go in stage two. He strategically rode around in the back for the rest of stage two, finishing it in 22nd.
  • Williams stayed out during the stage break, restarting in first on lap 161. He was quickly shuffled back to ninth within five laps. As the run continued, the No. 11 Chevy Camaro continued foundering, and Williams eventually pitted under green for a two-tire stop with 54 to go. Four laps later, the caution came out while Williams was two laps down and in 22nd. He took the wave-around to get one lap back, restarting with 40 to go, and by the time the next wreck brought out the yellow flag on lap 218, Williams moved into 17th. He fell to 21st on the lap-224 restart and was still trapped one lap down when the yellow came out again on lap 230. Williams pitted for full service under the caution and restarted in 24th with 13 to go. He gained two spots before an overtime-inducing wreck brought out the yellow flag with six laps left, and Williams finished in 20th place.

“We had some decent speed today. We just got caught a few laps down and didn’t recover as well as we needed to. I’m looking forward to next week and getting back up front.” – Josh Williams  

SHANE van GISBERGEN
No. 97 Kubota Chevrolet Camaro

  • NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) qualifying for the Hy-Vee PERKS 250 was canceled due to inclement weather. The starting lineup for the 250-lap event at Iowa Speedway was set per the NASCAR rule book, placing Shane van Gisbergen and his No. 97 Kubota team on the outside row in the second position.
  • As a result of an accident during practice session on Friday, the team had to resort to the utilizing the backup car requiring Van Gisbergen to drop to the rear of the field before taking the green flag for the start of stage one. The first caution of the day came out on lap 32, and the Kubota team hit pit road for four tires, fuel and adjustments; Van Gisbergen maintained position and ended stage one 30th.
  • The No. 97 Kubota team opted to stay out for track position during the stage one caution and started stage two in the 26th position. Early in stage two, Van Gisbergen incurred handling issues and made contact with competitors and ultimately with the exterior wall sustaining fatal damage to the No. 97 Chevrolet. He was relegated to 34th place.
  • “Tough weekend for our No. 97 Kubota Chevy. Unfortunate to have this type of weekend after two back-to-back wins. I’m continuing to learn on these ovals to get better. Appreciate the efforts of my team at Kaulig Racing, Trackhouse and Chevrolet for making this all possible.” – Shane van Gisbergen  

AJ ALLMENDINGER
No. 16 Cirkul Chevrolet Camaro

  • AJ Allmendinger started 11th, as per the rule book, after qualifying for the Hy-Vee PERKS 250 was canceled due to weather.
  • Allmendinger took over 12th place on lap four and remained quiet on the radio about the handling of his car. On lap 35, the No. 16 Cirkul Chevy blew a tire and hit the outside wall, ultimately ending the day for the No. 16 team. Allmendinger was scored in 37th.
  • “There was no warning. The No. 16 Cirkul Chevy was building tight, but I didn’t expect to have a right front issue. There was no warning and of course, it blows right in the worst part of the corner. Just disappointing. We still needed to work on our Cirkul Chevy, but we were making gains each lap. What I love about this race team is we keep fighting. That’s all you can do. It’s easy to quit but we’re not going to do that.” – AJ Allmendinger

About Kaulig Racing

Kaulig Racing™ is a full-time, multi-car NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) and NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) team, owned by award winning entrepreneur, Matt Kaulig. Established in 2016, Kaulig Racing™ has earned 23 NXS wins, made the NXS Playoffs consecutively each season since the playoff system started, and won two regular-season championships. In 2021, the team competed in select NCS events, before expanding to a two-car, full-time NCS team in 2022 and adding a third, part-time entry during the 2023 season. Since its first NCS start in 2021, the team has earned two wins. Kaulig Racing is currently fielding two full-time entries in the NCS and continues to field three full-time NXS entries, with a part-time fourth entry at select events. To learn more about the team, visit kauligracing.com.

Stewart-Haas Racing: Hy-Vee Perks 250 from Iowa Speedway

By
Official Release
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STEWART-HAAS RACING
Hy-Vee Perks 250
Date: June 15, 2024
Event: Hy-Vee Perks 250 (Round 15 of 33)
Series: NASCAR Xfinity Series
Location: Iowa Speedway in Newton (.875-mile oval)
Format: 250 laps, broken into three stages (75 laps/75 laps/100 laps)
Note: Race extended three laps past its scheduled 250-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.

Race Winner: Sam Mayer of JR Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: Chandler Smith of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Chandler Smith of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

SHR Race Finish:

● Riley Herbst (Started 12th / Finished 2nd, Running, completed 253 of 253 laps)
● Cole Custer (Started 7th / Finished 6th, Running, completed 253 of 253 laps)

SHR Points:

● Cole Custer (1st with 547 points)
● Riley Herbst (7th with 441 points, 106 out of first)

SHR Notes:

● Herbst earned his third top-five of the season and his second top-10 in three career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Iowa.
● Herbst has never finished worse than 13th at Iowa.
● This was Herbst’s second top-10 in the past three races. He finished 10th June 1 at Portland (Ore.) International Raceway.
● Herbst’s second-place finish bettered his previous best finish at Iowa– sixth, earned in his Xfinity Series debut at the track in June 2018.
● Herbst finished eighth in Stage 2 to earn three bonus points.
● Herbst led two times for seven laps – his first laps led at Iowa.
● Custer earned his 12th top-10 of the season and his fifth top-10 in seven career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Iowa.
● Custer has only finished outside the top-10 twice at Iowa in seven starts.
● This was Custer’s third straight top-10. He finished sixth June 1 at Portland (Ore.) International Raceway and ninth last Saturday at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway.
● Custer finished sixth in Stage 1 to earn five bonus points and ninth in Stage 2 to earn two more bonus points.

Race Notes:

● Sam Mayer won the Hy-Vee Perks 250 to score his sixth career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory, his second of the season and his first at Iowa. His margin over second-place Herbst was .146 of a second.

● There were nine caution periods for a total of 71 laps.

● Only 17 of the 38 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.

● Custer remains the championship leader after Iowa with a one-point lead over Chandler Smith.

Sound Bites:

“I have mixed frustrations, for sure. I’m happy to be back on an oval. I mean, the last two weeks on a road course was utterly embarrassing. It was an unacceptable performance from my end and everybody on the No. 98, so I’m happy to be back on an oval. I felt like we had an up and down day. I mean, it was a clean restart. It was fun. I like racing Sam (Mayer, driver) but Stage 1 or 2 he just absolutely brooms me. We were racing clean for fourth and takes us back to 10th and then doors me down the back straightaway before the green-white-checker. It’s just frustrating the way he wants to do that, but all in all, it was fun. I’m happy to be back on ovals. The speed is back in the No. 98.” –Riley Herbst, driver of the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“I just needed some short run speed. I felt like our car was pretty solid all day. I was able to run right around the top-five all day, just went back and forth on the balance trying to find out what our problems were, but at the end we just struggled with short run speed on those short runs. I’m still proud of our team for building that consistency, but we just need that little bit more.” –Cole Custer, driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the Sci Aps 200 on Saturday, June 22 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon. The race begins at 3:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by USA and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Toyota Racing NXS Post-Race Recap – Iowa 06.15.24

By
Official Release
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HEIM EARNS CAREER-BEST THIRD IN XFINITY SERIES RACE AT IOWA
Creed, Smith join Heim inside the top-10 in strong Toyota showing

NEWTON, Iowa (June 15, 2024) – Toyota Development Driver, Corey Heim, earned his career-best finish in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Saturday at Iowa Speedway, coming home third with the Sam Hunt Racing No. 26 Yahoo GR Supra. The Georgia native, who had the fastest car in practice on Friday, started in 22nd position due to a rained-out qualifying session, but showed the pace of his GR Supra immediately by passing 10 cars in just two laps. Heim hung around the top-10 and top-five most of the race and came home third after a few, hectic late-race restarts.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Chandler Smith was the dominant car during the first two stages of the race, winning both and leading 125 laps. Today marked the second time Smith swept the first two stages of a race this season, as he did in Las Vegas. However, restarts in the final stage did not go his way, but he was able to power his Mobil 1 GR Supra to an eighth-place finish. His teammate, Sheldon Creed, also kept his GR Supra in contention throughout the race, earning his sixth top-five of the season.

John Hunter Nemechek also had a strong GR Supra Saturday, leading 31 laps in the final stage as he was closing in on his second win of 2024. Chaos from a late-race restart hampered that fortune and Nemechek ended up contacting the wall and finishing 27th.

The Xfinity Series is back in action next weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the Sci Aps 200 on Saturday, June 22.

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Iowa Speedway
Race 15 of 33 – 218.75 miles, 250 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Sam Mayer*
2nd, Riley Herbst*
3rd, COREY HEIM
4th, Sammy Smith*
5th, SHELDON CREED
8th, CHANDLER SMITH
18th, Brett Moffitt
27th, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

COREY HEIM: No. 26 Yahoo Toyota GR Supra, Sam Hunt Racing

Finishing Position: 3rd

Can you describe your race today, starting 22nd and finishing third?

“Yeah, thought we had a great car all day. We certainly struggled with tires early. Really didn’t think that was going to be an issue, but it proved to be kind of how the whole race went. Certainly, didn’t expect that. Thought we were the best car yesterday and we were up there today. Had a couple things fall our way there at the end to get in the top five and come home with a great P3 for this small team. Super thankful for Sam Hunt Racing, Yahoo, Toyota Racing and everyone from that side of things. Great effort and going to move forward and try to win one of these things one day.”

What was the racing like out there compared to what you see in the Truck Series?

“It’s just so slick. Yeah, everyone anticipated this place to have a lot of grip and to race close without any issue, but, it did have a lot of grip but was super edgy and easy to slip a tire. Really surprised the leaders didn’t run into each other at the end. That was kind of what I was waiting on. I could’ve, in hindsight, been more aggressive to push the issue, but thought they were going to take care of that themselves. Sure enough, that didn’t happen.”

SHELDON CREED: No. 18 Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 5th

Top-five run, how was your race?

“I mean overall, pretty decent. Ran towards the front most of the day. Biggest thing is I just really struggled on the short runs. Extremely loose and it was hard for me to keep track position there early, and then I’d be one of the fastest cars in 15 laps or so. That made it tough with all those cautions there at the end. I thought if I could’ve cleared the 20 (John Hunter Nemechek), if he wouldn’t have throttled up outside of me there and maybe let me go, maybe a different outcome. But overall, a good day for us.”

CHANDLER SMITH: No. 81 Mobil 1 Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 8th

Where do you feel the race slipped away after two strong stages?

“I mean, every restart, we weren’t great to be honest with you. Was wicked free from when they dropped the green flag, all the way to a good 15 laps into a run. The track would kind of glaze over and I think it got a little bit better there at the end of the race, but it would almost glaze over and become super, super slick. That’s why everyone was running the top — top as that was the only place there was grip. It took about 20 laps for it to finally start winding back out. I don’t know. That one stinks really bad as we had a really fast No. 81 Mobil 1 GR Supra for sure. It was lights out fast. That really, really stinks. But, I feel like I have a good idea of what needed to be better there to just go back through — partially, it was my fault when I restarted fourth when I put the 11 (Josh Williams) and whoever else three wide and got freight trained. That’s on me but had so many times there on restarts when we should’ve just gone forward with how dominant our car was, but it was just way, way, way too free.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. for more than 65 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our nearly 1,500 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs more than 49,000 people in the U.S. who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of more than 34 million cars and trucks at our nine manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 10th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 28 electrified options.

Through its Driving Possibilities initiative, the Toyota USA Foundation has committed to creating innovative educational programs within, and in partnership with, historically underserved and diverse communities near the company’s U.S. operating sites.

For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

Herbst Finishes Runner-Up in Iowa Xfinity Series Race

By
Official Release
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Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Xfinity Series
HyVee Perks 250 | Saturday, June 15, 2024

Ford Performance Results:
2nd – Riley Herbst
6th – Cole Custer
7th – Matt DiBenedetto
12th – Ryan Sieg
19th – Kyle Sieg
25th – Hailie Deegan
35th – Blaine Perkins

RILEY HERBST, No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang Dark Horse – DESCRIBE THE LAST FEW LAPS AND PROCESS YOU WENT THROUGH TO TRY AND GET THE WIN. “I have mixed frustrations, for sure. I’m happy to be back on an oval. I mean, the last two weeks on a road course was utterly embarrassing. It was an unacceptable performance from my end and everybody on the 98, so I’m happy to be back on an oval. I felt like we had an up and down day. I mean, it was a clean restart. It was fun. I like racing Sam, but Stage 1 or 2 he just absolutely brooms me. We were racing clean for fourth and takes us back to 10th and then doors me down the back straightaway before the green-white-checker. It’s just frustrating the way he wants to do that, but, all in all, it was fun. I’m happy to be back on ovals. The speed is back in the 98.”

COLE CUSTER, No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “I just needed some short run speed. I felt like our car was pretty solid all day. I was able to run right around the top five all day, just went back and forth on the balance trying to find out what our problems were, but at the end we just struggled with short run speed on those short runs. I’m still proud of our team for building that consistency, but we just need that little bit more.”

MATT DIBENEDETTO, No. 38 Rema Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “It was a good run, a good car. It was fast all week and we knew in practice that the old Recycle Materials Association Mustang had some good ponies under the hood from the get-go. We had really good speed. The car felt good and the engines are always good thanks to Roush Yates and Ford. Right from the get-go in practice I was like, ‘Man, this thing has speed,’ and it really drove good and then in the race it handled good. We were good on long runs. We kind of played the long game, where I’d have to sacrifice on the short run and be free, and then to be good in the long run and we really didn’t want to blow a right-front, so that played into our favor. Then we did have to pit under green once and lost two laps, but came back from that and my spotter, Doug, did a good job. My crew chief, Kevin, did a good job tightening it up when we took tires so we could take off faster in the short run, which we knew we’d need at the end there for the restart and then, sure enough, we made the most of those and drove by a bunch of them and were really aggressive and ended up seventh.”

Ian Porter Claims Fifth Porsche Sprint Challenge Win for RAFA Racing by JDX on Saturday at VIR

By
Official Release
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Caroline Candas Joins Porter on Podium, Her Sixth in Seven Cayman Pro-Am Races

DANVILLE, Virginia (June 15, 2024) – RAFA Racing by JDX Driver Ian Porter kept his spectacular rookie racing season rolling along on Saturday, earning his fifth Porsche Sprint Challenge North America race win in just seven races as the season reached the halfway mark on at VIRginia International Raceway.

Teammate Caroline Candas joined him on the podium for the sixth time this season, continuing a dominating season for the duo who sit first and second in the Pro-Am class standings.

Porter started the 35-minute (plus one additional lap) race on pole in his No. 86 Grid Finder Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport, but his opportunity to build a lead was short lived as a full course caution came out on the opening lap for an incident at the rear of the field.

Following a 14-minute caution period, Porter again led the field to green. He was able to gap second-place thanks to the help of Candas in third. Her No. 84 8Twelve Wheels Porsche Cayman was all over the rear of the second-place car, looking for an opportunity to pass.

Despite five minutes of hounding her rival driver and looking for a way by, Candas had to back down and Porter saw his gap erased once again when RAFA Racing by JDX teammate Paige Morales had contact with the tire barrier, damaging her No. 87 RAFA Racing Club Porsche Cayman just enough that it was unable to continue.

“All of your hard work sort of goes to waste (when the yellow comes out), but that was a little bit different this time,” Porter said on the podium. “Paige is over here and I see she’s alright, but that was a big hit from what I saw. In that scenario, as long as everyone is ok, it’s fine.”

An additional 10 more minutes of full course caution meant that Porter had one more opportunity to bring the field to the green flag with four minutes to go. Once again he was ready for the opportunity and held his lead on the restart – this time to the finish and the win by 2.431 seconds. Candas crossed the line third, another 1.892 seconds behind.

Porter (1:55.134) and Candas (1:55.676) turned the quickest and second-quickest laps of the race, the only two drivers to break the 1-minute, 56 second barrier during the race. It was an impressive showing for a pair of relatively inexperienced drivers on a difficult race track.

“That’s what practice is for,” Porter said. “You’ve got to push the limits of practice, you’ve got to constantly push yourself and the car and discover those limits. Sometimes you’re going to go under it or over it, but you have to know those for the races.”

Rafael Martinez earned a seventh-place finish in the Pro-Am class behind the wheel of the No. 85 RAFA Racing Club Porsche Cayman after improving three overall positions from his starting grid.

The RAFA Racing motto is “Race As Family Always,” and Morales exhibited that attitude after her incident. Checked and released from the track care center, she was at the podium to celebrate her teammate’s successes despite her difficult day and will be ready for Sunday’s race.

All four RAFA Racing by JDX cars and drivers will be on track for a second crack at success on Sunday. That race begins at 9 a.m. EDT, once again a 35 minute (plus one additional lap) race at VIR. Like Saturday’s race, Sunday’s race can be seen live on the official YouTube channel of Porsche Motorsport North America at YouTube.com/@PorscheMotorsportNorthAmerica.

About RAFA Racing Club:

RAFA Racing, utilizing the motto “Race As Family Always,” is a motorsports club and race team founded by and made for high-performance auto drivers, supporters, and fans of all types. Started by Rafael Martinez, the Club aims to create a space for high-performance car enthusiasts to enjoy like-minded individuals, network and share ideas on and off the track, and bond as one team with a common interest. The RAFA Racing Team made its debut in 2023 with a runner-up finish in the McLaren Trophy Europe Series, and expands that footprint to include Porsche Sprint Challenge North America and SRO GT4 Europe in 2024. The Club’s off-track presence can be felt on social media and beyond, including YouTube, Instagram and Facebook and at RafaRacing.Club.

CHEVROLET NCS: Larson Powers Chevrolet to Pole Position for Inaugural Race at Iowa Speedway

By
Official Release
-

NASCAR CUP SERIES
IOWA SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING REPORT
JUNE 15, 2024

Larson Powers Chevrolet to Pole Position for Inaugural

NASCAR Cup Series Race at Iowa Speedway

  • Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson will lead the field to the green-flag in the NASCAR Cup Series’ inaugural race at Iowa Speedway – posting a pole-winning lap of 23.084 seconds, at 136.458 mph, in his No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1.
  • The pole marks Larson’s 20th career NASCAR Cup Series pole – four of which have come in the 2024 season.
  • The series’ points leader delivered Chevrolet its sixth pole of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season; and the manufacturer’s series-leading 749th all-time pole in NASCAR’s premier series.
  • With precipitation delaying on-track action at the Iowa short-track, the qualifying format for NASCAR’s premier series was altered to one round of qualifying, with the times posted by the top-five qualifiers in each round setting up the lineup for tomorrow’s 350-lap event.
  • The USA Network will broadcast the NASCAR Cup Series Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol at Iowa Speedway on Sunday, June 15, at 7 p.m. ET. Live coverage can also be found on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 STARTING LINEUP:
POS. DRIVER
1st Kyle Larson, No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1
4th William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1
7th Kyle Busch, No. 8 Zone Camaro ZL1
9th Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1

Kyle Larson, No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1 – Pole Win Media Availability Quotes

Larson on his pole-winning lap at Iowa Speedway:

“Obviously happy to get the pole. It helped to go out last, probably. I’m sure the track was continuing to get a little bit better. We got to watch SMT of everybody’s runs, so that helps. But it also makes you a little bit more nervous when you see everybody out there struggling. Thankfully, my lap was mostly comfortable; a little bit loose like everybody was. But we were able to piece together two pretty consistent laps and be fast enough on that second lap to get it done.”

You’ve been able to get laps on this track and this surface, more than most, and you’ve seen a ton of different conditions now. How much more prepared do you feel like your No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1 team is compared to the rest of the field?

“Yeah, I just got asked that question out on pit road. I don’t know.. I guess it would be hard to argue that it benefited us because we got the pole, but I don’t think it mattered because the track was so different than when we were here a couple weeks ago. I think we tested for, I don’t know, seven hours or so. The first probably four-and-a-half hours were like not even remotely close to what it is this weekend. And even by the end of it, like it still felt way different than it ever did yesterday. If anything, I think you could get led down the wrong road by testing here a few weeks ago. But our team – we’ve got great teammates to rely on. A couple of them were really fast yesterday, so got to study what they had and talk. I think we’ve made our Chevy better. Obviously I think our performance last week helped for qualifying this week, getting to go out last.”

Some people are having tire issues. We’re hearing some talk that it’s just more grip and you’re going about a second faster than you were in the test..

“We aren’t going any faster..

At the end of the test, yeah – we were going the same, if not a little slower, than what I remember.”

Does the track feel much different than it was at the test?

“So how I felt yesterday in practice, to start practice – it was really slick and I felt very loose, which is kind of how I felt when we started the test. The track was brand new; it hadn’t seen a car go around it yet and it was like oily feeling and slick. So I kind of felt that way when practice started. And then by the very end of practice, I thought it gained some grip and got closer to what the test was – which the test, we didn’t get to do like a 50-lap run yesterday, so I felt like the track was fairly similar by the end of it. But no – as far as lap times, we weren’t going any faster than we were at the last hour of that test.”

You’ve spent a lot of time racing in the Midwest, especially in this state. How does the Midwestern race fan compare to other race fans, and how deserving do you feel like they are for finally having a Cup race here?

“Yeah, I think Midwestern fans – not only from Iowa, but all the other states around this region, are really into racing.. whether it be sprint cars, midgets, dirt late models, stock cars. And I think they’ve been starving for a race, a Cup race especially, here (at Iowa Speedway). Yeah, I think all of us, even drivers included, wanted a race here. I think across the board, we were all really happy to get a Cup race here. We probably all wish it would have come earlier so we could have raced on the older pavement, but regardless, I think it’s great for this fan base. It’s awesome, too, that Knoxville Raceway is racing this weekend. It’s one of the final tune-ups for traveling teams to get ready for the Knoxville Nationals. If you aren’t a sprint car fan, you can go there and catch some awesome racing, and get introduced to that side of motorsports too. It’s a cool weekend for Midwestern race fans.”

Have your thoughts changed on the repave here? Are you still a bit pessimistic about what we might see with the on-track product here on Sunday? What are your thoughts about what we might see now that you’ve been on-track?

“I think there’s still so much unknown, so I think that’s exciting for race fans and all that.. even drivers. There’s probably more drivers in the field that feel like they have an opportunity to have a good run because if this place was old, worn out, bumpy – your Hendrick Motorsports teams, your Joe Gibbs Racing teams, they’re going to be the ones dominating. Where now, I feel like – especially with qualifying shaking-up the order and all that, I think the starting lineup is a little bit odd. So yeah, I think more teams probably feel like they have an opportunity. And then there’s pit strategy stuff that goes along with it, so there’s just more opportunity across the board. Obviously I think the drivers would have more fun with the old surface, but what’s the point of worrying about that at this point. You can’t put the old surface back down.”

 
 

About Chevrolet

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

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