Sam Mayer wins in thrilling Charlotte Roval. Who makes NASCAR Xfinity playoff cut?

Sam Mayer has gone back to back at Charlotte.

And that feat couldn’t have come at a better time.

Mayer earned a come-from-behind, thrilling win at the Charlotte Roval in Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday to advance in the NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs. He needed a win to move on from the Round of 12 to the Round of 8 — just like he did last year.

And he did.

Just like last year.

“I told my other trophy when I left the house this morning, ‘I’m gonna bring you home a twin tonight,’” Mayer said after his win, smiling. “And I get to actually do that. I kept my promise.”

Mayer entered Sunday below the playoff cut line. He did so thanks to losing the disqualification appeal after being handed a penalty for failing post-race inspection after Saturday’s Top 5 finish at Talladega Superspeedway last week.

That turn of events — which threatened Mayer’s season — helped make Sunday’s win all the more sweeter.

“It certainly was a roller coaster,” Mayer said. He added, “Everything we looked up and did the math for, it all led to us going out there and having to win. And we were like, ‘Well, we did it last year. We know how to do it. So we just got to go out there and do it again.”

How Sam Mayer won the Roval again

This win didn’t belong to Mayer from start to finish. But he hung around close enough to take it when it mattered.

AJ Allmendinger, who finished in P2 and is about as invulnerable on the Charlotte road course as they come, won Stage 1. Tyler Allgaier won Stage 2. Mayer missed the carnage on Lap 33 — when fellow playoff driver Riley Herbst squeezed Anthony Alfredo and prompted Herbst to spin out and collect about a dozen cars in his wake — and then hung around late in Stage 3.

Mayer found himself in the crossfire of a win late in the race. With 11 laps to go, Parker Kligerman made a remarkable move to pass Shane van Gisbergen for the lead on a hairpin Turn 7. Mayer then passed van Gisbergen. Then it was an old-fashioned duel: Kligerman vs. Mayer; Mayer vs. Kligerman — two underdogs fighting for their playoff lives.

Soon, chaos ensued. Kligerman was the leading car, it appeared, when the flagman waved the white flag. However, right before passing the start-finish line, the yellow caution came out. Leland Honeyman was car-deep in a tire barrier. That meant overtime.

Then, on the overtime restart, Mayer — on fresher tires and with a faster car — outpaced Kligerman and took a win to advance to the Round of 8.

”When the last caution came out, I thought the leader crossed the line, it was so close,” Mayer said. “I was like, ‘Welp, there goes the entire season right there.’ Luckily it was early. So that’s good. But that last restart was certainly unbelievable. I feel like I did everything in my power there to optimize what that last lap was, and I put the 48 in a bad spot. He thought he had to block, and I ended up just turning underneath on the exit of 7 and driving away.

“This was the probably the toughest Xfinity field here on the Roval that we’ve had. And we came out on top. So super cool to have that.”

Who made the NASCAR Xfinity Series playoff cut on Saturday?

Mayer’s win punched his ticket to the Round of 8 on Saturday. Here’s who else made it to the next round of the NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs:

▪ Sammy Smith (finished P10)

▪ Chandler Smith (P5)

▪ Cole Custer (P13)

▪ Austin Hill (P4)

▪ Jesse Love (P19)

▪ Justin Allgaier (P7)

▪ Sam Mayer (P1)

▪ AJ Allmendinger (P2)

Those who were eliminated on Saturday.

▪ Riley Herbst (P32)

▪ Shane van Gisbergen (P3)

▪ Sheldon Creed (P35)

▪ Parker Kligerman (P6)

NASCAR Xfinity Series at Charlotte full results

This story was originally published October 12, 2024 at 7:18 PM.

Alex Zietlow

The Charlotte Observer

Alex Zietlow writes about the Carolina Panthers and the ways in which sports intersect with life for The Charlotte Observer, where he has been a reporter since August 2022. Zietlow’s work has been honored by the Pro Football Writers Association, the N.C. and S.C. Press Associations, as well as the Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) group. He’s earned six APSE Top 10 distinctions for his coverage on a variety of topics, from billion-dollar stadium renovations to the small moments of triumph that helped a Panthers kicker defy the steepest odds in sports. Zietlow previously wrote for The Herald in Rock Hill (S.C.) from 2019-22. Support my work with a digital subscription