Sam Mayer has won his first short track race in the NASCAR Xfinity Series after taking the lead in overtime at Iowa Speedway.
Mayer, who crashed three times in the first four races this season, led 47 laps after being the 28th-fastest car in Friday's extended practice session. He was able to use multiple lanes during Saturday's race after voicing concerns about handling in practice.
Riley Herbst crossed the finish line second, capping off a day that featured nine cautions and numerous blown tires. Corey Heim, Sammy Smith, and Sheldon Creed all scored top-five finishes.
MORE: Mayer wins, full Iowa results
MORE: Xfinity driver points
MAYER HOLDS OFF HERBST AT IOWA!
The No. 1 driver grabs the lead from the No. 98 late in the going and held on during the final restart for his 2nd victory of 2024.
What a wild race at @iowaspeedway#NASCAR pic.twitter.com/DauU6HdWMe
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The race went to overtime after John Hunter Nemechek blew a tire and hit the outside wall. Nemechek had a tire rub after previous contact with Creed while racing for second place.
The rub ultimately cut the left side tire and set up a restart with Mayer and Herbst on the front row and Heim and Creed on the second row.
Once the green flag waved, Mayer cleared Herbst for the lead while Creed lost multiple spots. The JR Motorsports driver took the white flag and then held off the Stewart-Haas Racing driver on the final drag race to the checkered flag.
There were some hurt feelings after the race. Herbst slammed into the side of Mayer's No. 1 Chevrolet and cut the tire. He then headed back to pit road while Mayer did burnouts with a flat tire.
Herbst said after the race that the issues stemmed from incidents earlier in the race and not from how Mayer raced him in overtime.
Stage 1: Jeb Burton blew a right front tire and hit the wall. This brought out the caution that ended the opening stage at Iowa. 13. Chandler Smith won stage 1 under caution. Sheldon Creed, Sam Mayer, Justin Allgaier, Sammy Smith, Cole Custer, Brett Moffitt, Corey Heim, John Hunter Nemechek, and Jesse Love all were top 10.
Burton was not the only driver with a major issue in stage 1. AJ Allmendinger brought out the first caution after he blew a right front tire and hit the outside wall. Brandon Jones exited the race after a valve issue led to an engine failure. This was Jones's third consecutive DNF.
BIG HIT FOR JESSE LOVE.
We're through two stages of today's NASCAR Xfinity Series race on USA Network. pic.twitter.com/sLR24pgKPm
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) June 15, 2024
Stage 2: Chandler Smith won stage 2 under caution after Jesse Love blew a right front tire and hit the outside wall. Sam Mayer, Ross Chastain, Corey Heim, Sammy Smith, Sheldon Creed, Justin Allgaier, Riley Herbst, Cole Custer, and Austin Hill all finished top 10.
Several other drivers experienced issues in stage 2. Shane van Gisbergen crashed after losing control in Turn 2. He collected Blaine Perkins and Kyle Weatherman. Parker Retzlaff exited the race after pulling onto pit road with no power. Smoke began pouring from his cockpit. Retzlaff told NBC Sports that a wire shorted out and caused a fire.
Notable: Four drivers have now won two races each this Xfinity season. Chandler Smith, Shane van Gisbergen, and Austin Hill all had two wins entering the Iowa weekend. Mayer joined them after leading 47 laps at the short track.
Next: Xfinity teams head to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for a June 22 race. USA Network will provide coverage at 3:30 p.m. ET.