While the Cup Series race at “The Glen” had an unsuspecting ending with William Byron taking home the trophy, the Xfinity Series rendition also took a sharp turn in the closing laps of the race. As Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Xfinity sensation racked up the much-needed win a day before the Cup Series race was flagged off, the youngster sparked a debate in NASCAR nation following his last-minute move.
In the aftermath of the whole situation and the confusion ensuing from it, the veteran cleared the air when he addressed the community about the youngster’s move to edge out Joe Gibbs‘ driver for a win.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. deciphers the whole Xfinity debacle, exposing his driver’s cheeky move
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For the dramatic fans out there, Sunday’s Cup Series race at the iconic 2.4-mile road course was a bit too dull, with just a single caution coming out of the 90 laps of high-level racing. Much like the race at Indy, Cup Series drivers seem to have adapted to the technicalities of the road course pretty well, but for fans who are in for a bit of drama, that did not translate to entertainment.
However, Saturday’s Xfinity Series race had some spicy elements to it. A last-minute controversial move from Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s driver has the community talking after Sam Mayer’s anti-climatic move literally edged out Joe Gibbs’ grandson.
With the rivals going neck-and-neck into the final laps, the JR Motorsports driver decided to up the ante with a wheel hop that took out the race leader, Ty Gibbs. Though the Joe Gibbs Racing full-timer was dominating the field, leading 70 laps out of the 86, a late caution in the 83rd lap gave Mayer a shot when he sneaked up on the inside and bumped his way into a win while the #54 Toyota was sent spinning.
Reflecting on the controversial move, Dale Earnhardt Jr. gave his take, saying, “ I think this is what was going on, headed down into the braking zone at turn 1, I think that Sam had every intention of running in the back of the #54, every intention, no question. But he did wheel hop you see the car get loose and slide and that did send him into the #54 a lot faster than I think he really wanted to go, right?”
Junior further added, “Spins him right out. Now I think if you’re going to hit somebody like that you definitely dont want them to get back to you so there’s a small window of I dont know if I really want to spin the guy out but I definitely dont want him to be able to get back to me.”
Like his driver stirring up a controversy, Dale Earnhardt Jr. too let in some spicy elements when he said, “But he did slide rear tires into the corner so he didn’t lie about that, you know the wheel hop he talked about he’s locked the rear, the cars turn sideways under braking so something was going on there. Maybe he was just wrecking, you know, I dont know if he wheel hopped or he’s just actually spinning out into the corner.”
“He can kiss my a**” – Richard Childress’ driver trashes Sam Mayer after his lousy move
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For one, unlike the Cup Series race, the Xfinity Series race on Saturday had a tinch of spiciness to it. While Ty Gibbs had his day turned around in a flash with Mayer doing the favor. Richard Childress Racing driver Austin Hill also fell victim to the JRM driver’s wheel hop.
While Mayer’s late tangle got the best of Gibbs, it also took out Hill, who was closely behind. Speaking to Dustin Albino after the race, the RCR did not hold his tongue as he let out his emotions bluntly. “The No. 1 drives over his head all the time. I should’ve known. You have the No. 19 up there, then you have the No. 1. I’ve lost all respect for Sam Mayer. As far as I’m concerned, he can kiss my a**,” said Austin Hill, who finished 12th, costing him valuable points.
Austin Hill was caught up in the Sam Mayer/Ty Gibbs incident and finished 14th. Hill says he's lost all respect for Mayer.
"As far as I'm concerned, he can kiss my ass." pic.twitter.com/yXGgk6IlGb
— Dustin Albino (@DustinAlbino) August 19, 2023
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While Sam Mayer claimed a much-needed win as he pulled off the move, Austin Hill who lost a decent finish was obviously enraged at the #1 driver.
WATCH THIS STORY: Dale Earnhardt Jr blames Indy cars for the absence of Indianapolis from NASCAR
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Furious over his action, he called out Mayer and put out a stern warning to him, as he said, “I’m just very mad right now. That he didn’t at least try to race us. He just took both of us out, knowing that we were the two to beat. Don’t have no respect for him. We’ll have to see what happens down the road, but I won’t be racing him clean from now on, I can tell you that.”
With things escalating to new heights, this week’s race will certainly have all the thrills and frills for a blockbuster.