It’s not looking good for Sammy Smith. With two races remaining before the final race, the JR Motorsports driver faces an uphill task to keep his title hopes alive. The 20-year-old pulled off a shocking result at Talladega Superspeedway, securing his first Xfinity Series win of the season to guarantee a spot in the Round of Eight. However, mechanical issues at the Ambetter Health 302 forced him to settle for a 32nd-place result, which emerged as a major blow to his championship ambitions.

With time running out, could Sammy Smith pull yet another rabbit out of the hat and secure a victory at Homestead-Miami or Martinsville? At this point, he will need to, if he aims to remain in contention for the silverware at Phoenix Raceway later this year.

It’s now or never for Sammy Smith

Tensions were high within JR Motorsports’ No. 8 Chevy team going into Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Sammy Smith went into the opening Round of Eight playoff race rock-bottom in the playoff standings, 19 points below the elimination cutline. Given the stakes, the 20-year-old knew that he would have to drive with maturity beyond his years to get a result on the 1.5-mile oval, with little margin for error considering the circumstances. Even though his weekend began positively after qualifying in fifth place, the Iowa native couldn’t capitalize on the advantage in the race.

Speaking to Frontstretch’s Bryan Nolen about what transpired in the closing stages, Sammy Smith candidly said, “I felt like we showed a lot of promise this weekend in practice and qualifying. Obviously, we were able to be pretty good at first and we were okay in the second stage, and then when we got the damage it was game over.”

When asked about his game plan heading into Homestead and Martinsville, the youngster replied, “Obviously, the 16 winning probably didn’t help the situation but yeah, we’re kind of in a must-win, and that needs to be our goal and hopefully we can go do that.” Sammy Smith’s performance at Ambetter Health 302 is somewhat of an enigma. The JR Motorsports driver was third fastest in practice and finished in the top five during qualifying, but his No. 8 Chevy didn’t show the same pace during the race.

Despite his track position, the 20-year-old didn’t finish in the top ten in either of the opening two stages, which would have been a valuable opportunity for him to accumulate some points. Considering his start to the weekend, team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr must have been left scratching his head at the way Smith’s race played out.

To make matters worse, his Chevrolet Camaro stalled on Lap 195, forcing the race to go into overtime. Revealing the reason behind the incident, Sammy Smith said, “Yeah, we lost voltage and we had to change the battery. It was kind of sputtering the whole last stage and just lost voltage.” The mechanical failure in his car forced Smith to settle for his worst finish in 16 races and as things stand, he is 53 points below the playoff cutline going into the penultimate Round of Eight race at Homestead-Miami.

JR Motorsports have turned their season around

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It seems like Dale Earnhardt Jr’s team doesn’t know how to do it the easy way. If Sammy Smith hadn’t won at the 2024 United Rentals 250, his progression in the Round of Eight would have been very unlikely. Similarly, Justin Allgaier struggled with form when the postseason began, failing to finish higher than 25th in the opening three playoff races. If that wasn’t enough, Sam Mayer was disqualified at Talladega Superspeedway after his No. 1 Chevrolet failed the post-race height requirement.

Just when all hopes were lost, their drivers delivered when it mattered the most. Mayer secured his third victory of the season in the final Round of 12 race at the Charlotte Roval, even though it came under very controversial circumstances. Meanwhile, Justin Allgaier seems to have rediscovered his momentum, securing a seventh-place result at the Roval, and a third-place finish in Las Vegas. Pleased at the outcome, the veteran told Fox Sports journalist Bob Pockrass, “Executed all day we did all the right things and ultimately we’ll walk out of here with a solid finish, good points day, just wish I was standing over there in victory lane.”

However, with two playoff races remaining, there is work to be done. While Allgaier appears to be relatively safe, 32 points above the elimination cutline, Sam Mayer and Sammy Smith remain in precarious positions. Having secured a victory at Homestead-Miami in the 2023 Contender Boats 300, Mayer will be hoping to repeat that performance in the upcoming race. With a significant points deficit standing in the way, securing a win is the most sure-shot path for both drivers to remain in contention for the Xfinity Series championship. Whether they manage to deliver clutch performances remains to be seen.