“It ain’t over, till it’s over.” The phrase was first used by American baseball legend Yogi Berra in 1973 before his team treaded a long way before they went on to win the division title. However, after Saturday’s Xfinity race on the road course of Charlotte, the adage seems to have found a new owner. The Xfinity Series race was evidently a nail-biting thriller, keeping the audience on the edge of their seats.
Nevertheless, NASCAR never fails to disappoint, and Saturday’s race was no exception, as Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s prodigy delivered another clinical win. The son of the former IndyCar Series driver turns the tables and flaps his wings like a phoenix as he advances to the next round of the playoffs. However, before entering the victory lane, the new road wunderkind expressed his nonchalance after taking the chequered flag.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s prodigy delivers a dominant result in Charlotte
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After 3 crashes in past races, Dale Jr.’s No. 1 Chevrolet driver, Sam Mayers, entered Saturday’s race in a must-win situation in order to advance to the playoffs. The 20-year-old, with just six points under his name, stepped up his game after winning the pole position for the race. Sam Mayers dominated for 50 laps and surpassed Cole Custer to mark his third victory of the season, all on the road.
The turn of events occurred when Jeff Burton’s son, Jeb Burton, got loose, lost control of his car, and slammed Justin Allgaier, which resulted in the issuance of a caution. Although it was SHR’s Cole Custer who took the lead, with the SHR driver entering Turns 3 and 4 with five laps to go, Mayer reclaimed his lead and went on to take the chequered.
In his post-race interview, Sam Mayer expressed, “I knew we had time like our car was so fast like it really felt unbeatable, like Xfinity 10g. What a day, the good Lord, he [Cole Custer] works in mysterious ways and he put us down but he also taught me a listen that brought me back up and we kicked their tails today and it just feels so great.”
“Bonus points feel great, winning feels great, winning solves everything that’s the name of the game. Getting another shot at it I think this is our second chance moment. I think we can make something out of it. We can go on and do great things because of this win, this obviously is the biggest win of the season. We love road courses, I guess I am AJ Allmendinger 2.0 or something.”
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Mayers and Josh Berry, both fail to make a mark in the playoffs
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Mayer’s third victory enables him to qualify for the next stage of the playoffs. His victory also marked the heartbreak for Daniel Hemric, who bounced off the playoffs after finishing seventh in the race after he was entangled in a three-wide contention with Parker Kligerman and Kraz Gala, and all three of the drivers failed to qualify for the next stage of the playoffs. Moreover, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s other pride, Josh Berry, who is bound for the Cup Series in the upcoming year as he replaces Kevin Harvick, was also eliminated from the playoffs, even after finishing third in the race.
Nevertheless, in his media interview, Sam Mayer also stated, “I have to go out there and I have to be perfect if I want to be a Cup driver one day. I made two mistakes today. Neither of them jeopardized my day, but they could have. I need to make sure I’m mentally focused at all times and don’t get lazy with myself. And that’s what Cup drivers are best at: Being laser-focused 24/7.”
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With the Xfinity race on the track of Charlotte coming to an end, the focus now shifts to the Cup Series, where four drivers are below the cut-line. It will be interesting to see if these drivers are able to pull off a victory like Sam Mayer or are forced to bite the dust.