XFINITY: Sammy Smith Has Title Hopes Rejuvenated with Talladega Win
After barely squeaking into the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs, Sammy Smith is the first driver guaranteed to advance into the second round, courtesy of a victory in Saturday's United Rentals 250 at Talladega.
It's the second victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for the Johnston, Iowa native and the first for Smith with since joining JR Motorsports at the beginning of the season.
With a major shove from Ryan Sieg -- the driver Smith battled for the final spot in the post-season -- and Leland Honeyman, the driver of the No. 8 TMC Transportation Chevrolet Camaro was able to surge ahead of Riley Herbst and Chandler Smith on the inside line on the race's final lap.
Using the continued support from the No. 39 on the race's final lap, Smith was able to defend against any runs that came his way, beating the RSS Racing driver to the start-finish line by 0.177 seconds, collecting his first win of 2024 and punching his ticket into the Round of 8.
"Man, it's been a while, it's been a struggle, but I'm very happy to be here and I'm looking forward to getting better on these ovals and road courses," Smith said post-race.
Leading up to Saturday's United Rentals 250, Smith, who drives the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro for JR Motorsports, sat down to have a discussion with team owner Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who is one of the most successful superspeedway racers in NASCAR history.
"Yeah, we did. We sat down with him Wednesday and it wasn't a whole lot, just kinda some of the stuff he would do in those situations, but man, it feels really good to win again," Smith added.
For the fourth time in his NASCAR Xfinity Series career, and the second time this season, Ryan Sieg finished in the runner-up position. The Tucker, Georgia-native is still chasing his first career win in the second-tier series while driving for his family-owned team.
After holding the race-lead when the white flag was displayed, Riley Herbst faded to third at the finish, his second straight top-three result at Talladega Superspeedway. Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Sheldon Creed and Chandler Smith rounded out the top-five.
Jesse Love, who sat on the pole for Saturday's event, came home in sixth place despite major damage to the right-front of his No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro. Jeb Burton finished seventh, with David Starr, Brennan Poole, and Kyle Sieg completing a top-10 that was filled with several underdog drivers.
RACE RESULTS: 2024 NXS United Rentals 250 at Talladega Superspeedway
The event featured a total of six caution flags, which accounted for 27 of the 98 circuits around the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday. However, multiple NASCAR Xfinity Series post-season drivers fell victim to the cause of those cautions.
Of the 12 post-season drivers, Parker Kligerman faced the most adversity, getting collected in two separate accidents -- one with Nick Leitz at Lap 43 and the other with Brandon Jones and several others at Lap 93 -- but still managed to come home in 12th.
Justin Allgaier and Cole Custer both recorded finishes outside the top-25 after being involved in that 11-car melee late in the going, while Jesse Love, AJ Allmendinger, and Kligerman managed to recover.
Austin Hill also sustained damage in an earlier accident with Taylor Gray, Dean Thompson, and Shane Van Gisbergen, which hurt the No. 21's chance at a solid result, coming home in 24th. That wreck did take SVG out of the event, relegating him to a 36th-place finish.
Leaving Talladega, the NASCAR Xfinity Series will head back home to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the final race of the Round of 12 at the ROVAL, which will take place next Saturday, October 12 at 4:00PM ET. Coverage will be on The CW.
