Mayer Punches Ticket to Championship 4
Sam Mayer’s fourth victory this season and his first on an oval in Saturday’s Contender Boats 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway gave the 20-year-old driver his first trip to the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship four at Phoenix Raceway.
Mayer led three times for 46 laps, including the final 31, and then held off a hard charging Riley Herbst at the finish to claim a 0.227-second victory in the 200-lap race.
With one race remaining to determine the championship four, Mayer is the only driver locked into the title race. John Hunter Nemechek possesses a little breathing room headed to Martinsville Speedway next weekend as he is 44 points above the cutline. However, Austin Hill, Justin Allgaier and Cole Custer are separated by only three points. Hill and Custer are three points above the cutline, while Allgaier is three points below it.
Other drivers below the cutline are Sammy Smith -49, Chandler Smith -54, and Sheldon Creed -65.
Carson Hocevar, driver of the #42 Worldwide Express Chevrolet, crosses the finish line to win the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Baptist Health Cancer Care 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on October 21, 2023 in Homestead, Florida
Truck Series Championship 4 Is Set
Half of the four drivers vying for this year’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship are title round rookies. Corey Heim and Carson Hocevar are in the championship race at Phoenix Raceway in two weeks for the first time, while 2021 series champion Ben Rhodes is making his third appearance and Grant Enfinger his second.
Series champion Zane Smith missed the chance to defend his title, initially finishing second to Hocevar in Saturday’s Baptist Health Cancer Care 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Smith had to win the 134-lap race to advance. Then during post-race inspection, he was disqualified for his truck violating NASCAR’s windshield support rule. Smith’s truck is going to the NASCAR R&D Center in Concord, N.C.
In addition to Smith, the other drivers eliminated from the playoffs were Ty Majeski, Nick Sanchez and Christian Eckes.
Pit Road Accident Injures Crewman
Cory Selig, front tire changer for Reaume Brothers Racing, was taken to a local hospital after being hit on pit road during Saturday’s Baptist Health Cancer Care 200 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Mason Maggio was on the outside of Memphis Villarreal as both drivers attempted to squeeze into their respective pit boxes at the end of Stage 1. Villarreal went in too deep and hit Selig as well as other crew members with his truck’s left front as they came off the wall to run around to the truck’s right side. After being hit by Villarreal’s truck, Selig hit the pit wall and flipped over it.
Selig was first taken to the infield care center and then transported to a local hospital. Late Saturday the team released a statement that said Selig suffered a several rib fractures as well as a cracked sternum and would be held overnight for observation.
Stewart Friesen (#52 Halmar Friesen Racing Halmar International Toyota) runs on the front stretch during practice for the Baptist Health Cancer Care 200 on October 20, 2023, at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, FL
Friesen Races with Broken Vertebra
Stewart Friesen, one of two Truck Series drivers who broke a vertebra three weeks ago at Talladega, produced a seventh-place finish in Saturday’s Baptist Health Cancer Care 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Friesen has been racing his dirt car since suffering his back injury at Talladega.
Greg Van Alst, who fractured a vertebra and broke his tailbone in a separate accident in the same Talladega race, remains sidelined.
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