Bad vibrations.
That’s not just a song and album by A Day to Remember. It’s also the theme for many drivers in Saturday’s (June 15) NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Iowa Speedway.
It started early on with AJ Allmendinger blowing a right front tire just 32 laps into the race. The problems only worsened from there as many more drivers started complaining about chattering and vibrations.
One racer who avoided those problems and conquered the partially-repaved .875-mile oval was Sam Mayer, taking the lead around lap 244 over Riley Herbst and retaking the position in overtime. He went on to win his second NXS race of the year, surviving the attrition-filled event where only 26 of 38 drivers wound up finishing.
Herbst finished second, while Corey Heim took home third. Sammy Smith and Sheldon Creed rounded out the top-five finishers.
Winners
Mayer was one of two JR Motorsports drivers who had really good days. Though he didn’t dominate the race like Chandler Smith, Mayer still led 47 laps, including several about two-thirds of the way into the event.
However, he lost the lead to John Hunter Nemechek coming off pit road during a caution around lap 202. That clean air and leadoff position proved key for drivers who wanted to maintain first for several laps.
When trouble befell Nemechek, Mayer found a chance to get on the front row and eventually passed Herbst for the lead. Once he did, he held off advances from the No. 98 to earn his second win of the season.
After earning just one top 10 in the first six events, Mayer has two wins and seven top fives in the past nine races. That’s a remarkable 9.11 average finish during that span compared to 26.33 in his first six races.
He’s also moved up from 20th in the standings after Richmond Raceway to 10th after Iowa. That’s quite a jump within nine races. Of course, Mayer was locked into the playoffs after winning at Texas Motor Speedway by a nose. But this second win and a smattering of top-five finishes have put him in serious talks for a title run. This 20-year-old will be one to watch in the playoffs.
Herbst displayed his displeasure with Mayer after the checkered flag, sliding up into his No. 1 car and cutting the left-rear tire. After the race, Herbst mentioned that it was for what happened in the first two stages, which could’ve been when Mayer slid up into Herbst.
Though the No. 98 lost out…
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