Sam Mayer Wins Overtime Thriller in Xfinity Race at Watkins Glen

(Photo: Wayne Riegle | The Podium Finish)

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — With nine laps to go, Saturday’s Shriners Children’s 200 at Watkins Glen International was shaping up to be a fuel-mileage race.

Stuck on a long green-flag run, Sam Mayer planned to make it until the end of the race after pitting under yellow on Lap 48. Ty Gibbs, who dominated, surrendered the lead for a splash of fuel. Under the assumption the race would stay green, crew chief Jason Ratcliff believed Gibbs could make up the deficit as others tried to save fuel.

However, a caution with seven laps to go threw a wrench into it all.

Mayer led and had to preserve fuel under yellow. On the restart, Mayer took the inside and Gibbs lined up behind him, dive-bombing into the 90-degree Turn 1. The two battled through the tight confines of the esses and touched in Turn 3, resulting in Mayer slapping the Armco barrier.

“[Gibbs] fed me a little fender and it about wrecked me and put us in a really dangerous spot,” Mayer said. “If I was able to stay there and side-draft him down the back, I would have beat him into the bus stop and probably had the lead there … I was pretty upset about that.”

The caution came right back out as Justin Allgaier went spinning at the entrance of the carousel, creating a chain reaction that collected Alex Bowman and Kaz Grala, among others.

For NASCAR Overtime, the roles were reversed. Gibbs had the lead and elected to start on the inside while Mayer lined up behind him. Mayer sent it deep into Turn 1 and spun around Gibbs, saying that he wheel-hopped going into the corner.

“I wanted to put [Gibbs] three-wide middle there, just to kind of get him pinned down because I knew the 21 [Austin Hill] was on new tires,” Mayer said. “[Hill] was going to get a new launch. I tried to get to the inside of the 19 to push him up into the 21 because I knew that if the 21 got the lead, he was gonna drive away from everybody, even the 19.

“Just a tough deal. Overdrove the corner trying to get to the inside of [Gibbs], wheel-hopped and slid straight into him. Obviously, as a racecar driver, I wouldn’t appreciate that and I don’t appreciate doing that to people. I don’t look highly on it. It was just a mistake.”

Intentional or not, Gibbs wasn’t impressed.

“I wasn’t looking at my mirror like that, I was like a car length or so in front of [Mayer]. I think he wheel-hopped there and wrecked us,” Gibbs said. “Just something he did — that was a mistake on his part and it completely cleaned us out.”

Through all the chaos, Sheldon Creed took the lead and it seemed destined for his first Xfinity Series victory. Instead, between the carousel, Creed slid through oil and ended up missing Turn 7, handing the lead back to Mayer coming to the white flag. Mayer held on for a 0.909-second victory.

“I went through the bus stop and I looked up and he was five car lengths behind me,” Creed said. “I knew I was good enough to hit my marks for another lap and a half. I just wasn’t prepared to hit oil.”

(Photo: Wayne Riegle | The Podium Finish)

The victory is Mayer’s second in four races after going winless in his first 70 starts. In reflection of his Xfinity Series career, he said doubt had crept into his mind on if he’d ever make it to victory lane. But over the last month, he’s acquired two trophies and will have an opportunity to fight for a championship.

“Doubt comes into your mind every now and then, and it pushes you harder,” Mayer explained. “In the middle of the race at Road America, I told myself, I was like ‘if I can somehow win today, I feel like I can do anything.’ I somehow did that and my confidence with that just went absolutely through the roof. I think that it really showed [at Watkins Glen] too that I was super confident in my racecar.

“It’s frustrating to see all these other guys winning, and then finally getting those wins, it just makes it that much more special.”

Stage 1 Results

1. Ty Gibbs
2. Justin Allgaier
3. Sam Mayer
4. Josh Berry
5. Austin Hill
6. John Hunter Nemechek
7. Sheldon Creed
8. Riley Herbst
9. Cole Custer
10. Parker Kligerman

Stage 2 Results

1. Ty Gibbs
2. Alex Bowman
3. Austin Hill
4. Justin Allgaier
5. Cole Custer
6. Sam Mayer
7. Josh Berry
8. John Hunter Nemechek
9. Sheldon Creed
10. Parker Kligerman

Shriners Children’s 200 at The Glen Results

Points Standings (Four Races Remaining in Regular Season