Sammy Smith Wins and Advances at Talladega

Sammy Smith celebrating in Victory Lane after winning the United Rentals 250 at Talladega Superspeedway. (Photo: Hayden Hutchison | The Podium Finish)

LINCOLN, Ala. — Sammy Smith entered Talladega in 12th place on the playoff grid and left as the only driver advanced after winning the United Rentals 250.

After the “Big One” struck and sent the race to overtime, Smith was able to hold off the rest of the field to claim his first victory of the season and clinch a spot in the Round of 8.

The win snapped a 56-race winless streak for Smith that dated back to March 2023 at Phoenix Raceway. It had not been the smoothest transition over to JR Motorsports this season for Smith, but in just the third race with new crew chief Phillip Bell, they have reached Victory Lane.

“It’s been a really tough year,” Smith said. “It’s been a while and it’s been a struggle, but I’m very happy to be here and looking forward to getting better on these ovals and road courses.”

One of the perks of racing for JR Motorsports is the knowledge that Dale Earnhardt Jr. gives to his drivers, especially on superspeedway-style tracks.

Sammy Smith and his JR Motorsports No. 8 team taking pictures in Victory Lane. (Photo: Hayden Hutchison | The Podium Finish)

“We sat down on Wednesday,” said Smith on talking with Earnhardt Jr. “It wasn’t a whole lot, but asking him what he would do in certain situations.”

Along with advancing and not having to worry about surviving the Charlotte Roval, the win gives Smith and his No. 8 team a lot of momentum heading into the Round of 8. Smith has had success at the tracks in the upcoming round, highlighted by two top-five finishes in four starts at Martinsville.

“Man, it feels really good to win again,” said Smith.

Ryan Sieg finished in second place after giving Smith the push to clear Chandler Smith and the rest of the field, tying a career-best for the veteran driver. Behind Sieg was Riley Herbst, who finished in third place, but was not too pleased with Chandler Smith’s decisions on the final lap.

“I was just telling him, he [Chandler Smith] had his teammate [Sheldon Creed] behind him and was in the best spot you want to be in and I told him he made a right move but in the wrong place,” said Herbst. “He would have won the race and all he did was kill his run, my run and his teammate’s run and let the (No.) 8 (Sammy Smith) get away.”

Sammy Smith (8) battling Chandler Smith (81) during the United Rentals 250 at Talladega Superspeedway. (Photo: Hayden Hutchison | The Podium Finish)

Jesse Love won the pole and led a race-high 28 laps en route to a sixth-place run. Rounding out the top 10 were some underdog runs with Jeb Burton in seventh, David Starr in eighth, Brennan Poole finishing ninth and Kyle Sieg coming home in 10th place.

The playoff grid saw a big shakeup at Talladega and Justin Allgaier, Shane van Gisbergen, Sam Mayer and Parker Kligerman are on the outside looking in heading into the elimination race at the Charlotte Roval. Mayer was above the cutline, but was disqualified after the race due to low ride height in the rear, turning his 16th-place run into a 38th-place finish.

Three of the four drivers below the cutline have multiple wins this season, including Allgaier, who was the No. 1 seed heading into the playoffs. This sets up an interesting scenario for the Charlotte Roval as van Gisbergen has won three road course races this season and Mayer is the defending winner, but AJ Allmendinger has never lost an Xfinity Series race at the Roval.

Playoff Standings (Race 2/3 in the Round of 12)

1. Sammy Smith (ADVANCED)
2. Chandler Smith (+64)
3. Cole Custer (+37)
4. Austin Hill (+37)
5. Sheldon Creed (+32)
6. Jesse Love (+22)
7. Riley Herbst (+20)
8. AJ Allmendinger (+7)
9. Justin Allgaier (-7)
10. Shane van Gisbergen (-10)
11. Sam Mayer (-13)
12. Parker Kligerman (-16)

Stage 1 Top 1o Results

1. Chandler Smith
2. AJ Allmendinger
3. Justin Allgaier
4. Austin Hill
5. Sheldon Creed
6. Anthony Alfredo
7. Taylor Gray
8. Sam Mayer
9. Cole Custer
10. Dean Thompson

Stage 2 Top 10 Results

1. Austin Hill
2. Sammy Smith
3. Jesse Love
4. Shane van Gisbergen
5. Chandler Smith
6. Riley Herbst
7. AJ Allmendinger
8. Sheldon Creed
9. Cole Custer
10. Brandon Jones

United Rentals 250 at Talladega Superspeedway Finishing Results