Sam Mayer wins at Road America for first career Xfinity Series victory

Austin Hill is the new points leader after Saturday’s Xfinity race at Road American.

Hill took the points lead from John Hunter Nemechek, leading Nemechek by 14 points with six races left in the regular season.

Xfinity driver points after Road America

Justin Allgaier is third in the season standings. He’s 40 points behind Hill after winning both stages Saturday. Allgaier finished 18th.

Hill placed third Saturday, finishing behind winner Sam Mayer and runner-up Parker Kligerman.

Kligerman remains the first driver outside a playoff spot. He is 22 points behind Sheldon Creed.

Creed finished 26th. Kligerman outscored Creed by 27 points.

Riley Herbst entered the race holding the final playoff spot but passed Creed in the standings. Herbst placed fifth, rallying from 33rd after he was involved in an incident just past the halfway mark in the 49-lap race.

Sam Mayer scored his first career Xfinity Series win and gave JR Motorsports its second victory of the season Saturday at Road America.

Mayer took the lead on a chaotic penultimate lap of double overtime, which saw the lead change four times.

Road America results | Xfinity Series points

Parker Kligerman finished a career-best second.

Austin Hill placed third and took the points lead from John Hunter Nemechek, who finished 34th after going off course and damaging his car.

Sage Karam finished a career-best fourth.

Riley Herbst completed the top five after once falling to 33rd after he was involved in an incident just past halfway in the 49-lap race.

Wisconsin native Josh Bilicki finished a career-best eighth.

AJ Allmendinger, who ran this race instead of practice and qualifying his Cup car at Richmond, finished ninth after starting from the pole.

Justin Allgaier won both stages and was leading on the final restart before spinning off Turn 6. He placed 18th.

Sam Mayer, the 20-year-old driver for JR Motorsports who grew up racing on a mini Road America go-kart course on his family’s Wisconsin property, scored his first Xfinity Series win Saturday at Road America.

Mayer won in double overtime. The next-to-last lap saw the lead change four times.

Justin Allgaier led the final restart.

Sage Karam passed Allagier for the lead when Allgaier’s car got loose off Turn 6 on the 14-turn course.

Sam Mayer went from third to first entering Turn 8 but Mayer went wide and Karam took the lead back as Allgaier spun behind them.

Mayer went wide in Turn 12, allowing Parker Kligerman to move into second place.

Karam went off course in Turn 13, moving Kligerman into the lead.

Mayer tapped the back of Kligerman’s car in Turn 14 and took the lead coming to the white flag.

Mayer won. Kligerman finished second and was followed by Austin Hill, Karam and Riley Herbst, who was as far back as 33rd at one point after being involved in an incident.

Allgaier, who won both stages, finished 18th. Pole-sitter AJ Allmendinger finished ninth.

The Xfinity race will head to a second overtime after Connor Mosack’s car dropped fluid on part of the course.

Justin Allgaier leads. Sage Karam, making his seventh start of the season, is second.

Sam Mayer is third. Parker Kligerman is fourth. Josh Berry is fifth.

Sixth through 10th: Austin Hill, Kaz Grala, Jeremy Clements, Daniel Hemric and Riley Herbst.

It’s been quite a recovery for Herbst, who was involved in an incident earlier that dropped him to 33rd at one point. He was later spun in a separate incident. Herbst entered the race holding the final playoff spot by 26 points.

Kligerman entered as the first driver outside a playoff spot.

Allgaier is looking to win his fourth career Xfinity road course race.

Karam has never won in 19 previous Xfinity starts. Mayer has never won in 70 previous series starts. Kligerman has never won in 75 previous series starts.

Josh Berry, Sammy Smith, AJ Allmendinger and Cole Custer were involved in a crash on Lap 42, sending the race to a green-white-checkered finish.

Berry said his car was hit from behind before it darted to its right and made contact with Smith’s car. Smith hit Allmendinger’s car.

Both Smith and Allmendinger spun in front of Sage Karam, who missed those cars by inches. Custer was hit from behind by Smith’s car.

Custer was third on the restart before the incident, while Allmendinger was fifth, Smith sixth and Berry seventh.

Justin Allgaier remains the leader.

An apparent mechanical failure sent Alex Labbe off the track on the frontstretch and hard into the tire barrier in Turn 1.

Labbe climbed from the car and went to the ground before getting up and walking away.

Justin Allgaier continues to lead the race, which is scheduled for 45 laps. JR Motorsports teammate Sam Mayer is second and followed by Cole Custer, Sage Karam and AJ Allmendinger.

Justin Allgaier won stage 2 in a one-lap shootout after points leader John Hunter Nemechek went off course in Turn 13 and destroyed the front of his car.

Allgaier also won the first stage. He scored 20 stage points and two playoff points today.

Cole Custer ended the second stage in second place. He was followed by Sage Karam, AJ Allmendinger and Sam Mayer

Kaz Grala finished the stage sixth. He was followed by Josh Berry, Parker Kligerman, Sammy Smith and Josh Bilicki.

Riley Herbst, who entered Saturday’s race at Road America holding the final playoff spot, crashed and stalled on course on the 25th of 45 laps.

Herbst was running next to John Hunter Nemechek at the start of the second stage. Cars behind Nemechek made contact and appeared to hit him and send his car into Herbst’s car.

Herbst spun and was hit by Ryan Ellis’ car.

NASCAR called a caution when Herbst was unable to get restarted.

Herbst made it to pit road for repairs. He’s listed in 33rd spot.

Parker Kligerman, the first driver outside a playoff spot, is eighth. At this moment, Herbst leads Kligerman by 3 points for the final playoff spot.

Chandler Smith crashed on the frontstretch after a brake rotor exploded.

The car turned left into the grass and wall, smacking it on the driver side.

Smith climbed from his car, which had extensive damage on left side and front.

Teammate AJ Allmendinger has been reporting brake issues.

Justin Allgaier leads and won stage 1. He was followed by Cole Custer, Allmendinger, John Hunter Nemechek and Sage Karam.

Sixth at the end of the first stage was Riley Herbst. He was followed Kaz Grala, Austin Hill, Sam Mayer and Sammy Smith.

AJ Allmendinger reported to his team on Lap 15 while running second that “I got no brakes.”

He had told the team of brake issues before the competition caution at Lap 10.

Allmendinger asked if to pit and Chris Rice, president of Kaulig Racing, said whatever he decides, don’t hurt himself.

Allmendinger was running this race instead of practicing and qualifying his Cup car at Richmond. He’s the first driver outside a playoff spot in the Cup Series and is 17 points out of a playoff spot.

Allmendinger has fallen to third on Lap 16 while he remains on course.

The race is on NBC and Peacock.

The caution is out on Lap 10 for the stalled car of Katherine Legge between Turns 5 and 6.

This will serve as the competition caution.

Justin Allgaier leads, keeping ahead of Cole Custer in a fierce duel the past couple of laps.

AJ Allmendinger, who started on the pole, is third and followed by Riley Herbst and Sam Mayer.

John Hunter Nemechek is running sixth and followed by Sam Hunt Racing teammates Sage Karam and Kaz Grala.

Connor Mosack is running ninth. Austin Hill, who started 14th, is 10th.

Parker Kligerman, the first driver outside a playoff spot, started 17th and is running 11th.

Justin Allgaier passed AJ Allmendinger for the lead in Turn 5 on the sixth lap of Saturday’s race at Road America.

Cole Custer followed Allgaier by Allmendinger. Custer has won on the road course at Portland and the streets of Chicago this season.

The field is coming to a competition caution at Lap 10.