Sam Mayer scores second career win at Watkins Glen

Here are some takeaways from the race at Watkins Glen.

Kaulig Racing encounters more adversity

The race at Indianapolis last week was a battle of attrition for the three Kaulig Racing drivers.

Daniel Hemric and Chandler Smith had speed, but they finished outside of the top 25 after sustaining damage in an incident involving Connor Mosack. AJ Allmendinger had the dominant car early, but he finished third after a slow pit stop and handling issues caused by damage.

Watkins Glen continued this trend. Kyle Busch lost third gear during the final stage of the race. He remained in the top 10 as the laps continued, and he lined up fourth with four laps to go. Busch had to be pushed to the garage after a multi-car incident sent the race to overtime.

Daniel Hemric was able to complete the race as he continued the pursuit of a playoff spot, but he was 23rd and two laps down after heading to the garage with a potential track bar issue.

Chandler Smith finished eighth, but he dealt with his own issues. He spun early in the race and then fell one lap down after a pit stop. He also received a penalty for driving through too many pit stalls.

Smith has a secure spot in the playoffs after a win at Richmond while Hemric is currently in on points. The organization has the goal of making a deep playoff run, but it will have to avoid similar setbacks in order to achieve this.

Jeb Burton quietly puts together consistent performances

Jeb Burton has quietly delivered a consistent season. He has finished every race while delivering five top-10 finishes, one top five and one win. He has also regularly raced inside of the top 15 while avoiding mistakes.

Burton punched his ticket to the playoffs with a win at Talladega Superspeedway. He has since gone about business while preparing for his second playoff appearance since 2021 when he drove for Kaulig Racing.

The race at Watkins Glen was the latest example. Burton finished 10th after avoiding incidents in the Jordan Anderson Racing Chevrolet. Now he will prepare for a trip to Daytona, the track where he finished 11th to start the season.

Burton will work alongside teammate Parker Retzlaff as he tries to continue his consistency. He will also potentially work with Jordan Anderson as the team owner attempts to qualify for the Xfinity race.

There are four spots remaining in the Xfinity Series playoff field after Sam Mayer won his second race of the season at Watkins Glen International.

The playoff bubble has undergone a significant change after a race that saw multiple playoff contenders head to the garage with mechanical issues.

Here are the points reports:

Click here for the driver standings l Click here for the team owner standings

Sheldon Creed entered the race 17 points above the cutline. Parker Kligerman was 17 below. Now Creed is 22 points above the cutline after a second-place finish.

Creed has moved ahead of Riley Herbst, who fell to only three points above the cutline after a broken track bar ended his day. Kligerman remains below the cutline, but he is only three points out of a playoff spot with three races remaining in the regular season.

Creed appeared to be in the position for his first career Xfinity Series win. He took the lead with two laps remaining after Mayer spun Gibbs. However, he ran into fluid on the track, which made him lose control of the No. 2 Chevrolet.

Creed kept the car out of the wall, but he lost the lead to Mayer. He was unable to chase down the No. 1 Chevrolet before the checkered flag flew.

While the playoff bubble battle continues, three drivers fight for the regular-season championship.

Austin Hill currently sits atop the leaderboard, but he only has a nine-point advantage over John Hunter Nemechek. Justin Allgaier is third and 34 points behind Hill.

Sam Mayer led the final two laps at Watkins Glen and won his second career race.

Click here for where everyone finished at Watkins Glen.

Click here for the cumulative race report.

Click here for the penalty report.

Ty Gibbs had the dominant car at Watkins Glen International. He did not win after a wild overtime finish.

Gibbs led the field to the green flag for the final time on Lap 84, but Sam Mayer hit him from behind entering Turn 1 and spun him. This also collected Austin Hill, who was in second at the time.

Sheldon Creed took the lead with Mayer and Josh Berry behind him, but he did not hold on until the checkered flag. There was some fluid on the track, which sent multiple drivers spinning.

Creed also got loose in the final turn as Mayer passed him on the inside. The driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet held on until the end of the race after somehow saving enough fuel.

Creed finished second. Parker Kligerman, Ross Chastain and Connor Mosack rounded out the top five. Gibbs finished 17th after the incident.

The Xfinity race at Watkins Glen has come to a halt for a multi-car pileup.

The incident occurred after Ty Gibbs took the lead from Sam Mayer on the Lap 78 restart. The field made it to the carousel, but Justin Allgaier spun after contact from Cole Custer.

Multiple drivers were able to avoid the No. 7, but Brandon Jones was not among them. He ran into his teammate’s Chevrolet while Kaz Grala hit him from behind. Alex Bowman also spun after contact from Connor Mosack and Sammy Smith.

This caution sent the race to overtime. Gibbs and Austin Hill started from the front row while Mayer and Cole Custer lined up behind them.

The final stage at Watkins Glen International took an interesting turn. Parker Retzlaff brought out the caution with seven laps to go after sliding off the track and getting stuck in the gravel.

Sam Mayer was in the lead at the time of caution with Justin Allgaier running second. Both drivers were in fuel-saving mode while Ty Gibbs was chasing them down from third after he made a quick stop to top off the No. 19.

With the caution coming out so late, the strategy changed. There was a possibility that both Mayer and Allgaier could realistically reach the end of the race, but would they have be able to hold off Gibbs?

There were several drivers that did not want to risk running out. Alex Bowman, Ross Chastain, John Hunter Nemechek, Josh Berry, Brandon Jones, Parker Kligerman and several others all headed down pit road for fuel.

There are 20 laps remaining at Watkins Glen International. Ty Gibbs remains in the lead, but there are questions about whether he can make it to the end of the race.

Gibbs is not the only driver trying to stretch his fuel after a restart with 32 laps to go. Alex Bowman, Austin Hill, Cole Custer, Justin Allgaier and Sam Mayer are some of the other top drivers that have been told that they are roughly two laps short.

John Hunter Nemechek and Sammy Smith took a different approach. They both stopped for fuel with fewer than 30 laps to go. This ensured that they would be able to reach the end of the race. They would just have to work their way back from outside of the top 25.

The caution has flown once again at Watkins Glen International. The latest incident involved a driver making his Xfinity Series debut.

Max McLaughlin spun from the 29th position on Lap 46, and he made hard contact the outside wall. He stopped on the track with heavy damage as the yellow flag flew.

Stefan Parsons dealt with a separate issue under the caution. He headed down pit road as the left front brake caliper caught on fire. The team had to push his No. 44 to the garage.

This caution put teams in an interesting position. They were able to head down pit road on Lap 48 and they prepared for a restart with 32 laps to go. This put them on the edge of the fuel window.

Ty Gibbs continues to lead at Watkins Glen International. He has swept the first two stages after starting from the pole.

Gibbs kept his lead through multiple restarts while leading the first 40 laps of the race, and he held off challengers such as Alex Bowman and Justin Allgaier.

Sheldon Creed and Parker Kligerman continued their battle for the final playoff spot by finishing the stage next to each other. Creed was ninth in stage 2 while Kligerman was 10th.

The race only reached its halfway point, but Gibbs is well on his way to a second consecutive Xfinity Series win.

The caution flag has flown for the second time at Watkins Glen International.

The first caution was for a car stuck on the track. The second was for a piece of signage stuck on the track.

Kaz Grala took a trip through the grass on Lap 31. Grass covered the grill of the No. 26 Toyota and then he hit two pieces of signage for GoBowling. One landed in the middle of the track.

There were two opinions about this incident. Grala said over the radio that Sammy Smith had retaliated for earlier contact. Smith said over his radio that Grala had checked up.

Regardless of intent, Smith’s No. 18 sustained damage after contact with the rear of Grala’s No. 26.

The race at Watkins Glen has featured an extended caution period.

The yellow originally flew on Lap 21 for Ryan Ellis’ No. 43 stuck on the track. It then continued after an incident featuring Josh Williams and Stefan Parsons.

The cameras originally showed Williams heading to pit road with heavy damage to the front of the No. 92 Chevrolet. Replay then revealed that he had run into the rear of Parsons’ No. 44 as the field checked up.

“I’m gonna have to come to you. I ran into the car in front of me,” Williams told DGM Racing over the radio. He also said he was plugging in his headphones.

Williams was not the only driver involved in an incident. Connor Mosack also ran into the rear of Brett Moffitt. This sent the No. 25 Ford to pit road for some work.

The first caution flag has flown at Watkins Glen International shortly after the end of stage 1.

The reason for the yellow was the No. 43 of Ryan Ellis. The car stopped on the track as multiple drivers complained about possible oil on the racing surface.

This caution brought the field back together for a restart. It also benefited Alex Bowman, who had gone down pit road for service. He was already heading to his stall when the caution flew, so he did not receive a penalty.

Chandler Smith was also on pit road, but he received a penalty for driving through too many pit stalls. He dropped to the rear of the field.

One stage is complete at Watkins Glen International, and Ty Gibbs has led every lap so far.

Gibbs started from the pole and put more than five seconds between himself and Justin Allgaier in second before taking the green and white checkered flag. He then continued racing since there was not a stage break.

Sam Mayer, Josh Berry and Austin Hill rounded out the top five. Sheldon Creed finished seventh as he continues fighting for playoff spots. Fellow bubble drivers Riley Herbst and Parker Kligerman finished eighth and 10th.

The Xfinity Series drivers have completed half of the first stage. So far, none have anything with which to challenge Ty Gibbs.

The Indianapolis winner has extended his lead over Justin Allgaier to more than three seconds after starting from the pole. He is well on his way to a stage win.

There have not been any cautions at Watkins Glen. Though there have been cars that have gone off course. This includes Brennan Poole, who spun after contact from Max McLaughlin.

Kaulig Racing dealt with multiple issues early. Chandler Smith spun off the course while Kyle Busch headed down pit road with a tire issue. Daniel Hemric fell outside of the top 10 after starting on the front row.

The green flag is in the air at Watkins Glen International!

Ty Gibbs led the field to the green flag to start Saturday’s 82-lap race at the New York road course. Alex Bowman, who lined up second, dropped to the rear of the field for unapproved adjustments. This put Daniel Hemric on the front row.

Gibbs quickly jumped to the front of the pack entering Turn 1 while Justin Allgaier made a move past Hemric into second. Kyle Busch and Sam Mayer then moved past the Kaulig Racing driver as Gibbs and Allgaier began to pull away from the field.

The start of the race was clean overall, but there were some close calls for two bubble drivers. Parker Kligerman (-17) and Sheldon Creed (+17) made solid contact while battling for position, but they were able to both continue.

WATKINS GLEN – The Xfinity Series returns to Watkins Glen International for a Saturday afternoon road course race on USA Network.

The 82-lap event at the 2.450-mile track is one of the four remaining races before the playoffs begin. Four spots remain open to new winners after a non-series driver, Ty Gibbs, won at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last week.

Gibbs is back in the lineup for the Xfinity race at Watkins Glen. He and Kyle Busch are the two previous winners on the entry list. They join fellow Cup drivers Ross Chastain, Alex Bowman and Cole Custer on the list of those pulling double duty this weekend.

Gibbs will start from the pole while Bowman will line up second.

The Xfinity Series coverage will begin with Countdown to Green at 3 p.m. on USA Network. The pre-race coverage will continue on USA at 3:30 p.m.

Follow along below for updates throughout Saturday afternoon from the racetrack.