A late surge lifts Sam Mayer to a repeat NASCAR Xfinity Series victory at Iowa Speedway on Saturday afternoon in the HyVee Perks 250.
NEWTON, Iowa — Sam Mayer took control of Saturday’s Hy-Vee Perks 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Iowa Speedway after a lap 221 restart and maintained it the rest of the way to record the first victory for the Haas Factory team and the first in the series for Ford this season.
Sam Mayer’s Repeat Victory
Mayer won at Iowa for the second straight year, having triumphed in a JR Motorsports Chevrolet last season. The eighth victory of his career ended Sunoco rookie Connor Zilisch’s three-race winning streak.
Driving the No. 41 Haas Factory Team Ford, Mayer edged ahead of pole winner and runner-up Jesse Love on lap 223 before Brandon Jones spun in oil from Matt DiBenedetto’s Chevrolet to cause the eighth caution of the afternoon.
On the subsequent restart on lap 234, Mayer streaked away and left Love and other pursuers in his wake. After taking the white flag, Mayer was cruising to the victory when Garrett Smithley’s spin caused the ninth and final caution and froze the field, with Mayer in the winning position.
“This one’s everything right here,” Mayer said. “First win for Haas Factory Team — that’s awesome. This car was fast all day long. I tried to botch it on pit road, but we didn’t.
“I can’t believe it. This is one of the most special wins I have. These guys (Mayer’s team), they love me to death, I love them to death, and we’re just some good ol’ boys trying to go racing.”
After finishing fourth in the first stage, Mayer overshot his No. 1 pit stall, which sits at a difficult angle around a curve near the exit from pit road. Mayer restarted 16th on lap 71 but worked his way back through the field and regained the fourth spot by the end of Stage 2.
“I missed my pit box, but the car was so good it didn’t even matter,” Mayer said. “We ran up through there—no problem. It was great.”
The HyVee Perks 250 Results
Ross Chastain finished third behind Mayer and Love, with Zilisch running fourth and Harrison Burton fifth.
This is What Happened to Connor Zilisch
For practical purposes, Zilisch’s bid for a fourth straight Xfinity Series ran into immediate trouble during the first stage break. After winning Stage 1, Zilisch brought his No. 88 Chevrolet to pit road for service, but the front tire changer failed to get all lugs tight on the left front wheel.
Zilisch restarted 25th on lap 71 and initially made rapid progress through the field. As the second stage progressed, Zilisch stalled out in traffic, with his Camaro getting increasingly loose behind other cars.
The 19-year-old phenom finished the stage in 17th place and restarted the final stage in the same position on lap 130. He climbed as high as third in the running order but couldn’t find a way to prevail during a succession of late restarts.
Zilisch’s car broke loose in a three-wide scenario with teammates Chastain and reigning series champion Justin Allgaier on lap 214. Contact from Zilisch’s car knocked Chastain sideways into Allgaier’s Chevrolet.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series Point Standings
Allgaier finished 16th, creating a tie with Connor Zilisch for the series lead. Just four races are remaining in the regular season.
Burton took a major step toward the Playoffs with his second top-five finish of the season. Now 11th on the Playoff grid, he is 17 points ahead of the cutline. Ryan Sieg sits on the cutline inside the playoffs. Harrison Burton is 19 points ahead of his cousin Jeb Burton, who now sits below the cutline.
Jeb Burton finished 29th on Saturday after dealing with a cracked track bar. He was suffering through the afternoon with an ill-handling car.
Next Up
The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to Watkins Glen International for its next race on Saturday, August 9th. The Mission 200 at The Glen begins at 3 pm ET on CW, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. The 2024 winner was Connor Zilisch.