Sam Mayer won Saturday’s Xfinity Series race in the Charlotte Road Course. Although the result secured his spot in the Round of 8, it has been mired in controversy since. All fingers point at NASCAR and its delayed decision-making in the final moments of the race that led to Mayer winning and Parker Kligerman missing out on victory lane.
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Kligerman was on the brink of his first Xfinity Series win when NASCAR dropped the yellow flag. He was just about to take the lead from Shane van Gisbergen with only a foot to go before the finish line. The timing of the yellow flag, just shy of the white flag, pushed the race into overtime and brought forward a restart.
Mayer ultimately prevailed, and Kligerman saw a Round of 8 seat slip through his fingers. The problem with this entire sequence stems from the timing of the yellow flag. Officials had taken their own sweet time before deciding what had to be done about Leland Honeyman’s No. 42 car that had crashed into the tire barrier.
Their hesitation was so long that the white flag appeared briefly before it was retracted. Bob Pockrass reached out to NASCAR for an explanation, after the race concluded. He relayed the information he got, “Asked NASCAR about the delay in the caution and apparently that area where Honeyman was underneath the tires is difficult to see from the tower and that is partly what delayed them throwing the caution.”
Asked NASCAR about the delay in the caution and apparently that area where Honeyman was underneath the tires is difficult to see from the tower and that is partly what delayed them throwing the caution.
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) October 12, 2024
The episode resulted in the season’s 14th push into overtime. Kligerman fought to hold his ground against his rivals. But Mayer was in top form all day and took the lead in Turn 7 to clinch the win.
Kligerman was on the brink of tears after the heart-wrenching NASCAR race finish
In the ensuing overtime after his near win, the No. 48 driver couldn’t maintain his lead and slipped to fourth place while Sam Mayer raced to victory. Reflecting on the moment, Kligerman shared, “I want to cry. But I’m not gonna. I really love this, and I really, really wanted that. It would have meant the world.”
He also expressed gratitude to his team for their bold strategy that skipped stage points in favor of a shot at victory. He said, “I wanted to go for points, but they were right. It put us in the position to go and get that. God, I was driving my heart out for that last run. I needed five more feet or something. If it went green to the end, we had it. I don’t know how to process this. It’s gonna take a while.”
With just four races remaining in the season, there’s still a chance for Kligerman to turn things around and secure his first Xfinity race win. He could potentially cap his career off on a high note.
