Getty Sam Mayer flipped upside down at Daytona International Speedway.
The Xfinity Series season-opening race ended under caution after Sam Mayer flipped on the final lap. This created chaos on the track and confusion in the booth as everyone waited for NASCAR to name Austin Hill the official winner.
The incident occurred after the field lined up for an overtime finish. They completed one lap and took the white flag before chaos ensued. Mayer took a run on the outside of teammate Justin Allgaier while Austin Hill and John Hunter Nemechek moved up behind.
Hill got a run of his own, which led to Mayer moving down and trying to throw a block. However, he collided with the side of Allgaier’s No. 7 and then he spun off the nose of Hill’s No. 21. He flipped and began sliding down the track before the grass put him back on four wheels.
The last lap of the #Beef300.
The caution came out after the flip, which meant that the leader at the time would become the official winner. The problem is that no one knew who was in the lead at that exact moment. Allgaier was at the front of the pack when Mayer flipped, but both Nemechek and Hill passed him before the entire field came to a stop.
The tower took several minutes to review the tape before making a decision. Hill became the official winner of the Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner. 300. He celebrated in Victory Lane for the second time in three trips to Daytona.
Mayer Responded After Exiting the Infield Care Center
GettyNASCAR drivers race at Daytona International Speedway.
There were numerous questions among racing fans after the race came to an end. They wanted to know how NASCAR determined that Hill was the winner. More importantly, they wanted to know if Mayer had sustained an injury in the flip.
The driver of the No. 1 went to the infield care center and underwent evaluation. He was released and then he provided comments about the incident to the gathered media members.
“It sucks that we didn’t get the finish to show for,” Mayer told media members. “I mean, they’re top two, I think I could have at least been third. I didn’t really see how the block really turned out. Obviously, I turned upside down, but I feel like it was a clean block. I feel like it was just a little offset, unfortunately.”
“When I saw the 1 and the 7 get together, I just went to go squeeze them, and the 1 came down, he started getting loose, and then you can’t lift. It’s the last lap,” Hill told FOX Sports after exiting his No. 21 Chevrolet. “I hope Sam is okay, man. That was a heck of a flip there.”
The Xfinity Series Account Provided More Information
Once Mayer exited the infield care center and met with media members, the attention turned back to the finish at Daytona International Speedway. Specifically, there were still questions about how Hill was the winner considering that Allgaier was in the lead when Mayer flipped.
The Xfinity Series Twitter account provided an answer after the end of the race. It tweeted out a photo that the competition officials used to determine the winner of the race. This particular frame showed Hill slightly ahead of Nemechek while Allgaier, Parker Retzlaff, and Myatt Snider were all further back.
Here is the photo NASCAR competition officials used to determine the winner.
The tower utilizes frame-by-frame video that syncs the time of caution with the time stamp of the video. This is the frame at the time of the final caution of the race.
This win capped off a unique night for Hill. He was set to start on the pole, but he had to drop to the rear of the field before the race began due to radio issues. However, he quickly moved through the field, won Stage 1, and then led a total of 39 laps.
“Yeah, as soon as the caution lights came on, I thought I had it, but it was so close,” Hill continued. “To get back-to-back here at Daytona, it’s really special. That’s three wins for me now, two in the Xfinity, one in the Truck here, and I can’t thank everyone at RCR, our Bennett Chevrolet was so good, and it was as fast as Xfinity 10G tonight for sure.
“We came from the back two different times. I hope everyone enjoyed it. It was such a blast. I had so much fun. We won at Daytona! Let’s go!”
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Sam Mayer’s Flip Creates Chaos During Xfinity Series Opener