Sam Mayer\u2019s had already secured a playoff position and entered Saturday\u2019s World Wide Technology Raceway event looking to gain momentum heading into next week\u2019s opener. He started fourth and wasted no time moving the Audibel Ford forward. Mayer climbed to third with a strong pass on Nick Sanchez in the opening circuits. Though the car began to tighten up as the run wore on, Mayer remained competitive, securing a solid sixth-place finish in Stage One.<\/p>\n
Quick adjustments between stages kept Mayer moving forward in Stage Two. Restarting ninth, he quickly gained ground and raced up to fifth by lap 55. Mayer noted the car felt better in traffic, and he used that to his advantage while holding steady inside the top 10. Although the car tightened up again late in the run, he still closed out the stage 10th.<\/p>\n
The closing stage Mayer continued to run inside the top 10 and was ninth with just over 30 laps remaining. He was positioned for another strong finish before a multi-car crash ahead collected him, leaving his car heavily damaged. Mayer finished 35th but optimistic heading into the playoffs as him one of the series\u2019 most consistent and competitive drivers this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had a rough one, we went through the ringer,\u201d said Mayer. \u201cObviously it didn\u2019t end the way we wanted it to but still really proud of everybody for staying in the game all day. I feel that we were at our best at the very end. So, we were going to come and make it interesting there at the end. Super proud of everybody and looking forward to the playoffs. It\u2019s going to be a heater.\u201d<\/p>\n
00 Sheldon Creed<\/p>\n
Sheldon Creed locked up a playoff spot during Saturday\u2019s race at World Wide Technology. Starting 15th, he quickly settled into a rhythm and gained ground early, moving the Road Ranger Ford into 14th in the opening laps. Feeling the car out throughout the stage, Creed wanted a little more ability to maintain throttle through the turns. Adjustments were planned as Creed ended Stage One just outside the top-10.<\/p>\n
At the stage break, Creed\u2019s team made chassis and air pressure adjustments that paid immediate dividends. Restarting 12th, he maintained his position and ran strong through the segment. Though the car continued to tighten up as the run progressed, Creed kept the No. 00 in striking distance and closed Stage Two in 13th. His ability to hold steady in the mid-pack set the foundation for a strong push in the final and longest stage.<\/p>\n
As Stage Three progressed, Creed adjusted his line through Turn 3, and quickly surged into the top 10 and was running as high as eighth. After a caution and pit stop, he restarted sixth and wasted no time powering into the top five. Another caution though, and the subsequent restart proved to be a defining moment for the double zero. Creed experience a mechanical issue on the restart and couldn\u2019t take off in third gear, causing others to collide with him from the rear. Despite the damage Creed fought hard to the finish, ultimately coming home 30th.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were looking at a top-five finish there in our Road Ranger Ford Mustang,\u201d said Creed. \u201cYeah, never had that happen before, I just went to go shift to third and I don\u2019t know if the gear broke right away or something broke in there and kind of jammed me in third and I didn\u2019t have third gear. I hate that it tore up so many cars and got our teammate. Just ruined what was going to be a decent night for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Up Next<\/p>\n
Bristol Motor Speedway (Bristol, TN)<\/p>\n
The Xfinity series \u2013 Friday, September 12th at 6:30PM on the CW Network.<\/p>\n
The NASCAR Cup Series \u2013 Saturday, September 13th at 6:30pm on USA Newtwork<\/p>\n
HFT PR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sam Mayer\u2019s had already secured a playoff position and entered Saturday\u2019s World Wide Technology Raceway event looking to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":141326,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[13089,10136,2092,425,1703,562,87636,2096,99,2097],"class_list":["post-141325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-bristol-motor-speedway","tag-ford","tag-motor","tag-nascar","tag-nascar-cup-series","tag-series","tag-sheldon-creed","tag-speedway","tag-sports","tag-xfinity-series"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141325","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141325"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141325\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/141326"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}