TALLADEGA, Ala. – Sammy Smith led only one lap in Saturday’s United Rentals 250 at Talladega Superspeedway, but it was the one that counted.
Smith entered the Playoff race 23 points behind the Round of 8 cutline, needing a strong finish in an unpredictable superspeedway race. Smith started deep in the pack in 27th; however, by the end of Stage 2, the JR Motorsports driver was running up front in second.
On the final lap of the race, Sammy Smith and Chandler Smith led the field down the backstretch, racing side-by-side. Chandler Smith, who was on the outside lane, received a big push from Riley Herbst heading into Turn 3, but as the field exited Turn 4, Sammy Smith received a strong push from Ryan Sieg. Sammy Smith took command of the field and held on for his second series win.
“It has been a while,” Smith said. “It has been a struggle, but I’m very happy to be here and I’m looking forward to getting better on these ovals and road courses.”
The last time Smith visited Victory Lane was March 2023 at Phoenix Raceway. With Saturday’s win, Smith will now advance to the Round of 8 of the NASCAR Playoffs.
Sieg finished second, followed by NASCAR Playoff contenders, Herbst, Sheldon Creed, Chandler Smith and Jesse Love. Jeb Burton finished seventh, and rounding out the top-10 was David Starr, Brennan Poole and Kyle Sieg.
Chandler Smith won Stage 1, and Austin Hill won Stage 2. Hill’s day didn’t turn out well as he finished 24th after being caught up in a Lap 76 crash on the frontstretch.
There were 27 lead changes among 11 drivers. Love led a race high of 28 laps.
The caution flag waved on six occasions for 27 laps. The largest crash of the race occurred on Lap 93, and it sent the race into NASCAR Overtime. A bump draft gone wrong between Brandon Jones and Carson Kvapil ignited a chain reaction that involved 12 drivers.
Following Talladega, Chandler Smith leads the NASCAR Playoff standings, followed by Cole Custer (-27), Austin Hill (-27), Sheldon Creed (-32), Jesse Love (-42), Riley Herbst (-44), Sammy Smith (-56), AJ Allmendinger (-57), Justin Allgaier (-64), Shane Van Gisbergen (-67), Sam Mayer (-70) and Parker Kligerman (-73).
The final race of the Round of 12 will be held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL on Saturday, Oct. 12. The Drive for the Cure 250 Presented by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina will broadcast live on the CW at 4 p.m. ET.
Photo Credit: Christian Koelle/TheFourthTurn.com
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