Sam Mayer scored his first win of 2025 with a late charge to the lead Saturday night at Iowa Speedway, his second in a row at the 0.875-mile track.
The victory was the first for Haas Factory Team since the team rebranded from Stewart-Haas Racing after the 2024 season and the first for Ford this season. Mayer used a remarkable launch on the race’s final restart at Lap 234, leaving sophomore racer Jesse Love struggling to catch up from the bottom lane.
A spin on the final lap by Garrett Smithley brought out the day’s ninth and final caution flag. Mayer had already taken the white flag to begin the race’s final lap, ending the race once the caution was displayed for Smithley’s spin. Love finished second ahead of Ross Chastain, Connor Zilisch and Harrison Burton.
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Carson Hocevar, driving the No. 11 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet after the team parted ways with Josh Williams, finished sixth. Sheldon Creed, Ryan Sieg, Carson Kvapil and Christian Eckes completed the top 10.
A restart at Lap 213 resulted in three JR Motorsports Chevrolets colliding exiting Turn 1 at Lap 214. Rookie Connor Zilisch entered on a three-race winning streak but dove to the bottom of a three-wide situation with veteran teammates Ross Chastain and Justin Allgaier.
Zilisch slid sideways into Chastain, who was knocked into Allgaier, sending Allgaier spinning through Turn 2. Allgaier entered the race with a 21-point advantage over Zilisch in the battle for the regular-season title, but the duo unofficially leaves Iowa tied for the lead of the Xfinity Series points standings.
Substituting for the suspended Austin Hill in the No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, Austin Dillon qualified sixth but was spun in Turn 1 on Lap 2 after Ryan Sieg lost control charging the corner to Dillon’s left. Both cars spun, but Dillon’s backed into the outside SAFER barrier in Turn 2. Dillon ultimately finished 14th.
This story will be updated.
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