2023 Drive for the Cure 250
The 2023 Drive for the Cure 250 presented by BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina was the 29th stock car race of the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series, the final race of the Round of 12, and the 42nd iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, October 7, 2023, in Concord, North Carolina at the Charlotte Motor Speedway roval layout, a 2.28 miles (3.67 km) permanent road course. The race took the scheduled 67 laps to complete. Sam Mayer, driving for JR Motorsports, would put on a blistering performance, winning the pole and leading a race-high 50 laps, earning his third career NASCAR Xfinity Series win, and his third of the season. He would also earn a spot in the next round of the playoffs.[1] To fill out the podium, Cole Custer, driving for Stewart-Haas Racing, and Josh Berry, driving for JR Motorsports, would finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 29 of 33 of the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | October 7, 2023 | ||
| Official name | 42nd Annual Drive for the Cure 250 presented by BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina | ||
| Location | Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 2.28 mi (3.67 km) | ||
| Distance | 67 laps, 155 mi (250 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 67 laps, 155 mi (250 km) | ||
| Average speed | 77.387 mph (124.542 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | JR Motorsports | ||
| Time | 1:22.045 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Sam Mayer | JR Motorsports | |
| Laps | 50 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 1 | Sam Mayer | JR Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | NBC | ||
| Announcers | Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | PRN | ||
The eight drivers that would advance into the next round are John Hunter Nemechek, Austin Hill, Justin Allgaier, Sam Mayer, Cole Custer, Chandler Smith, Sheldon Creed, and Sammy Smith. Daniel Hemric, Parker Kligerman, Josh Berry, and Jeb Burton would be eliminated from championship contention.[2]
Background
Since 2018, deviating from past NASCAR events at Charlotte, the race will utilize a road course configuration of Charlotte Motor Speedway, promoted and trademarked as the "Roval". The course is 2.28 miles (3.67 km) in length and features 17 turns, utilizing the infield road course and portions of the oval track. The race will be contested over a scheduled distance of 109 laps, 400 kilometres (250 mi).
During July 2018 tests on the road course, concerns were raised over drivers "cheating" the backstretch chicane on the course. The chicanes were modified with additional tire barriers and rumble strips in order to encourage drivers to properly drive through them, and NASCAR will enforce drive-through penalties on drivers who illegally "short-cut" parts of the course. The chicanes will not be used during restarts. In the summer of 2019, the bus stop on the backstretch was changed and deepened, becoming a permanent part of the circuit, compared to the previous year where it was improvised.
If a driver fails to legally make the backstretch bus stop, the driver must skip the frontstretch chicane and make a complete stop by the dotted line on the exit before being allowed to continue. A driver who misses the frontstretch chicane must stop before the exit.
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
- (P) denotes playoff driver.
Practice
The first and only practice session was held on Saturday, October 7, at 10:00 AM CST, and would last for 20 minutes.[3] Justin Allgaier, driving for JR Motorsports, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 1:23.043, and an average speed of 100.574 mph (161.858 km/h).[4]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Justin Allgaier (P) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1:23.043 | 100.574 |
| 2 | 91 | Alex Labbé | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 1:23.263 | 100.309 |
| 3 | 26 | Kaz Grala | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 1:23.275 | 100.294 |
| Full practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
Qualifying was held on Saturday, October 7, at 10:30 AM CST.[3] Since the Charlotte Motor Speedway roval layout is a road course, the qualifying system is a two group system, with two rounds. Drivers will be separated into two groups, Group A and Group B. Each driver will have multiple laps to set a time. The fastest 5 drivers from each group will advance to the final round. The fastest driver to set a time in the final round will win the pole.[5]
The final round of qualifying was cancelled due to the cleanup of fluid on the track from Boris Said's car. Sam Mayer, driving for JR Motorsports, would score the pole for the race, with a lap of 1:22.045, and an average speed of 101.798 mph (163.828 km/h) in the first round.[6] Andy Lally, Preston Pardus, Boris Said, and Devin Jones would fail to qualify.
Race results
Stage 1 Laps: 20
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Justin Allgaier (P) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 10 | Daniel Hemric (P) | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 2 | Sheldon Creed (P) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 48 | Parker Kligerman (P) | Big Machine Racing | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 21 | Austin Hill (P) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 16 | Chandler Smith (R) (P) | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 18 | Sammy Smith (R) (P) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 4 |
| 8 | 1 | Sam Mayer (P) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 27 | Jeb Burton (P) | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 07 | Josh Bilicki | SS-Green Light Racing | Ford | 1 |
Stage 2 Laps: 20
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | John Hunter Nemechek (P) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 10 | Daniel Hemric (P) | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 48 | Parker Kligerman (P) | Big Machine Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 2 | Sheldon Creed (P) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 91 | Alex Labbé | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 18 | Sammy Smith (R) (P) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 1 | Sam Mayer (P) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 16 | Chandler Smith (R) (P) | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 07 | Josh Bilicki | SS-Green Light Racing | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 08 | Stefan Parsons | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 1 |
Stage 3 Laps: 27
| Pos.[8] | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1 | Sam Mayer (P) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 67 | 50 | Running | 47 |
| 2 | 7 | 00 | Cole Custer (P) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 67 | 4 | Running | 35 |
| 3 | 3 | 8 | Josh Berry (P) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 67 | 0 | Running | 34 |
| 4 | 9 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 67 | 0 | Running | 33 |
| 5 | 14 | 26 | Kaz Grala | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 67 | 0 | Running | 32 |
| 6 | 6 | 48 | Parker Kligerman (P) | Big Machine Racing | Chevrolet | 67 | 0 | Running | 46 |
| 7 | 4 | 10 | Daniel Hemric (P) | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 67 | 0 | Running | 48 |
| 8 | 38 | 20 | John Hunter Nemechek (P) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 67 | 2 | Running | 39 |
| 9 | 8 | 21 | Austin Hill (P) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 67 | 0 | Running | 34 |
| 10 | 5 | 2 | Sheldon Creed (P) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 67 | 0 | Running | 42 |
| 11 | 22 | 18 | Sammy Smith (R) (P) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 67 | 0 | Running | 35 |
| 12 | 17 | 16 | Chandler Smith (R) (P) | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 67 | 0 | Running | 33 |
| 13 | 25 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 67 | 0 | Running | 24 |
| 14 | 31 | 19 | Myatt Snider | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 67 | 0 | Running | 23 |
| 15 | 10 | 91 | Alex Labbé | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 67 | 0 | Running | 28 |
| 16 | 12 | 11 | Jordan Taylor | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 67 | 0 | Running | 21 |
| 17 | 32 | 6 | Brennan Poole | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 67 | 0 | Running | 20 |
| 18 | 29 | 08 | Stefan Parsons | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 67 | 0 | Running | 20 |
| 19 | 28 | 44 | Rajah Caruth (i) | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 67 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 20 | 33 | 92 | Josh Williams | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 67 | 0 | Running | 17 |
| 21 | 26 | 45 | Leland Honeyman | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 67 | 0 | Running | 16 |
| 22 | 23 | 31 | Parker Retzlaff (R) | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 67 | 0 | Running | 15 |
| 23 | 15 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | 67 | 0 | Running | 14 |
| 24 | 16 | 24 | Connor Mosack (R) | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 67 | 0 | Running | 13 |
| 25 | 18 | 07 | Josh Bilicki | SS-Green Light Racing | Ford | 67 | 0 | Running | 15 |
| 26 | 13 | 4 | Kyle Weatherman | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 67 | 0 | Running | 11 |
| 27 | 20 | 66 | Sage Karam | MBM Motorsports | Ford | 67 | 0 | Running | 10 |
| 28 | 24 | 02 | Blaine Perkins (R) | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 67 | 0 | Running | 9 |
| 29 | 11 | 9 | Brandon Jones | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 67 | 0 | Running | 8 |
| 30 | 21 | 78 | Anthony Alfredo | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 67 | 0 | Running | 7 |
| 31 | 35 | 38 | Joe Graf Jr. | RSS Racing | Ford | 67 | 0 | Running | 6 |
| 32 | 36 | 28 | Kyle Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 67 | 0 | Running | 5 |
| 33 | 37 | 35 | Alex Guenette | Emerling-Gase Motorsports | Toyota | 67 | 0 | Running | 4 |
| 34 | 19 | 27 | Jeb Burton (P) | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 66 | 1 | Running | 5 |
| 35 | 34 | 53 | Conor Daly (i) | Emerling-Gase Motorsports | Chevrolet | 66 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 36 | 30 | 43 | Ryan Ellis | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 63 | 0 | Accident | 1 |
| 37 | 2 | 7 | Justin Allgaier (P) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 60 | 10 | Accident | 11 |
| 38 | 27 | 25 | Brett Moffitt | AM Racing | Ford | 40 | 0 | Ignition | 1 |
| Official race results | |||||||||
Standings after the race
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References
- Barnes, Caleb (October 7, 2023). "Sam Mayer Earns Walk-Off Victory At The Charlotte ROVAL". Frontstretch. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
- Spencer, Reid (October 7, 2023). "Sam Mayer converts must-win at Charlotte Roval, advances in Xfinity Series Playoffs". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Wire Service. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
- "2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval Race Page". Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
- "Practice Results: 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series Drive for the Cure 250 at Charlotte ROVAL". TobyChristie.com. October 7, 2023. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
- "2023 NASCAR Qualifying Procedures". Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
- Barnes, Caleb (October 7, 2023). "Sam Mayer Steals Xfinity Pole at The Charlotte Roval". Frontstretch. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
- "Qualifying Results: 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series Drive for the Cure 250 at Charlotte ROVAL". TobyChristie.com. October 7, 2023. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
- "2023 Drive for the Cure 250 - Racing Reference". Racing-Reference.info. Retrieved October 7, 2023.