NASCAR disqualification against Xfinity contender Sam Mayer upheld

An appeals panel upheld the post-race disqualification to Sam Mayer and the JR Motorsports No. 1 team in the aftermath of the race on Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway.

Specifically, the No. 1 car driven by Mayer was found to be too low in post-race inspection and was stripped of all stage points and credited with a last place finish, a significant blow to his championship playoff chances heading into an elimination race on Saturday at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval.

Mayer is 11th out of 12 drivers in the first round, and instead of a 10-point cushion before the Roval, he now faces a 13-point deficit.

The three-person panel included former IMSA official Dixon Johnston, Langley Speedway owner Bill Mullis and former driver Shauna Robinson.

In reaching the decision, the panel provided the following explanation: “The panel found that NASCAR used standard inspection procedures at Talladega Superspeedway on October 5, 2024, on the #1 NXS car and found Rule 14.17.3.2.2.2 in violation.”

Team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. took to Twitter to explain his counterargument in the hearing.

The rear clip on the 1 was bent from a series of aggressive bump drafting incidents Saturday. We had photo evidence of the kinks in the tubing in a chassis that was previously certified along with body scans before and after the event. There isn't much we can do about the clip… https://t.co/Be7HG3lVH8

— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) October 9, 2024

Playoff grid

Sammy Smith (Advanced)
Chandler Smith (Advanced)
Cole Custer +37
Austin Hill +37
Sheldon Creed +32
Jesse Love +22
Riley Herbst +20
AJ Allmendinger +7
—
Justin Allgaier -7
Shane Van Gisbergen -10
Sam Mayer -13
Parker Kligerman -16

Matt Weaver is a Motorsports Insider for Sportsnaut. Follow him on Twitter.