Earlier, the NASCAR Xfinity race at Texas concluded with John Hunter Nemechek taking the chequered flag. However, there was plenty of drama unfolding behind him.

In the early stages of the race, there was drama on the track as a couple of Playoff contenders ended their race early. As a matter of fact, it all kicked off in the opening lap itself, all thanks to Dale Earnhardt Jr‘s driver, Sam Mayer.

Tony Stewart’s driver was bitterly disappointed to go out like that

As it turned out, Mayer went around to the outside lane but under-steered, only to go into the wall. It wasn’t very hefty, but it did ruin the JR Motorsports driver’s race. In fact, he was forced in for an early shower and took on the role of spectator. On the bright side, he was not the only driver who endured a nightmare race.

Also joining him on the sidelines was Tony Stewart‘s protégé, Riley Herbst, with almost the same accident.

Talking to Frontstretch, Herbst said, “It just felt like I had a right front tire down. Warming up the tires on the pace lap… Ultimately, I should have learned from that and pitted under the pace lap just to see if we did have right front down because I landed at Turn 3. There was no air then.”

When Mayer had his wreck, his #1 car was still drivable and in one piece. So he limped back to the pits while the race was still under green flag conditions. Unfortunately, when Herbst wrecked out in a similar fashion, he was not so lucky, and the caution flag waved for his hobbled car.

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How will this affect Dale Earnhardt Jr and Tony Stewart’s drivers?

Considering that Mayer was a Playoff contender, this was a massive blow. It was arguably no skin off of Herbst’s nose as he was already out of Playoff contention. As for the former, he is in a heap of trouble, from a championship perspective. This is because he is dead last, heading into the final race of the opening Playoff round. And his mistake at Texas didn’t help him in any way.

Now, his only hope heading into next weekend’s Xfinity race is to win at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Considering that he has two wins already in the 2023 Xfinity Series campaign, he is more than capable. However, the big question is, can he do it at Charlotte, or will that next win be a touch too late?

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