CONCORD, N.C. — Sam Mayer won on The Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway in a controversial overtime finish Saturday that allowed Mayer to advance in the Xfinity Series playoffs.
It came at the expense of Parker Kligerman, who not only was denied his first career Xfinity Series victory in regulation by a NASCAR scoring call, but also was eliminated from the playoff field.
Kligerman was leading headed toward the white flag that would have signified the final lap of the race when Leland Honeyman ran into the tire barrier. NASCAR could have thrown the caution immediately — that’s how deep into the tire barrier Honeyman was — but the yellow inexplicably didn’t flash until the split second Kligerman was about to cross under the white flag that would have made the race official.
Kligerman’s team was celebrating on pit road when NASCAR ruled the driver had not taken the white flag and the race would go to overtime. It was a record-tying 14th overtime race of the Xfinity Series this season.
Mayer, who won this race a year ago, caught Kligerman in the two-lap sprint to the finish to win the race and advance in the playoffs. The two made contact on Mayer’s winning pass, which caused enough damage that Kligerman, who is in his final season of full-time NASCAR racing, faded to a sixth-place finish.
“I want to cry,” Kligerman said, “but I’m not gonna. I really love this, and I really, really wanted that. It would have meant the world.”
When shown the replay of how close he’d come to winning the race before the late call on the caution, Kligerman, who is a television analyst for the Cup races, was incredulous.
“What!” he said in disbelief. “I’ve seen enough from the TV side to know the heart-wrench and guttedness that people go through on something like that.”
AJ Allmendinger, who had been a perfect 4 for 4 on The Roval in the Xfinity Series, finished second and was followed by pole sitter Shane van Gisbergen, who despite a third-place finish was eliminated from the playoffs. Allmendinger and Van Gisbergen both race in Sunday’s Cup Series race, with Van Gisbergen on the pole.
He was knocked out by Jesse Love, who finished 19th but passed enough cars on the final two laps to eliminate Van Gisbergen by two points. Kligerman, Van Gisbergen, Sheldon Creed and Riley Herbst were eliminated.
Creed and Herbst were in earlier accidents and left to watch the finish for their fate from inside the garage.
Sammy Smith and Chandler Smith were the only two drivers already locked into the round of eight, leaving only six spots open in the playoffs on Charlotte’s hybrid road/oval course.
Justin Allgaier, who was below the cutline at the start of the race, finished seventh and advanced. With the points reset, Allgaier is now the points leader headed into the opening race of the next round next Saturday in Las Vegas.
The top seven finishers Saturday at Charlotte were playoff drivers.
Edwards was injured on a noncontact play in the second quarter after he handed off the ball and then started running. His left leg buckled and he fell to the turf. Edwards, 6-foot-3, 228 pounds, went into Wisconsin’s injury tent before walking to the locker room.
He was not in uniform on the Badgers’ sideline during the second half, and was replaced by Danny O’Neil, a transfer from San Diego State.
When asked about Edwards’ status after the game, Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell told the Big Ten Network: “Don’t know anything as of now, but he’s out here with us. That’s a good sign.”
Wisconsin made a significant offseason push for Edwards, who started 11 games for Maryland last fall and finished second in the Big Ten in passing yards average (261.9 ypg) and fourth in completions (273). He earned 2023 Music City Bowl MVP honors in leading Maryland to a win over Auburn.
Edwards began his college career at Wake Forest before transferring to Maryland in 2022.
In 2024, the Badgers lost quarterback Tyler Van Dyke, a transfer from Miami, because of a torn ACL against Alabama in Week 3.
LSU starting safety A.J. Haulcy will be suspended for the first half of Saturday’s game at No. 4 Clemson, the NCAA told ESPN on Thursday.
Haulcy, who transferred to LSU in May and was considered one of the top defensive players available in the portal, was suspended for a fight in his final regular-season game last year while playing for Houston.
The news came as a surprise to No. 9 LSU, as team officials were not informed of the suspension until Wednesday, sources told ESPN. The suspension leaves LSU without a key member of its secondary in a road game against Clemson’s Cade Klubnik, one of the country’s top quarterbacks.
Haulcy was ejected for his role in a fracas late in Houston’s 30-18 loss to BYU in November.
A few factors might have led to some of the ambiguity and confusion around the suspension. Haulcy was initially ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct, a penalty that wouldn’t generally yield a suspension. However, officials clarified after the game that Haulcy was ejected for fighting, which does result in a suspension.
Houston’s coaching staff was made aware of the classification of his ejection and the first-half suspension in December 2024 in a formal letter from the NCAA. According to sources, Haulcy says he was not informed.
Haulcy’s transfer to LSU in May also appears to have caused some communication issues on the suspension, though NCAA rules are clear that a suspension follows a player after a transfer and there is no appeal process.
Clemson finished No. 15 in the country in pass offense last season and returns Klubnik and a majority of its offensive weapons. LSU’s secondary was a weak spot last year, as the Tigers finished No. 76 nationally in pass defense.
Eli Lederman covers college football and recruiting for ESPN.com. He joined ESPN in 2024 after covering the University of Oklahoma for Sellout Crowd and the Tulsa World.
Five-star pass catcher Tristen Keys, ESPN’s No. 2 wide receiver in the 2026 class, flipped his commitment from LSU to Tennessee on Thursday afternoon, a source told ESPN.
Keys, who is 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds, is the No. 10 prospect in the 2026 ESPN 300. He is the second-ranked member of the Vols’ 2026 class, trailing only five-star quarterback Faizon Brandon, ESPN’s No. 8 recruit this cycle.
Keys, who is from Hattiesburg, Mississippi, had verbally committed to the Tigers since March 19. However, he maintained an open recruitment throughout the summer, speaking with multiple programs during official visits to Auburn, Miami, Tennessee and Texas A&M. With Keys’ flip, LSU has lost a five-star wide receiver pledge in consecutive cycles, after Dakorien Moore‘s decommitment in 2025.
Keys headlines a stacked pass-catching class that the Vols are building around Brandon, ESPN’s No. 3 pocket passer prospect. Keys joins Salesi Moa (No. 35 overall), Tyreek King (No. 52) and Joel Wyatt (No. 66) as the program’s fourth top-100 wide receiver pledge in 2026. Tennessee ranked 15th in ESPN’s class rankings for the cycle prior to Keys’ flip.
Keys caught 58 passes for 1,275 yards and 14 touchdowns in his junior season last fall, guiding Hattiesburg (Miss.) High School to Mississippi’s 6A state title game. He later participated in the Under Armour All-America Game and the Polynesian Bowl earlier this year.