Sam Mayer

Sam A. Mayer (born June 26, 2003) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro for JR Motorsports, a team in which he is also a development driver for through their Drivers Edge Development program, and part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, driving the No. 75 Chevrolet Silverado for Henderson Motorsports as well as the No. 32 Chevrolet Silverado for Bret Holmes Racing.

Sam Mayer
Mayer in 2019
Nationality American
BornSam A. Mayer[1]
(2003-06-26) June 26, 2003
Franklin, Wisconsin
Related toScott Mayer (father)
ARCA Menards Series East career
Debut season2018
Current teamBret Holmes Racing
Car number23
EngineChevrolet
Crew chiefShane Huffman
Former teamsGMS Racing
Jefferson Pitts Racing
MDM Motorsports
Starts24
Championships2
Wins9
Poles5
Best finish1st in 2020
Finished last season1st (2020)
Previous series
2018CARS Late Model Stock Tour
Championship titles
2020
2019

2017
ARCA Menards Series East
NASCAR K&N Pro Series East
INEX Legends Young Lions National Champion
ARCA Menards Series career
Debut season2018
Current teamBret Holmes Racing
Car number23
EngineChevrolet
Crew chiefShane Huffman
Former teamsGMS Racing
MDM Motorsports
Starts23
Championships0
Wins5
Poles0
Finished last season7th
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
Car no., teamNo. 8 (JR Motorsports)
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
9 races run over 2 years
Truck no., teamNo. 75 (Henderson Motorsports)
No. 32 (Bret Holmes Racing)
2020 position27th
First race2019 UNOH 200 (Bristol)
Last race2020 Lucas Oil 150 (Phoenix)
First win2020 UNOH 200 (Bristol)
Wins Top tens Poles
1 2 0
Statistics current as of January 17, 2021.

Mayer is the 2019 and 2020 East Series champion. He drove for GMS Racing (the other Drivers Edge Development team) both of those years in their No. 21 car, and also won the inaugural championship of the ARCA Menards Series Sioux Chief Showdown in 2020. Mayer started his NASCAR career driving for Jefferson Pitts Racing and MDM Motorsports in 2018 before joining GMS, JRM, and Chevrolet as a development driver in 2019.

Racing career

Mayer in victory lane at his first Midwest Truck Series start

Mayer got off to an early start in racing, competing in go-kart events at the age of four.[2] Although his father, Scott Mayer, was an open-wheel racer, Sam chose in his preteen years to focus on stock car racing.[3] Over the course of the 2017 summer, during which Mayer turned fourteen, he spent the summer in Charlotte to race Legends cars; he won the Young Lions division of the Charlotte Motor Speedway Summer Shootout.[4] He also raced in a Limited Late Model and won at Greenville-Pickens Speedway to become the track's youngest winner.[5] He came back to Wisconsin and won a September Midwest Truck Series race at Dells Raceway Park in his first series start.[5]

In 2017, Mayer came in touch with industry veteran Lorin Ranier, who eventually landed Mayer a late model ride with JR Motorsports in the CARS Tour for 2018. Mayer's late model racing also brought him to the World Series of Asphalt, where he finished second to Stephen Nasse.[3] Ranier also led Mayer to MDM Motorsports for a limited slate in the ARCA Racing Series and NASCAR K&N Pro Series East in the back half of 2018, with age restrictions being a factor in which races Mayer could run, as both series only let 15-year-old competitors race on certain tracks.[3] In his first ARCA race, Mayer ran as high as third and finished inside the top-ten.[6] After the CARS Tour season was over, Mayer was voted the series' Most Popular Driver for 2018. The CARS Tour season included one victory, at Wake County Speedway.[7]

Mayer's K&N East car on pit road at Dover International Speedway in 2018

On December 5, 2018, it was announced that Mayer would run a full NASCAR K&N Pro Series East schedule with GMS Racing as part of a 2019 schedule that would also include seven ARCA races and four NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series races with the team. All four of the Truck races will come after Mayer turns sixteen; his debut is slated to be at Bristol Motor Speedway in August. That race would be followed by appearances at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Martinsville Speedway and ISM Raceway.[2]

Mayer scored his first K&N East win at Bristol on April 6, 2019, leading every lap.[8] He nearly scored his first ARCA Menards Series win at Gateway in June after a late pit gamble, but was moved up the track by Ty Gibbs in the final set of corners and was relegated to third.[9] In October, he won the 2019 K&N East championship to become the youngest NASCAR champion at 16 years, 3 months, and 8 days; the previous record was 16 years and 5 months by Todd Gilliland in 2016. Mayer ended the 2019 season with four wins and top tens in all but one race.[10]

While racing in the ARCA Menards Series and ARCA Menards Series East in 2020, Mayer made a TA2 Trans-Am start at Road America and suffered a hairline fracture in his wrist during a race-ending crash.[11] The injury forced Colin Braun to sub in for Mayer midway through the AMS race at the Daytona International Speedway road course.[12] Mayer later won ARCA's first trip to Lebanon I-44 Speedway.[13]

On September 15, 2020, Mayer and JR Motorsports announced an agreement to have him drive one of the organization's NASCAR Xfinity Series cars part-time in the latter portion of 2021 and full-time in the 2022 season.[14] Two days later, Mayer swept the night at Bristol, winning both the Truck Series and ARCA race.[15] He overcame a pit miscue to claim the checkered flag in the ARCA event.[16] Mayer won the East finale at Five Flags Speedway to capture the series championship with an average finish of 1.2 on the season.[17]

On January 14, 2021, defending ARCA champion Bret Holmes announced he would begin fielding a part-time Truck Series team, the No. 32, for himself and Mayer for the upcoming season. In addition, Mayer would also drive select races in Bret Holmes Racing's No. 23 car in the ARCA Menards Series and ARCA Menards Series East.[18] Three days later on January 17, it was also announced that Mayer would run seven races in the No. 75 for Henderson Motorsports in the Truck Series, beginning at the Daytona Road Course.[19]

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led. ** – All laps led.)

Xfinity Series

NASCAR Xfinity Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 NXSC Pts Ref
2021 JR Motorsports 8 Chevy DAY DAY HOM LVS PHO ATL MAR TAL DAR DOV COA CLT MOH TEX NSH POC ROA ATL NHA GLN IND MCH DAY DAR RCH BRI LVS TAL CLT TEX KAN MAR PHO

Camping World Truck Series

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 NCWTC Pts Ref
2019 GMS Racing 21 Chevy DAY ATL LVS MAR TEX DOV KAN CLT TEX IOW GTW CHI KEN POC ELD MCH BRI
21
MSP LVS TAL MAR
28
PHO
19
HOM 50th 54 [20]
2020 24 DAY LVS CLT ATL HOM POC KEN TEX KAN KAN MCH DAY DOV
15
GTW
4
DAR RCH
19
BRI
1
LVS TAL KAN TEX MAR
18
PHO
17
27th 179 [21]
2021 Henderson Motorsports 75 Chevy DAY DAY LVS ATL BRI RCH KAN DAR COA CLT TEX NSH POC KNX GLN GTW MSP BRI LVS TAL MAR PHO

* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points

ARCA Menards Series

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

ARCA Menards Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 AMSC Pts Ref
2018 MDM Motorsports 40 Toyota DAY NSH SLM TAL TOL CLT POC MCH MAD GTW CHI IOW
10
ELK POC ISF BLN DSF SLM IRP
7
KAN 52nd 400 [22]
2019 GMS Racing 21 Chevy DAY FIF
15
SLM
2
TAL NSH TOL
5
CLT POC MCH MAD
3
GTW
3
CHI ELK
3
IOW POC ISF DSF SLM
5
IRP
3
KAN 14th 1650 [23]
2020 DAY PHO
20
TAL POC
3
IRP
2
KEN
4
IOW
2
KAN TOL
1
TOL
1
MCH DAY
3
GTW
3
L44
1
TOL
1*
BRI
1*
WIN MEM
2
ISF KAN 7th 553 [24]

ARCA Menards Series East

ARCA Menards Series East results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 AMSEC Pts Ref
2018 Jefferson Pitts Racing 27 Ford NSM BRI LGY SBO SBO MEM NJM THO NHA
17
IOW
17
18th 200 [25]
MDM Motorsports 41 Toyota GLN
5
DOV
4
12 GTW
11
NHA
10
2019 GMS Racing 21 Chevy NSM
4
BRI
1**
SBO
2
SBO
11
MEM
4
NHA
2
IOW
1*
GLN
3
BRI
1
GTW
4
NHA
5
DOV
1*
1st 511 [26]
2020 NSM
1
TOL
2
DOV
1
TOL
1*
BRI
1*
FIF
1
1st 332 [27]

ARCA Menards Series West

ARCA Menards Series West results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 AMSWC Pts Ref
2018 Jefferson Pitts Racing 27 Ford KCR TUS TUS OSS CNS SON DCS IOW
17
EVG GTW LVS MER AAS KCR 52nd 27 [28]
2019 GMS Racing 21 Chevy LVS IRW TUS TUS CNS SON DCS IOW EVG GTW MER AAS KCR PHO
2*
37th 42 [29]
2020 LVS
1*
IRW DCS UMC CNS SON EVG MER AAS KCR PHO
21
16th 122 [30]

References

  1. "Team Event Rosters – Bristol Motor Speedway – Thursday, August 15, 2019" (PDF). NASCAR. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
  2. Kallman, Dave. "Sam Mayer of Franklin to make NASCAR Truck debut in August". Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  3. Kallman, Dave. "15-year-old Sam Mayer of Franklin on a rapid rise toward NASCAR". Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  4. "Sam Mayer -- Legends Champion". Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  5. Kallmann, Dave (July 2, 2018). "If you're 15 and looking to make it in the stock-car world, it's great to be Sam Mayer". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
  6. Eberly, Brian. "Sam Mayer Brings Home Top-Ten at Iowa in ARCA Debut". Motorsports Tribune. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  7. Lemasters, Ron. "JRM's Sam Mayer Voted CARS Tour LMSC Most Popular Driver". JR Motorsports. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  8. Segal, Davey (April 6, 2019). "Sam Mayer dominates at Bristol for his first NASCAR K&N Pro Series win". Autoweek. Crain Communications. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
  9. "Ty Gibbs, 16, grabs first ARCA Menards Series win with last-lap pass". NASCAR.com. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  10. Segal, Davey (October 4, 2019). "Sam Mayer Dominates Dover To Close Championship Season". NASCAR Home Tracks. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  11. Kallman, Dave (August 8, 2020). "Local driver Sam Mayer finishes his first race at Road America with a broken wrist and runner-up finish". Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Gannett. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
  12. Starr, Briar (August 31, 2020). "Colin Braun open to more Stock Car starts". Speedway Media. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
  13. Allaway, Phil (September 5, 2020). "Sam Mayer Wins Rough And Tumble Zinsser SmartCoat 200". Frontstretch. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
  14. "Sam Mayer reunites with JR Motorsports for Xfinity Series debut". Yahoo! Sports. September 15, 2020. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  15. Long, Dustin (September 17, 2020). "17-year-old Sam Mayer wins first NASCAR Truck race". NASCAR on NBC. NBC Sports. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  16. Seelman, Jacob (September 18, 2020). "Sweet Sweep: Mayer Doubles Down at Bristol". Speed Sport. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  17. "Mayer Closes ARCA East Title Run With Pensacola Score". Speed Sport. October 11, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  18. "Holmes & Mayer Going Truck Series Racing". Speed Sport. January 14, 2021. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  19. Srigley, Joseph (January 17, 2021). "Henderson Motorsports Entering Four of First Five Truck Events; Kligerman and Mayer Selected as Drivers". TobyChristie.com.
  20. "Sam Mayer – 2019 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  21. "Sam Mayer – 2020 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
  22. "Sam Mayer – 2018 ARCA Racing Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
  23. "Sam Mayer – 2019 ARCA Menards Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  24. "Sam Mayer – 2020 ARCA Menards Series results". Racing Reference. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  25. "Sam Mayer – 2018 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
  26. "Sam Mayer – 2019 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  27. "Sam Mayer – 2020 ARCA Menards Series East results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  28. "Sam Mayer – 2018 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
  29. "Sam Mayer – 2019 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
  30. "Sam Mayer – 2020 ARCA Menards Series West results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  • Sam Mayer driver statistics at Racing-Reference
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Tyler Ankrum
K&N Pro Series East Champion
2019
Succeeded by
Current
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