“He had my f—— tires off the ground.” These words by Parker Retzlaff demonstrate a general sentiment towards Sam Mayer’s questionable actions. The No. 41 Haas Factory Team driver has had a streak of aggressive encounters with his rivals and Mayer embarked on a similar quest at the Homestead-Miami Xfinity Series race with Kyle Larson. This time, however, Mayer was apologetic.

Ranging from pushing Retzlaff during the 2024 playoff race in Martinsville or contacting Riley Herbst at Iowa’s Speedway in June last year – Sam Mayer has seldom been apologetic for his actions. But after he encountered 2021 Cup Series champion Kyle Larson, Mayer reversed his usual attitude.

Sam Mayer makes an exception for HMS rival

Kyle Larson’s fame in motorsports is unparalleled. Ranging from being a fiery NASCAR Cup Series contender to attempting the Double in 2024, his achievements are endless. The mighty Hendrick Motorsports icon has notched up 29 Cup Series race wins, 14 Xfinity race wins, and four Craftsman Truck victories. He was hoping to bump these stats by one on NASCAR’s visit to Homestead-Miami Speedway – until Sam Mayer got in his way. “The 41 just lagged back and slammed me,” Larson fumed.

After achieving the first milestone of his triple-header aspirations – Kyle Larson won the Craftsman Truck Series race on Friday – he was off to a good start in Xfinity. After leading the first 132 of 198 laps, Larson encountered a problem when Taylor Gray brought out a caution with 8 laps to go. On the restart, Sam Mayer’s No. 41 car contacted the back of Larson’s No. 17 – robbing the victory from him as Justin Allgaier rocketed past. After the HMS star fumed post-race, Mayer was apologetic – which counters his usual stance.

Sam Mayer, a seven-time NASCAR Xfinity Series race winner, tried to explain his position which grew desperate at the last stage. So far in 2025, Mayer has four top-tens already – and clinched his fifth one in Homestead after shoving Kyle Larson. Yet Sam Mayer showed his hints of regret. He hailed Kyle Larson’s efforts to win the race while taking the blame for ruining them.

Mayer said, “To be completely honest, we s—– being on the front row at the top. We had one good one and we came out second. It wasn’t a winning strategy… I didn’t see a path to picking the top and being able to win the race. So picking in the front by Larson felt like a better lane… He was playing games in the last which he was all day whenever he was leading. That’s what you do at this level. But I just wasn’t ready for him… I just mistimed it unfortunately, so got him squirrelly, choked our entire lane up, let all those guys get going on the outside.”

A point worth noting is that the Taylor Gray caution swiped a 14-second lead for Larson on the rest of the field, a lead which would have surely seen him take the checkered flag if the race stayed green. On the ensuing restart, Mayer took the inside lane and ended up wrecking the momentum of all the drivers there as Allgaier patiently took the outside lane and held his lead for the remainder of the race. Sam Mayer was distraught, not only at ruining Larson’s race, but his own chances at a win as well. However, his reaction after the race is to be commended.

Although people who are used to watching Sam Mayer’s antics may be surprised that this is not the first time that he owned up to his mistake.

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Mayer has regretted his actions before

Notably, this did not happen in his famous encounters with rivals. With seven laps remaining in stage 1 of the Martinsville race last year, Sam Mayer pushed Parker Retzlaff from the back. Then on the penultimate lap during the Iowa race, Mayer crowded Riley Herbst into Turn 1. In both these instances, Mayer barely put forth an apology. However, he did so when no rival was involved. During the 2024 RAPTOR King of Tough 250 race in Atlanta, Mayer encountered trouble at the end of stage 2. He scraped the back of his car against the wall, with Mayer’s Chevrolet Camero getting engulfed in flames.

Over the radio, Sam Mayer apologized to his previous JR Motorsports team, owning up for being aggressive. “Sorry guys. I was trying to be aggressive; either it wasn’t good, or the No. 19 was being more aggressive. Call that on me, sorry.” He further tried to explain what happened: “You’re always trying to push it to the limit to make moves like that, especially with 15 to go in the stage; you’re pushing it all you’ve got. I’ve got to tell you this is some of the most fun I’ve had at this racetrack, especially this style of racing. It was a blast. I was having a lot of fun making moves out there, rolling the bottom. It certainly helps when your car is probably the best one in the field.”

Now having lent an apology to Kyle Larson, Sam Mayer is amplifying his repentant attitude. Let us see if the Hendrick Motorsports veteran accepts Mayer’s admission of guilt or not.