Sam Mayer from JR Motorsports has clinched his first win of the season at the Texas Motor Speedway in dramatic fashion. He was in a battle with Ryan Sieg, and coming down the front stretch, both the drivers looked to have crossed the finish line together. However, after an official review, the driver of the No. 1 JR Motorsports car was crowned the winner.
Sieg seemed to have played his cards right during the late restart after the caution and was on his way to winning his first-ever Xfinity race after 341 attempts. But unfortunately, a difference of 0.02 seconds saw him finish second behind the race winner. Mayer not only had his first win of the season but also took home a good $100,000 as a winner of the DASH 4 CASH contest. This was Mayer’s redemption after last weekend’s runner-up finish at Martinsville Speedway.
Sam Mayer credits his win to his spotter
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The driver of the No. 1 JR Motorsports car has certainly had it rough since the start of the Xfinity Series season. Running his third season with the team, he was claimed to be among the top contenders for the title after finishing 3rd in the championship standings last year. However, a string of unlucky runs and inconsistent performances put the driver on the back foot.
Therefore, the win today at the mile-and-a-half racetrack is special for him and his team. After three DNF results at Daytona, Vegas, and Phoenix, he was finally back in the victory lane. Expressing his feelings after the race, Mayer said, “That’s absolutely unreal, this Carolina Carports Chevrolet was certainly as fast as Xfinity Internet. This team the amount of adversity we had to fight this entire year so far and it’s come to a mile and half.”
He even gave credit to his spotter, Kevin Hamlin, who guided him well during his heated battle with Ryan Sieg. “So proud of team Marty on top of the box, Kevin on top of the roof. He might have won the race because he told me bottom with three and four was better, so props to him.”
A Texas-sized payout for @sam_mayer_!
He wins the #Dash4Cash at @TXMotorSpeedway! pic.twitter.com/TkFYdgj0aq
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) April 13, 2024
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It was indeed an emotional win for the 20-year-old driver, but he is very well aware of the challenges that are coming his way in future races.
Mayer wants more speed and better performance from his race car
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A win sure takes a huge load off the shoulder for any team and driver, but this is where dissatisfaction also can creep in. To put it in perspective, had it not been for Sieg’s car being too tight, it could have been his dream moment to win the race. The stars aligned for Mayer and his team on the day, but moving forward, he demands more from his entire team.
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“I mean, I was less than a foot from not sitting here in the media center. You got to take in the perspective of you still got to get better. We have to go find more speed. Our JRM cars are getting better each and every week, but we certainly are not at the level we want or need to be at yet,” Mayer explained.
Considering Sam Mayer’s runs so far this season, his demands for having a better race car are justified. While he did manage a victory today, it wasn’t on the back of a good-performing race car but rather a huge chunk of luck and his persistence.