Sam Mayer has done it — again.
The driver of the No. 41 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet Camaro scored the pole position for Saturday night’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Focused Health 250 at EchoPark Speedway. If it feels a bit like déjà vu, it’s because the Franklin, WI, native also scored pole position at EchoPark Speedway back in February.
Starting Lineup: Focused Health 250 at EchoPark Speedway
This time around, Mayer topped Carson Kvapil, who drives the No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet that Mayer formerly piloted before moving to Haas Factory Team a season ago, by a margin of 0.034 seconds.
Officially, Mayer’s pole-winning lap time in the final round of Saturday’s qualifying session was 31.944 seconds, which equates to a 173.554 mph circuit around the 1.54-mile speedway in Hampton, GA.
“These guys did a really good job executing throughout the week to get ready for this place. The car is fast, obviously, the Audibel Chevrolet is really good,” Mayer said in a post-qualifying interview on The CW App. “Learned a lot from Round 1 to Round 2, and we were able to execute better in the second round.”
.@sam_mayer_ claims the @NASCAROReillyAP pole in Atlanta for the second time this season! pic.twitter.com/ZAcfQRfzQd
— The CW Sports (@TheCW_Sports) July 11, 2026
This pole marks the third of the season for the 23-year-old racer, and now he’ll set his sights on scoring his first win of the 2026 campaign on Saturday evening.
Jesse Love, the defending series champion who is also looking for his first win of the season, will start from the inside of Row 2, directly behind the front row, which is comprised of Mayer and Kvapil.
William Sawalich, the driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, will start alongside Love in Row 2.
Sammy Smith, Sheldon Creed, Brent Crews, Rajah Caruth, Taylor Gray, and Patrick Staropoli rounded out the top-10 qualifiers for Saturday’s Focused Health 250 at EchoPark Speedway, the track formerly known as Atlanta Motor Speedway.
For Staropoli, a skilled retina surgeon, this marks his second-best starting position of the season, trailing only his eighth-place position on the grid in the season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway. The rookie contender is still seeking his first career top-10 finish.
Justin Allgaier, the series point leader, will start from the 16th position.
Carson Ware was able to avoid spinning out during his qualifying run, driving the No. 47 Mike Harmon Racing Chevrolet. After making the save, Ware was credited with the 36th-place starting spot.
Blaine Perkins suffered a mechanical issue of some kind during his lap, which caused his No. 31 Jordan Anderson Racing Chevrolet to slow. That issue resulted in a lap time nearly 15 seconds off the pace of Mayer’s pole-winning lap. Perkins will start 37th as a result.
And Jordan Anderson will start dead last after he experienced a flat tire on his No. 32 Chevrolet during his up-to-speed lap. Anderson would bail on his qualifying run and was unable to post a qualifying time.
The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Focused Health 250 at EchoPark Speedway is scheduled for Saturday, July 11, and will be televised on The CW with coverage set to begin at 7:00 PM ET.
