LAS VEGAS – Sam Mayer certainly made the most of what he could salvage in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series Focused Health 302 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
The Haas Factory Team racer endured a litany of issues ranging from cylinder woes to a late-race pit issue that could’ve spelled tremendous trouble at any point.
Instead, the 22-year-old found a way to salvage himself a ninth-place finish and will leave Nevada from being two points to the good heading into the 201-lap race to being eight markers above the cutoff line over Brandon Jones.
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Race Results: Focused Health 250 at Las Vegas
Mayer admitted that he didn’t have the best showing, but the entire No. 41 Ford squad fought through it and were able to gain small ground before the treacherous race in the Round of 8 – Talladega Superspeedway.
“We were actually gonna be pretty good, which, a huge shoutout to everyone at Haas Factory Team, Ford, and Ford Racing,” said Mayer. “Everyone did a great job of getting this Ford Mustang ready to roll.
“We weren’t the best, but I think we deserved a little bit better than where we finished. We just had some issues there at the end on pit road, but that’s just part of racing.”
During the early portion of Stage 1, Mayer’s No. 41 Ford was down a cylinder and gradually regressed down the running order. Even with the hiccup, Mayer still showed some muscle and scored a pair of eighth-place results in the opening two stages.
While dealing with the problem, the Wisconsin native wasn’t able to be a threat in the frantic battle for the top spot throughout the evening. Compounded by a sluggish green flag pit stop during the closing portion of the race.
At a track like the 1.5-mile circuit, Mayer knows track position is at a premium, where a bad stop can derail a result.
“This place is so track position-based that everyone goes the same speed and is running their absolute guts out,” Mayer explained. “If you lose a couple [of] spots or time, you’re kind of forfeiting those for free, but everybody did a great job getting us ready for this.
“We have some things to work out on pit road, but I’m excited for the next couple of weeks for sure since we’re coming out of here with a decent day.”
With Las Vegas in the books, Mayer is proud that he’s still in the fight with the goal of making his second Championship 4 appearance (his first being in 2023) in the team’s lineage swan song with Ford. That in mind, he’s aware that one mistake can easily change the pendulum against him, and someone else can leapfrog him in the playoff standings.
“We can be proud of what we brought. We can be proud of how we executed the first part of the day,” said Mayer. “Even though it wasn’t the best, we still made it better, but there’s always room for improvement. The good thing is it’s never too late.”
None of his Round of 8 competitors punched their ticket into the Championship 4 as a result of Aric Almirola, who helped punch Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 19 team’s ticket into the title fight at Phoenix in three weeks, winning Saturday’s race.
Coverage of the United Rentals 250 at Talladega begins Saturday, October 18, at 4:30 p.m. ET on The CW. The Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will provide the radio broadcast of that event.
