Sam Mayer and Haas Factory Team have been knocking on the door to secure a win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series all season long, and finally, after more than six months of close calls and bitter defeats, the No. 41 team finds itself in Victory Lane.
During Saturday’s Hy-Vee Perks 250 at Iowa Speedway, Mayer didn’t have the dominant racecar, and he didn’t end up leading the most laps, but the Franklin, Wisconsin-native caught a couple of lucky breaks at the end of the race and ended up in the lead.
The 22-year-old driver took advantage of the opportunity to lead the race, stretching his advantage during the final run of the race to more than a second and a half over polesitter Jesse Love, who gave up the lead of the race moments before the caution that triggered the final restart of the race.
That caution came as a result of oil being laid down on the racetrack, which sent Jesse Love and several drivers behind him up the racetrack, and resulted in Brandon Jones spinning in Turn 2, which drew a caution at Lap 224.
By then, the damage was done for Love, and NASCAR maintained that Mayer had taken over the lead at the time of the caution. Thus, the driver of the Audibel Ford Mustang had control of the final restart of the race and blasted away from the pack.
When the caution was displayed on the final lap, courtesy of a spin from Garrett Smithley, Love had closed within a second of the race leader, but it wasn’t enough to capture the win at the 0.875-mile racetrack.
RACE RESULTS: 2025 NXS Hy-Vee Perks 250 at Iowa Speedway
“I mean, this one is everything, right here. This one’s for all of the guys here at Audibel. There are a lot of people in the stands — the Audibel people. So, it’s really cool to get a win in front of them. First win for Haas Factory Team, that’s awesome,” Mayer said. “This car was as fast as Xfinity Mobile all day long. We tried to botch it on pit road, but we didn’t. I can’t believe it. This is one of the most special wins I have.”
For Mayer, who switched teams from JR Motorsports to Haas Factory Team (formerly Stewart-Haas Racing) in the off-season, the victory is his eighth in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, but it’s also his first with the new organization. However, Mayer isn’t new to winning at Iowa Speedway, having captured the victory at the same racetrack last Summer while driving the No. 1 for JR Motorsports.
Jesse Love captured the pole for Saturday’s event, but had to settle for a runner-up finish after leading 31 laps. Ross Chastain, in his final scheduled Xfinity Series start of 2025, finished in third.
Connor Zilisch couldn’t continue his win streak another weekend at Iowa Speedway, but finished fourth, marking his tenth consecutive top-five result in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
Harrison Burton made some major inroads on the fight to make the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs with a top-five result for AM Racing.
Carson Hocevar matched the best finish of the season for Kaulig Racing’s No. 11 Chevrolet in sixth place, with Sheldon Creed, Ryan Sieg, Carson Kvapil, and Christian Eckes rounding out the top-10.
Justin Allgaier, who entered Iowa as the regular-season championship leader, lost a lot of ground in the point standings, finishing 16th. Now, Allgaier and Zilisch head to Watkins Glen tied atop the standings.
At the cutline for the Playoffs, Harrison Burton now has a 17-point advantage over Ryan Sieg, and a 19-point advantage over Jeb Burton.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series will head to Watkins Glen International next weekend, with coverage of the event on Saturday, August 9 at 3:00 pm ET on The CW, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
