Sonoma Raceway
Saturday, June 11, 2023
Race 14 of 33: DoorDash 250 at Sonoma Raceway Track Specs: 1.99-mile road course / 79 laps Race Winner: Aric Almirola Mayer’s finish: 10th Point’s position: 9th (-162)
After a solid qualifying lap, Sam Mayer, driver of the No. 1 Accelerate Professional Talent Solutions Chevrolet started from the sixth position for the Saturday evening event. Mayer held steady inside the top 10 all race and finished in 10th position in the hills at Sonoma Raceway to earn his eighth top-10 finish of the season. The young driver’s performance keeps him in the ninth position in the NASCAR Xfinity Series standings, 162 points behind the leader.
Race Rundown
After Mayer advanced to the final round of qualifying with teammate Justin Allgaier, the young driver wound up sixth in line to start the DoorDash 250 at Sonoma. With a quiet first stage, Mayer held steady in the seventh position for the majority of the 20-lap opening stage and crossed under the green-and-white checkered flag in seventh to earn three valuable stage points.
Though there were no stage-ending cautions, the yellow flag fell for an on-track incident. Crew chief Mardy Lindley called the Franklin, Wis. native down pit road for four tires and fuel only as Mayer reported the car was great and no adjustments were needed.
Mayer lined up for the restart ninth and quickly fell back in the green-flag shuffle to settle in the 15th position. As the laps rolled by, the 19-year-old raced his way back inside the top 10 with 10 laps to go in Stage Two. Racing hard on the final laps of the stage, Mayer maintained track position and crossed the line for a solid 10th-place Stage Two finish to earn an additional stage point.
Under green just a few short laps later, Mardy (Lindley, crew chief) called Mayer down pit road for four fresh tires and fuel. The young driver reported he is all set but was just having a little trouble firing off on the restarts.
As the competitors cycled through pit stops under green, Mayer cruised up to the 12th position with 30 laps to go and continued to climb through the field. A lap-62 caution came out and Mayer reported that he lost drive and had no rear stability. Under yellow, Mayer brought the No. 1 Chevrolet down pit road for his last set of Goodyear tires and some Sunoco fuel to set him to the finish.
Mayer restarted from the 14th position and continued his ascent as he made a pass for 10th with 10 laps to go in Saturday night’s event. Mayer held steady and crossed the line at the checkered flag in the 10th position to earn his eighth top-10 finish of the season.
Sam Mayer, driver No. 1 Accelerate Professional Talent Solutions Chevrolet team “It was a solid day for the No. 1 Accelerate Professional Talent Solutions Chevrolet. The guys put together a great road course car and I am super proud to have them on my side each week. I need to work on the restarts but we will continue to capitalize on these top-10 finishes and move on to Nashville.”
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