JR Motorsports Race Report
Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023
Race 30 of 33: Alsco Uniforms 302 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Track Specs: 1.5-mile tri-oval/ 201 laps
Race Winner: Riley Herbst
Mayer’s Finish: 5th Points position: 6th (-48)
Sam Mayer, driver of the No. 1 Accelerate Professional Talent Solutions Chevrolet, battled hard for a fifth-place finish in Saturday’s event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. After fighting loose conditions from the start of the day, Mayer and the No. 1 JR Motorsports team pulled it together for a top-five day that sets them sixth in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff point standings, just 48 markers behind the leader.
Race Rundown
· The Franklin, Wis. native put the No. 1 Chevrolet 14th in line to start the Alsco Uniforms 302 and quickly started his ascent up the leaderboard until an early lap-3 caution waved. Mayer restarted eighth as another yellow flag fell shortly after. The young driver started to fall back on the green-flag shuffle as he came over the radio to report he is loose and struggling to hold on.
· The driver of the No. 1 Camaro held on for a 15th-place Stage One finish and was called to pit road under the stage break. Crew chief Mardy Lindley made the decision to make a shock adjustment on the right rear along with four fresh tires and some Sunoco fuel and sent Mayer on his way to restart the second stage in 16th.
· With the adjustments made, Mayer started to charge through the field just as a caution came out that sent the pack to a red flag. By lap-65, the young driver drove up to 12th and continued to ascent up to eighth with 13 laps to go in Stage Two. Mayer started to play with his line to see what he could do, but ultimately ended the stage in eighth. Mayer reported to the team that he was tight on the bottom and edgy on exit.
· Lindley made the call to bring the driver of the No. 1 down pit road for four tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment to help free up the young driver. Mayer restarted the final stage in eighth and remained there for the opening laps of the stage.
· A lap-102 move took Mayer around competitor Austin Hill for the seventh position and with 60 laps to go, Mayer had made his way to the top five. The Franklin, Wis. native came down pit road under green with 60 laps to go in the race for four fresh Goodyear tires, fuel and another slight track bar adjustment.
· The pit cycle started to move and Mayer found himself back in the top ten in ninth and continued to propel through the pack until he slid by teammate Justin Allgaier for the fifth spot and held on for the remainder of the race.
· In the end, Mayer came home with a fifth-place finish in Las Vegas.
Sam Mayer, driver No. 1 Accelerate Professional Talent Solutions Chevrolet team
“Super proud of this team today and all the challenges we overcame throughout the day. I really hoped for a better points day but we did all we could and these guys worked so hard to get this No. 1 Chevrolet up in the top-five for us. We will take what we have, capitalize on it and move on to Homestead to hopefully get this Accelerate Professional Talent Solutions Chevrolet back in Victory Lane.”
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