JR Motorsports Race Report
Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023
Race 31 of 33: Contender Boats 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway
Track Specs: 1.5-mile oval / 200 laps
Race Winner: Sam Mayer Points position: 4th (-43)
Sam Mayer, driver of the No. 1 Accelerate Professional Talent Solutions Chevrolet, raced his way to victory and clinched his spot in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship 4 in Saturday afternoon’s event at Homestead-Miami Speedway. After starting the race in 13th, Mayer was able to power through the field quickly and battle for the top spot the majority of the day before making his way to Victory Lane after taking the checkered flag in the Contender Boats 300.
Race Rundown
· The young driver set the Accelerate Professional Talent Solutions Chevrolet 13th in line to start the early-afternoon event after a solid qualifying effort on Friday evening. Mayer quickly got to work as he cruised through the field in Stage One and ended up on the heels of the leader with 12 laps to go. The driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet held on to the runner-up spot for a second-place Stage One finish, gaining a valuable nine stage points.
· Mayer did not have much to report as his JR Motorsports racecar felt really good throughout the first stage. Crew chief Mardy Lindley called the young driver down pit road for four tires, fuel and a slight air pressure adjustment. Mayer remained in second to restart Stage Two.
· During the green-flag shuffle, Mayer battled with Cole Custer for the lead and quickly slipped in behind before teammate Justin Allgaier came battling for second. 11 laps into Stage Two, Mayer settled into fourth where he held on until a lap-67 caution arose. Mayer reported to the team that he could be tightened up a little bit but Lindley chose to stay out.
· The Franklin, Wis native restarted third in line but fell back to fourth to finish the stage. Mayer pulled the No. 1 Camaro down pit road for four fresh tires, fuel and a trackbar adjustment. A solid pit stop held the team’s place in line as they rolled off pit road fourth to start the Final Stage at Homestead.
· The green flag fell and a yellow flag showed shortly after with a caution coming out on the restart. On the second restart, Mayer battled for the runner-up position but nestled back into third behind competitor Custer once again. With 89 laps to go, the young driver made a pass for second and held on strong.
· Mayer reported “I feel a little snug off of four, I need to be freed up just a little bit in the center.” Lindley called for a lap-140 pit stop under green to grab four Goodyear tires, some Sunoco fuel and an adjustment. The field cycled through their pit stops which allowed Mayer to get back to the top five with 57 laps to go.
· Just a few short laps later, Mayer took the lead. The next caution came out shortly after and Lindley called the young driver down pit road for his last set of tires, some fuel and an air pressure adjustment. Mayer was able to roll off quick to restart the event second with 30 laps to go.
· After a late-race caution came out, Mayer was able to take the lead with 23 laps to go and hold his own. The young driver battled pressure from Riley Herbst closing in on the final lap but it was not enough to take the lead away from the JRM driver.
· Mayer crossed the finish line and took the checkered for his fourth win of the season and a spot in the NXS Championship 4.
Sam Mayer, driver No. 1 Accelerate Professional Talent Solutions Chevrolet team
“Today was an absolute dream come true and I cannot thank JR Motorsports and this No. 1 team enough for all the hard work they put in to get us to this point. It feels really good to be able to secure a spot in the Final Four with a win and I am looking forward to these last two weeks of the 2023 season. We will carry this momentum to Martinsville and focus forward to Phoenix to hopefully secure the championship!“
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