Sam Mayer blames ‘crappy’ Texas wreck that dramatically shifted ‘everything’ against him

Sam Mayer missed out on the opportunity to log a repeat victory in Saturday’s Andy's Frozen Custard 300 Xfinity Series race at Texas Motor Speedway. Former Cup Series champion Kyle Larson, who was subbing for Connor Zilisch, won the race, marking his second series win this season.

On the other hand, Mayer finished the race in P5 behind last week’s winner and Richard Childress Racing driver Austin Hill. It was a stellar performance from the Wisconsin native, given the number of hurdles he had to overcome, especially following that chaotic overtime restart.

Mayer’s No. 41 Andy's-sponsored Haas Factory Team Ford Mustang was among several other cars that were involved in the Stage 2 incident. Detailing the same during a post-race interview with Bob Pockrass, Sam Mayer said,

“We were on that crappy wreck on the front. I had everything against me, and I still was able to at least… I don’t want to say outperform because that sounds really, really bad, but be there and have a shot at it and put myself in position with that.

“We were just at a disadvantage all day cuz the wreck on the front, and we came back almost one lap down on the green because of the damage,” he added.

Sam Mayer exited Texas Motor Speedway, third on points (391), trailing Hill in second. 12 races into the season, the 21-year-old speedster owns six top-fives and seven top-10s. His next stop is at Concord’s Charlotte Motor Speedway, which will host the BetMGM 300 on Saturday, May 24.

Fans can watch the 200-lap race live on CW or listen to radio updates on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. NASCAR Cup Series driver Chase Elliott won the event last year. However, he won’t be defending his win as there’s just one Xfinity race on his plate this year, which took place only a few weeks ago at Darlington Raceway.

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Sam Mayer lauds Tony Stewart’s rival following milestone NHRA win

Sam Mayer took to X last week, congratulating NHRA Top Fueler Shawn Langdon for a historical achievement. As per reports, Langdon won the 1,000th Top Fuel race in NHRA history at the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals held at zMAX Dragway on April 27.

With that, Langdon also defeated NASCAR legend Tony Stewart, Scag Racing driver Justin Ashley and reigning world champion Antron Brown in the 15th annual American Rebel Light NHRA 4-Wide Nationals. Langdon currently tops the driver standings with 452 points to his name.

Lauding Langdon, Mayer wrote in his post,

“Great day supporting the partnership with @SoundGearHear and @TeamKalitta at the #4widenats this weekend. Congrats to Shawn Langdon on the top fuel win.”

Next up is the Route 66 NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway, Illinois, on Sunday, May 18. Fans can watch the race, 11 am CST onwards on NHRA.tv. Meanwhile, Mayer will prepare for his upcoming race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, also home to the crown jewel Coca-Cola 600.