AVONDALE, Ariz. – Six months ago, Sam Mayer wasn’t even thinking about being a part of the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship 4. He was lucky just to be finishing races.
Fast forward though, maturity, hard work, and fast race cars have propelled the JR Motorsports to one of four drivers vying for the Xfinity Series championship title Saturday afternoon at Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway.
Win or lose – Mayer is just thankful to be joining his JR Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer and Joe Gibbs Racing’s John Hunter Nemechek for the championship trophy.
Mayer doesn’t know what to expect this weekend. Still, the sophomore NASCAR Xfinity Series driver is embracing the opportunities of being one of the Championship 4 contenders, knowing his first-ever Championship 4 appearance will never happen again.
“I am looking forward to the Championship 4 race, just because I don’t know what to expect,” Mayer said Thursday morning at Phoenix Raceway. “Like I am happy to be here; it’s my first appearance. You only get one first appearance in the Championship 4. Being here, obviously, I am super grateful and going to soak up the opportunity as much as I can.
“Obviously, I want to go out there and win the championship for JR Motorsports. The opportunity to be in this spot to begin with is something I’m just so stoked about. Because six months ago, if you would have said I was in the Championship 4, I don’t know if I would have believed you. I had no wins at that point.
“The last 13 weeks, 14 weeks have been absolutely unreal, and the floodgates finally opened up. I’m looking forward to keeping it going through the offseason and into next year, too. Racing for a championship on Saturday is a big deal, but I want to prove myself enough to where I can race on Sunday’s one day.”
The Franklin, Wisc. native doesn’t consider himself an underdog for Saturday afternoon’s race, but he does not consider himself a favorite either. He’s not looking for a title – he’s focused on putting his No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro on the track in a good spot and letting the race play out for itself.
“I wouldn’t consider myself an underdog because I have a lot of momentum, but by no means am I a favorite,” explained Mayer. “I really want to go out there and prove myself to everyone because I want to race on Sundays. This is the first step in that direction.
“I have an uphill battle. As Dale (Earnhardt Jr. car owner) said to me after Homestead, You can race for a championship. You can do this. You can be a favorite if you do this weekend right. I’ve put 15 hours of film into this week, and I’ve done everything that I possibly can without burning myself out to go out there and be as most prepared as possible to win a championship.”
Statistically, the 1.0-mile track in Avondale, Ariz., hasn’t been particularly kind to the 20-year-old driver. Mayer, however, isn’t keen on reminiscing the past but instead looking at what he has learned since then and utilizing the experience he has inhaled to benefit him for 200 laps on Saturday.
“In the spring, I wasn’t very good,” admitted Mayer. “I had fast cars, but I wasn’t doing my job right. I lacked on restarts, I lacked late runs, I didn’t do my job right. I went back and watched that race and I was embarrassed to watch it because of how much I gained since then.
“I am looking forward to this weekend because I feel like I can be way better and I can do my job right and I know the guys are going to make a fast car and we are going to go out there and give it all we’ve got.
“I have yet to finish inside the top-10 in the Xfinity car at this race track, and the stats are embarrassing and everything like that. If I have learned anything about myself over the last six months, getting wins and finally finishing well, it is that I can go out there and change it around and get my first top-10 being my first win (at Phoenix).
“You are racing yourself. You gotta race the race track, you gotta race yourself. Whatever you have, your car, yourself you can’t try and go too much, that’s where you get in trouble. By the end of the day, you do have to beat them. I’m going to do my best for everyone, and whatever happens, happens.”
With a mediocre start to his second year of Xfinity Series competition, Mayer noted that the lightbulb went off in his head in May at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway when he found himself battling Cup Series champion Kyle Larson.
“The first step in the right direction is figuring out how to put a full race together,” explained Mayer. “The first time I really did that was Darlington in the spring. I was racing Kyle Larson, who’s a Cup champ and one of the best ever to do it. I was racing him on a restart on old tires, and I was like, I have to get the lead here, and I ended up beating him on two different restarts that day, and I was like, “Oh, I can do this. I figured it out.
“My restarts have been good ever since. Obviously, that was after Phoenix earlier this spring. I am glad I figured it out. The restarts are huge here. It’s the most hectic place on the restarts other than probably Pocono. I’ve never performed well here on restarts; I’ve always choked. I’ve learned a lot since then, hopefully, I’ll be a lot better. I’m not going to let anything get in my way from being my best.
“I hope I can go and prove that I figured it out on Saturday.”
Mayer said he is bringing his “A-game” to the track this weekend and hopes that attitude will propel him to his first Xfinity Series championship.
“I am just happy to be here,” Mayer said. “Obviously, these guys that I am going up against have, they have put their names in stone that they belong in the Championship 4. We came on the scene and started winning races when it mattered.
“Racing for a championship, in general, is so awesome. Six months ago, I wasn’t anywhere close to that. Winning races solves everything. Just having fun, enjoying the ride and not putting pressure on myself.
“We can clutch up. I had to win the ROVAL – we went out there and win it. I had to win a race in the Round of 8 and we won at Homestead and I did my job and I’ve been doing my job and that’s all you need to do is do it one more time on Saturday.”
“We are kinda peaking at the right time and doing our jobs right. I’m a company man and I want a JRM car in Victory Lane with a championship.
“I want it the most. I just want it really bad. I am bringing my A-game this weekend. I am locked in. I’ve put so much effort into this weekend to make it happen. I’m not going to let anything get in my way from being my best.”
Follow Chris Knight on X (Twitter) at @Knighter01 or email: [email protected]
