BRISTOL, Tenn: Sam Mayer came into the SciAps 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway with six top-10 finishes out of the eight races ran so far this season.
Looking to continue that run, he qualified in the sixth starting position, which would hopefully give him an advantage in trying to earn another top-10 finish, but he came up one spot short.
Going green for the start of Stage 1, the No. 41 Audible Ford driver maneuvered his way to the fourth position, where he hovered until a multi-car accident raised the red flag for recovery and cleanup.
While waiting for the red flag to be lifted, the Haas Factory Team driver stated, “I am firing off loose, and then I build to neutral. If we were to come in, I wouldn’t want any adjustments because I don’t know where we would go.”
Ultimately, the team decided to stay out on the track and took over the top position when they went back to green. The Franklin, Wisconsin native got his first stage win of the year, earning him valuable stage points.
Coming to pit road before the start of Stage 2, Mayer tells his team that he would like them to tighten him up just a little bit so he can put his bias back because he is still firing off loose.
Getting a new set of Goodyear tires, fuel and a trackbar adjustment, Mayer would return to the field in the 13th position to start the stage.
A pretty uneventful Stage 2 would give Mayer the time and opportunity to move up into the top-10 again, ending the stage with an extra point to add to his arsenal. He currently sits in second place in the NASCAR Xfinity Series standings.
Communicating with his team at the end of the stage, Mayer stated, “Overall I am solid up there. It’s just track position. I felt like I was really good,” but even with that said he asks the team to make a slight air pressure adjustment to snug his car up considering that the next run would be much longer.
On pit road, Mayer would receive another set of Goodyear tires, fuel and the requested air pressure adjustment.
Returning to the track and resuming the 10th position for the start of Stage 3, Mayer maintained his position until an accident once again raised the caution flag.
Not particularly happy with the adjustment that Mayer had requested, the team would give him his last set of sticker Goodyear tires and fuel and change the air pressure adjustment back to the previous run.
