JR Motorsports Race Report: Portland International Raceway
Saturday, June 3, 2023
Race 13 of 33: Pacific Office Automation 147 at Portland International Raceway Track Specs: 1.967-mile road course / 75 laps Race Winner: Cole Custer Mayer’s finish: 3rd Point’s position: 9th (-169)
After an incident occurred in practice for Sam Mayer, driver of the No. 1 Accelerate Professional Talent Solutions Chevrolet, the young driver battled from a 36th-place start to a hard-fought third-place finish in Saturday afternoon’s event at Portland International Raceway. Today’s performance bumped Mayer up to 9th in the NASCAR Xfinity Series point standings, 169 markers behind the leader.
Race Rundown
Early Saturday morning, Mayer had an off-track incident in practice which took away his chance to qualify for the Pacific Office Automation 147 and set him to start the event 36th in line. Within the first seven laps of Stage One, Mayer was cruising through the field as he had already broken into the top 20. With the first caution of the day coming on lap 19, the young driver reported he was feeling a little free, but felt he could use that to his advantage.
Mayer restarted in the 16th position with three laps to go in the stage and ended up rallying to an 11th-place Stage One finish. Crew chief Mardy Lindley called the No. 1 Chevrolet down pit road for four fresh tires and fuel. The driver of the No. 1 Accelerate Professional Talent Solutions Chevrolet report that “the car is perfect, no need for changes.”
The Franklin, Wis. native had a quiet second stage as the laps continued to roll by as he held steady in the top 10. With 10 laps to go, he battled with competitors for track position and ended up racing to a seventh-place Stage Two finish tallying a total of four valuable stage points. Mayer came down pit road for four fresh Goodyear tires and some Sunoco fuel.
As the green flag fell on the restart for the Final Stage, Mayer remained focused and wiggled through the top 10 to the seventh position until he made a move that pulled the No. 1 Chevrolet to fourth with 20 laps to go. The yellow flags started to fall and Mayer bounced between positions until taking the checkered flag to earn a third-place finish.
Sam Mayer, driver No. 1 Accelerate Talent Group Chevrolet team “What an amazing day for this team and the No. 1 Accelerate Professional Talent Solutions Chevrolet. With the unfortunate incident in practice this morning and starting in the back, every single one of these guys brought their A-game and gave me a phenomenal car. So proud of this team and all we have accomplished to get this finish and will continue to do so in Sonoma.”