Saturday, July 16, 2022
Race 18 of 33: Crayon 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Track Specs: 1.058-mile oval / 200 laps
Race Winner: Justin Allgaier
Mayer’s finish: 15th
Points position: 8th (-190)
Sam Mayer finished 15th in an eventful NASCAR Xfinity Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The Wisconsin native fought the balance of the Accelerate Professional Talent Solutions Camaro all day, peaking at seventh place during the final stage. The team took a swing at one final adjustment for the last green-flag run of the day, but the car was just too loose in the end.
Race Rundown
Mayer started the 200-lap event in 12th following Friday evening’s qualifying session.
Mayer battled a tight-handling Accelerate Professional Talent Solutions Chevrolet early in the first stage as he ran as high as ninth and as low as 11th. Struggling with stability on entry, Mayer pitted when the caution came out at lap 34. He came out of the pits 28th and ultimately finished 22nd at the end of Stage One.
During the stage break, Mayer brought the Accelerate Professional Talent Solutions No. 1 back down pit road for an adjustment and fuel only in an effort to free him up. During the long green-flag run in Stage Two, Mayer looked much better as he drove from 21st to 14th in the first 20 laps of the stage. He settled in there for the remainder of the stage. As the green-and-white checkered flag came out to end the stage, Mayer advanced one spot to 13th after teammate Noah Gragson spun on the final lap of the stage.
Once again, Mayer came to pit road during the stage break for four tires, fuel and an adjustment. During the onslaught of cautions to begin the final stage, Mayer reported some satisfaction with the adjustments as his car had freed up a good bit.
During the chaos to begin the final stage, Mayer worked his way up to seventh before making slight contact with another car and the outside wall off Turn 2 while trying to avoid a big wreck in front of him. Crew chief Taylor Moyer called Mayer to pit road to assess the damage and get into their fuel window. Mayer came out of the pits in 15th position and restarted from there when the green flag waved with 62 circuits remaining.
Running 13th when a caution came out on lap 173, Moyer again called Mayer to pit road to make an adjustment and put on a set of scuffs. The Accelerate Chevy was scored in the 19th position when the green flag came out with 21 laps remaining The remainder of the race took place under the green flag and Mayer finished 15th after two drivers ahead of him failed post-race inspection.
Sam Mayer, driver No. 1 Accelerate Professional Talent Solutions Chevrolet team
“We took a few big swings on the Accelerate Professional Talent Solutions Chevy today as we tried to get the balance right, but ultimately, we went from too tight to too loose. I’m working hard to try and get the momentum and speed back that we had a few weeks ago and I’m looking forward to getting a fresh start at Pocono next week.”
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