Dover Motor Speedway
Saturday, April 29, 2023
Race 10 of 33: A-Game 200 at Dover Motor Speedway Track Specs: 1-mile oval / 200 laps Race Winner: Ryan Truex Mayer’s finish: 9th Point’s position: 11th (-110)
Sam Mayer, driver of the No. 1 Accelerate Professional Talent Solutions Chevrolet, battled from a 24th place start after wet conditions cancelled practice and qualifying on Friday to earn a ninth-place finish in the NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Dover Motor Speedway on Saturday afternoon. Mayer fought hard during each stage around the 1-mile concrete oval and ultimately improved his points position to 11th, 110 markers behind the leader. The top-10 finish is also the fifth on the season for the 19-year-old.
Race Rundown
After rainy Delaware conditions washed out practice and qualifying, the starting lineup was set by NASCAR’s metric system, putting the No. 1 Accelerate Professional Talent Solutions 24th for the green-flag start. By lap 5, Mayer had gained four spots, making his way into the top 20. With a caution early on, Mayer reported to the team that he was “feeling really good so far just trying to take care of my tires”.
A scheduled competition caution had arrived on lap 20 and crew chief Mardy Lindley called the young driver down pit road for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment and restarted in the 16th position. Mayer reported he was getting a little loose starting the run but held through to a Stage One 11th-place finish. Under the stage break, the Franklin, Wis. native came down pit road for four fresh tires, fuel and a slight track bar adjustment.
Mayer took the green flag in the 11th position to start Stage Two and had a very smooth run after a caution came out on lap 63. The driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet battled in the top 10 as the laps rolled by and ultimately ended Stage Two with a ninth-place finish to earn two stage points.
Under caution, the 19-year-old reported “I am a little tight getting off the throttle in four”. Lindley called the JR Motorsports driver down pit road under yellow for four tires, fuel, another track bar adjustment and a slight air pressure adjustment.
Mayer restarted the final stage ninth in line and made a chilling move to miss a spin in an early-stage caution. On the green-flag restart, Mayer held steady through the stage bouncing back and forth inside the top 10. On a lap-168 scheduled green flag pit stop, Lindley called for the final set of four Goodyear tires and Sunoco fuel. After an uneventful final few laps, the driver of the No. 1 Accelerate Professional Talent Solutions Chevrolet rallied to a ninth-place finish.
Sam Mayer, driver No. 1 Accelerate Professional Talent Solutions Chevrolet team “I had a really fast No. 1 Accelerate Professional Talent Solutions Chevrolet today. My pit crew was really on point and I can’t thank these guys enough for giving me a car that can contend for these finishes each and every week. Really wish we had a better points day but we will take this next week to dial in more focus and on to Darlington next.”