Race 3 of 33: Alsco Uniforms 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Track Specs: 1.5-mile oval / 200 laps
Race Winner: Ty Gibbs
Mayer’s finish: 25th
Points position: 9th (-64)
After leading four times for a season-high 25 laps and finishing top-three in Stage One and Two in Saturday’s Alsco Uniforms 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Sam Mayer and the No. 1 Accelerate Professional Talent Solutions team had a surefire top 10 wiped out in the closing laps following contact with the No. 19 of Brandon Jones. The incent sent Mayer into outside retaining wall in Turns 1 and 2 and forced the No. 1 Chevrolet to pit road for repairs. The team was left to salvage a 25th-place finish on the day but still managed to move up three positions in the championship battle.
Race Rundown
Firing off ninth on the starting grid, Mayer and the No. 1 team showcased speed from the race’s outset. By the race’s first caution on lap five he had already slid into sixth place.
Following a red flag for weather, Mayer was immediately back to work. He took the green-flag restart in fourth and wrestled control of the race lead from AJ Allmendinger on lap 33.
Mayer settled into the top spot for several laps before giving way to teammate Noah Gragson. He rounded out Stage One in the runner-up position.
Following a pit stop for four, tires, fuel and adjustments to free up the No. 1 Chevy, Mayer was once again in control of the point position by lap 54.
Mayer led the next 16 laps before drifting to third following a lap-70 restart. He held that spot for the conclusion of Stage Two.
A quick stop by the Accelerate Professional Talent Solutions team on pit road following the stage-ending caution netted Mayer two positions on the race track. He lined up for the final-stage restart in second.
The No. 1 drifted between the second and fourth-place positions over the bulk of the final stage, finding the lead briefly as green-flag pit stops begin cycling through.
Mayer came to pit road for a scheduled stop on lap 145. Once the pit cycle was complete, he was scored in 10th.
Following a restart on lap 180, which bunched up the tail end of the top 10, Mayer was in a scrum of action for the ninth spot when contact with the No. 19 of Brandon Jones sent the No. 1 into the outside retaining wall and dealt the team an uncharacteristic 25th-place effort.
Sam Mayer, driver No. 1 Accelerate Professional Talent Solutions Chevrolet team
“Taylor (Moyer, crew chief) and our whole Accelerate Professional Talent Solutions group brought us a really strong Chevrolet today. I appreciate everything they’ve done. We showed a ton of speed from the drop of the green flag. We were able to run up front, lead laps and get a lot of stage points. That’s huge. Being up front for as long as we were and getting that experience is only going to help me down the road. The finish is disappointing for sure but there’s so much good that we can take away from this one.”