Darlington Raceway Saturday, May
13th, 2023
Race 11 of 33: Shriner's Childrens 200 Track Specs: 1.5-mile oval / 145 laps Race Winner: Kyle Larson Mayer’s finish: 8th Point’s position: 10th (-115)
Sam Mayer, driver of the No. 1 Accelerate Professional Talent Solutions Throwback Chevrolet, took the lead early on in Stage One, setting him up for a confident run at Darlington Raceway that resulted in another top-10 finish, with the JR Motorsports driver coming home in the eighth position. Mayer’s effort at the 1.366-mile oval bumps him up to 10th in the NASCAR Xfinity series point standings, 115 points behind the leader.
Race Rundown
After a stellar qualifying session on Friday evening, Mayer set the No. 1 Accelerate Professional Talent Solutions Chevy up to start his day in the fourth position for the green flag. The young driver raced to the lead early on and led the majority of the stage, being out front for 35 laps. With 10 laps to go in the stage, the yellow flag fell for a spin in Turn 2. Crew chief Mardy Lindley called the No. 1 Chevrolet down pit road for four tires and fuel. After restarting in seventh, Mayer raced up to fifth for a top-five Stage One finish, earning six stage points to begin the afternoon.
The Franklin, Wis. native took the green flag for Stage Two in the sixth position and held steady in the top-five as multiple cautions arose. Lindley made the call to stay out as the laps rolled by through the yellow flags. Mayer reported he was feeling a bit snug but did not want to make any adjustments until he had a good enough run to really feel it out. The young driver raced the No. 1 Chevrolet to a fourth-place Stage Two finish at the green-white-checkered and came down pit road under the stage break for four tires, fuel and a slight track bar adjustment.
Mayer took the green flag for the final stage in the sixth position and with 31 laps to go in the race, Mayer suffered a flat right front tire that forced him to make an unscheduled trip to pit road for a quick stop to change four fresh Goodyear tires and some Sunoco fuel.
A lap-126 caution came out and bunched Mayer back up with the field. Another yellow flag fell shortly after and the No. 1 Chevrolet was called down pit road for the last set of four tires, fuel and another track bar adjustment. With 10 to go, Mayer restarted in the 19th position and set in to strategy-mode. The young driver flew through the field gaining multiple spots each lap as he weaved in and out of the competition. Mayer broke the top 10 with just three laps to go and rallied up to an eighth-place finish.
Sam Mayer, driver No. 1 Accelerate Professional Talent Solutions Chevrolet team “What an unbelievable day for this No. 1 Accelerate Professional Talent Solutions Chevrolet. I could not be more proud of the car this team put together and how the No. 1 crew kept us on track for a great finish all day long. Super cool to have our Kurt Busch ’01 throwback scheme do so well here today and to have Kurt here to watch just makes it more special. I look forward to keeping this momentum and heading into Charlotte!”
