Saturday, July 3, 2021
Henry 180 at Road America
4.048-mile road course / 45 laps
Weather: Sunny, 86 degrees
No. 8 QPS Employment Group Chevrolet Finish: 35th
Sam Mayer, driver No. 8 QPS Employment Group Chevrolet
“I can’t thank the guys on this QPS Employment Group No. 8 enough for all the hard work and dedication they put into these cars each and every week. We had a different strategy going that was setting us up to be there at the end of the race until that wreck happened. I’m thankful this team builds safe cars and I am going to do everything I can to put these guys back into Victory Lane where they deserve to be.”
Recap:
Racing at his home track for the first time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Sam Mayer, driver of the No. 8 QPS Employment Group Chevrolet, drove from his 23rd-place starting position to inside of the top 10 in the early laps of Saturday afternoon’s Henry 180 NXS event at Road America. However, Mayer’s promising homecoming debut was brought to an abrupt halt after contact with another driver sent the JR Motorsports driver hard into the inside wall, bringing an end to his day short of the 45-lap scheduled distance. Mayer was scored with a 35th-place finish.
Stage One Finish: 13th
Mayer lined up for his first NXS race at his home track in the 23rd position after the field was set through qualifying earlier in the day. From the drop of the green flag Mayer charged forward, as he advanced three positions on the opening lap and ran 21st when the first caution flag of the event waved on lap five. Using an alternate strategy from the race leaders, Mayer remained on track and took the green from the 11th position for the ensuing restart. With a three-lap sprint to the end of Stage One, Mayer battled drivers on fresher tires behind him for position inside the top 15, ultimately crossing under the green-and-white checkered flag on lap 10 in the 13th position.
Stage Two Finish: 35th
During the stage-ending caution, Moyer made the strategy call to keep the driver of the QPS Employment Group Chevrolet on track as they had a plan to pit later in Stage Two. Restarting in the eighth position to begin the stage, Mayer set his sights forward. Running in the ninth position heading through the latter turns of the 4.048-mile road course, contact with another driver sent the No. 8 hard into the inside wall, badly damaging the front-end of the QPS Employment Group Chevrolet. Unable to get the car re-fired, it was determined that the damage was too severe to continue, ending Mayer’s afternoon shy of the finish. In the end, Mayer was relegated to a 35th-place finish.
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