XFINITY: Sam Mayer’s rough start to 2024 continues with early Vegas crash
by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
PHOTO: @sam_mayer
Sam Mayer picked up the 3rd last-place finish of his NASCAR XFINITY Series career in Saturday’s The LiUNA! at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway when his #1 Club Car Chevrolet was involved in an accident after 7 of 200 laps.
The finish, which came in Mayer’s 87th series start, was his first of the season, his first since September 23, 2023 at Texas, eight races ago. In the XFINITY Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 20th for the #1, the 390th from a crash, and the 635th for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 75th for the #1, the 1,366th from a crash, and the 1,927th for Chevrolet.
Mayer’s last-place run in Texas – the result of a first-lap accident - came during the throes of his battle for the 2023 NASCAR XFINITY Series Championship. He left the race 12th and last of the remaining Playoff contenders, needing a win to make the “Round of Eight.” He succeeded, leading all but 17 laps on the Charlotte “Roval,” then made the Championship Four with a convincing win at Homestead. On the final overtime restart, Mayer picked the low lane, but found himself trapped behind the other three contenders, ultimately coming home in 5th.
Though Sunday was just the third race of the season, Mayer has already been off to a rough start. In Daytona, he was collected in the first caution of the night, slamming the outside wall hard in Turn 1 and finishing 36th. He then finished 11th in Atlanta, where he didn’t lead a lap. In Las Vegas, Mayer began the weekend 10th-fastest in practice, then secured 14th on the grid with a lap of 178.265mph (30.292 seconds). He was tied to the thousandth of a second with Atlanta polesitter Jesse Love, who lost the tiebreaker and would roll off 15th in the #2 Whelen Chevrolet. For Mayer, this race happened to mark the debut of new team sponsor Club Car, makers of golf carts and similar vehicles.
Securing the 38th and final starting spot was Joey Gase, his #35 Nevada Donor Network Chevrolet one of three cars to not turn a lap in qualifying. The second was 37th-place Anthony Alfredo, sent to a backup car – his car set aside for next week in Phoenix – after a flat tire caused a wreck in practice, destroying his #5 Dude Wipes Chevrolet. The third was Justin Allgaier, who managed to save his #7 BRANDT Chevrolet after blowing a right-rear tire in the middle of the corner. Both Alfredo and Allgaier would incur tail-end penalties along with unapproved adjustments for 29th-place Blaine Perkins in the #29 AutoParkit.com Ford and 35th-place Sage Karam in the Atlanta last-place finishing #32 EasyCare Chevrolet.
Coming to the green flag on a cloudy and windy Saturday, Gase remained in the final row with Alfredo’s backup car to his inside. At the stripe, Gase inched ahead, 2.898 seconds back of the leader to Alfredo’s 3.004. Already, Gase’s spotter radioed cars were checking up in the middle lane. Among these was likely Karam’s #32, which reported issues getting the car in gear. As the leaders came down to complete Lap 2, Karam was slow on the apron of Turn 4, entering pit road. Just like Bayley Currey in the previous day’s Truck Series race, Karam’s stall was past the starting line – at Stall 13 – so he completed his first lap on his way to his crew. “I think it’s in second gear,” said Karam, who immediately took last from Alfredo. “It wouldn’t shift.”
On Lap 7, one of Karam’s crew called for someone to “go to the Cup garage and get one out of the 51.” But the Cup garage was closed, so Karam’s car was pushed behind the wall. Seconds later on Lap 8, trouble broke out in Turn 4. Parker Retzlaff, one of Karam’s teammates at Jordan Anderson Racing, lost control of his #31 Funkaway Chevrolet in Turns 3 and 4. As his car cut left, he collected a passing Sam Mayer in the inside line. The result ripped open the panel in front of Retzlaff’s left-rear wheel and also damaged the right-front of Mayer’s Chevrolet. Both made it to pit road, but when Mayer’s car went up on the jack, the right-front wheel dangled from broken suspension. By Lap 9, Mayer’s car was pushed behind the wall, out of the race under the “Damaged Vehicle Policy.”
Retzlaff rejoined the race and cleared the “Crash Clock” by Lap 16, when he lost a lap to the leaders. On Lap 32, Karam returned to the track 31 lap down in last place, and six laps behind the retired Mayer. That same lap saw Shane Van Gisbergen pull behind the wall in the #97 WeatherTech Chevrolet for what was determined to be a valve spring. He also had issues in practice, coming out nine minutes into the session after problems in inspection. NASCAR instructed Van Gisbergen’s crew that, if he returned to the track, he’d have to serve a penalty for too many crew members over the wall. Karam, meanwhile, came up to speed and finally completed his second lap on the 34th circuit. By Lap 41, he’d dropped Mayer to last place, then bumped Van Gisbergen to 37th on Lap 73. Van Gisbergen’s team did plan to return to the race so their rookie driver could turn more laps, but ultimately pulled out of the race, taking 37th.
Karam climbed no higher than 36th, pulling behind the wall at least once more with the transmission issue he had at the start. Retzlaff remained 35th, his damaged car stalling at the end of pit road after a fuel cable snapped. Rounding out the group was Dawson Cram, whose #4 KSDT CPA Chevrolet finished eight laps down, but under power.
LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This marked the first last-place finish for the #1 in a XFINITY Series race at Las Vegas.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
38) #1-Sam Mayer / 7 laps / crash
37) #97-Shane Van Gisbergen / 27 laps / engine
36) #32-Sage Karam / 104 laps / transmission
35) #31-Parker Retzlaff / 115 laps / fuel pump
34) #4-Dawon Cram / 192 laps / running
2024 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) DGM Racing, JR Motorsports, Jordan Anderson Racing (1)
2024 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (3)
2024 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
