Connor Zilisch may be the hotshot of Xfinity right now, but he has somebody on his heels. The JR Motorsports phenom collected his season’s fifth victory at Indianapolis last weekend, cementing a legendary status. However, that status is constantly at threat due to a rival, an ex-JRM driver. This NASCAR personality finished runner-up in Indy and arguably helped Zilisch to win with a push.
That mysterious racer is none other than Sam Mayer, Haas Factory Team’s No. 41 driver. His comparison with Zilisch aside, Mayer is counting his days until the next Victory Lane visit. With the sparkling stats and jaw-dropping finishes, that is far from a distant dream.
On the hunt for the next NASCAR trophy
Sam Mayer drove for JR Motorsports for three years, picking up 7 trophies through 2023-2024. However, his victorious streak screeched to an end after that, as he shifted OEMs from Chevrolet to Ford. Wheeling the No. 41 Ford for HFT, Mayer has yet to clinch his first win in 2025. But he has been too close too many times. He finished runner-up thrice this season, at Daytona, Homestead-Miami, and Indianapolis last weekend. During the final laps of NASCAR’s Pennzoil 250 race, Mayer was thrown into a battle with Connor Zilisch and Taylor Gray. In a push to get ahead of Gray, Mayer ended up pushing Zilisch, who took control on lap 99 of 100 and eventually grabbed the win.
Yet another near miss stung like a heartbreak for Sam Mayer. Nevertheless, Mayer is determined to get it done any weekend now. He said in a recent episode of NASCAR Live: “Not having a win definitely stings a little bit, ’cause there’s probably three or four that we could have. We had three runner-ups, so we’ve been close many times…But it’s just a matter of when, not a matter of if, ’cause this team has worked their tails off all year and given me fast cars that are capable.”
Presently, Sam Mayer boasts 12 top tens and 9 top fives, occupying the 3rd rank in the championship standings. That is just one spot shy of Connor Zilisch’s place, so Mayer has a legitimate chance of toppling the young prodigy with a win. Mayer is focusing on the NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs, as he continued: “I’d love to win two races, probably something like that, at least one by the time the playoffs come around ’cause those five extra points will go all the way. We’re looking to build a cushion up at this point, but we have a lot of work to do for sure.”
Sam Mayer also talked about aiming for a regular-season championship. Basically, anything that would throw off the dominance of his rivals, like Zilisch. He said, “We’ve been lighting the world on fire for sure. There have been other cars that have been absolutely unbeatable as of late, but we’ve been right up their tailpipe…the last couple of weeks. So I feel good about what we have.”
While the Haas Factory Team star meticulously pursues his goals, he also has time for a laugh break.
A hilarious fix for a blunder
Sam Mayer was under the spotlight early on last weekend. He wheeled his No. 41 Ford to his season’s first pole victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Mayer completed his pole-winning lap in a time of 54.014 seconds around the famed 2.5-mile oval. He hit a top speed of 166.623 mph. After he confidently climbed out of his car, Mayer faced an unexpected dilemma with the camera.
He was talking to pit reporter Kim Coon, “I knew that we were going to be really good. I was really confident. This team did a really good job last year and,-“ until Coon cut him short. She made him face the camera, which Mayer had his back to. Then Mayer smoothly handled it: “Camera is over here, and that’s great. Obviously, I’m a professional at this.” The young driver elicited a round of laughter from the surrounding press people.
Journalist Joseph Srigly also reshared this hilarious interaction on X. He wrote, hailing Sam Mayer’s humorous instincts: “This may be one of the funniest interview moments in #NASCAR history… and it didn’t even look like it phased @sam_mayer_ at all. “The cameras over here, that’s great, obviously a professional at this…” Amazing.”
Sam Mayer is clearly poised and calm about his Xfinity Series run. Let us wait and see when the young racer finally reaches Victory Lane in the following races!
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