Sam Mayer claims a little scoop of heaven in Texas
FORT WORTH, Texas — Sam Mayer claimed a little scoop of heaven with a close win in the Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway.
Mayer beat Ryan Sieg by 0.002 seconds in the closest finish in TMS history. It was one of the second-closest finish in NASCAR Xfinity Series history.
“Racing Ryan there at the end was a blast. Props to Ryan for getting the lead. I was like, ‘Holy cow! He shot out of a cannon on that restart!'” Mayer said post-race. “That’s the last person you want to beat in a close finish. I have so much respect for the Sieg organization and Ryan himself.”
Sieg tied his best career finish. In 341 previous starts, he also finished second at Iowa Speedway in June 2017 and at Talladega Superspeedway in October 2020.
This one stung a little more coming so close.
“We just gotta do a little bit more… agh. It sucks. But we’ll grow,” Sieg said. “He’s younger. I’m trying to win with all the chances I got left. He’s gonna have a lot more opportunities.”
Sieg turns 37 on June 20 and is in his 11th full-time Xfinity Series season.
MORE: Ryan Sieg, the Texas-sized hero to NASCAR underdogs
TOP-10 FINISHERS: Mayer (led 5 of 200 laps), Sieg (17) Justin Allgaier (117), A.J. Allmendinger, Cole Custer (1), Austin Hill (25), Ryan Truex, Sammy Smith, Jesse Love (1), Anthony Alfredo
THROUGH THE FIELD
Brandon Jones had the lead with 21 laps to go. He fell back to 13th.
Chandler Smith finished 15th after leading 26 laps. Smith got damage in an incident involving teammate Sheldon Creed in turn two during stage two. Creed led two laps but finished 19th.
Parker Kligerman finished 25th after leading four laps.
Kyle Sieg, the brother of Ryan Sieg and teammate at the Sieg family-owned RSS Racing, finished 14th. That is his best finish of the 2024 season and third-best finish on a non-draft-heavy track.
RACE RUNDOWN
Seven cautions fell, putting the race under caution for 35 laps. Stage one saw a caution for Daniel Dye spinning in turn two on lap 13. The stage ended on lap 45.
STAGE ONE TOP-10: Allgaier, C. Smith, Riley Herbst, Jones, Custer, Truex, Hill, Sieg, Allmendinger, Kligerman
Turn two was trouble for Leland Honeyman who spun there on lap 81, bringing out the only caution of stage two.
STAGE TWO TOP-10: Allgaier, Custer, Herbst, Jones, Sieg, S. Smith, Hill, Love, Allmendinger, Mayer
If you notice a pattern, Allgaier was dominant Saturday. He took the lead on lap 28 and led 113 of the next 115 laps.
Mayer and Creed each led a lap, then Hill led 25 laps, as they stayed out longer than Allgaier and other leaders in stage three.
Allgaier regained the lead but there were cracks in his armor. Riley Herbst dogged Allgaier as Allgaier tried getting around Honeyman in turn two. The two came together, resulting in Honeyman spinning and hitting the wall on lap 174.
The caution shuffled the field around, eventually giving the advantage to Mayer and Sieg while Allgaier struggled in traffic.
“This track became race-y in turn three and he was, fast,” Mayer said. “I’m gonna let this guy win this race and all of a sudden Kevin [Hamlin] said, ‘Run the bottom’ but the cards fell right.”
Mayer struck when the iron was hot and earned his fifth Xfinity Series win. His second oval Xfinity Series win earned him the elusive ice cream cone trophy.
“When Noah won in 2020, I was jealous of this trophy and I wanted to win it. This is going to be the centerpiece in my dining room,” Mayer said.
NEXT: Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega Superspeedway, April 20. 4 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com