When a 2x Xfinity Series champion with a 16.6 win percentage gives you pointers about how to win a race in the Xfinity Series, you make notes diligently. This is exactly what the latest winner of the Xfinity race held at Road America did. However, sometimes, the adrenaline rushing through youthful veins revolt and he resorts to other measures.
Sitting with Mike Davis at the Bojangles Studio on Thursday, Dale Earnhardt Jr revealed the hamartia in the otherwise booming career graph of the #1 Chevrolet Camaro driver for JR Motorsports.
Dale Earnhardt Jr is proud as his hothead driver finally learns why slow and steady wins the race
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A diamond does not start out polished and shining. It takes time and patience to own the luster that dazzles everyone. Even in stock car racing, it is important to be patient and keep practicing one’s skills behind the wheel in order to shine. However, patience is probably the one thing that Dale Jr‘s promising driver lacks.
In an episode of The Dale Jr. Download, veteran racer and NBC analyst Dale Earnhardt Jr revealed the three words that he told Sam Mayer after he had crashed at a race earlier in New Hampshire.
Usually, any driver would wait till the later stages before pushing the limits or running into others. But Sam Mayer has a tendency to start doing it from lap 1. Several insiders and fans in the NASCAR community have joked about this trait of the young gun.
Junior said, “We’ve been working with him on cleaning up his racecraft […] I’m like, ‘Sam, if you could just calm down that first lap, there’s no need to be hitting a fence running so freaking hard that you’re bouncing off the wall. Calm way down!'”
Watch this story: Kenny Wallace’s “Dumb Mother****er” Rant Left Dale Earnhardt Jr Panicking in Front of Wife Amy
When Sam started talking about how he came back from all the troubles after having remedied them, Dale Jr said, “Man, if you don’t have the troubles, you win this race. So fix that!”
The young Chevy star posted a tweet saying that he was super thankful to his team and that he felt like it was a learning experience for him.
Lots to be proud of today, and lots to learn on. Some things are in your control and some things are not. Super thankful for my #1 team staying in it today. @JRMotorsports pic.twitter.com/fXrexFRAmG
— Sam Mayer (@sam_mayer_) July 15, 2023
With the right attitude, you do not lose, you learn
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Fast forward to Road America, Sam’s victory had Dale Earnhardt Jr showering praises on him. While everybody else was losing their heads due to the tricky course of the race, Sam Mayer took advantage of the situation and snatched the victory.
Win number 1 for @sam_mayer_
Win number 75 for JRM https://t.co/yhKwhDi7Us— JR Motorsports (@JRMotorsports) July 29, 2023
Junior said, “From the beginning of the weekend, the track was super slick, new pavement; nobody could get off line. You were spinning out of the racetrack easily, so you had to tip-toe all the way around the racetrack. And then it is covered in speedy dry for the last two laps and you saw what happened to many drivers…”
For a driver who the entire JR Motorsports knows to be highly impulsive, keeping a cool head and winning the race at Road America was an enormous accomplishment. Even his boss was very happy with his performance.
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“I’m so proud of Sam. He’s very young. At that age, would I be able to manage the expectations and deliver? I’m not sure, I really don’t think I had it all together to be able to accomplish and do what he does,” exclaimed Junior.
However, Dale Jr knows how important it is to stay rooted to the ground. He believes that true greatness can only be achieved through constant effort. He praised Sam but admitted that he wants the #1 driver to keep improving every day.
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“I don’t want him to think that what he is doing is good enough. You always want them trying to continue to improve,” he concluded.
Read more: “Just Plain Ugly” – Owner Dale Earnhardt Jr Savagely Trolls JR Motorsports Critic on Twitter