In a thrilling race at Road America, young talent Sam Mayer soared to victory, claiming his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series win. The 20-year-old from Franklin, Wisconsin, achieved a momentous feat, becoming the 14th driver in as many Xfinity Series races to win the Road America track.

Mayer’s win marked the fourth time a driver claimed their first series trophy in 2023, solidifying the belief that new talents are emerging to challenge the status quo. The renowned NASCAR analyst, Dale Earnhardt Jr, couldn’t be prouder of Mayer’s achievement. In his podcast, he expressed his admiration for the young talent and delved into Sam’s challenges to reach this milestone.

Dale Earnhardt Jr toasts Sam Mayer’s triumph amidst high expectations

Dale Earnhardt Jr applauded Sam Mayer’s victorious performance at Road America. He commended the young driver’s ability to handle the pressures of competing in the highly competitive Xfinity Series at such a tender age.

He congratulated Mayer saying, “Congratulations is in order. Sam Mayer wins his very first NASCAR Xfinity race and his very first race for junior Motorsports. And actually that I don’t know is true actually he raised in the late mile stock series and won for Hendrick Motorsports.”

Junior reminisced about his own youth and pondered whether he could have handled the expectations and delivered as well as Mayer did. He acknowledged the difficulty of facing such a high-stakes race but also recognized that the young driver’s exceptional talent and determination had risen to the occasion. Dale emphasized, “He’s very young, not even old enough to do a beer toast, right? He’s going to do some chocolate milk. We did the beer toast.”

However, Dale doesn’t want Mayer to be overconfident of his achievement as he said, “I think back to myself at that age and would I be able to manage the expectations and deliver I’m not sure, you know. I really don’t think I had it all together to be able to accomplish and do what he does. And I hesitate to say that because I don’t want him to think that what he’s doing is good enough.”

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Slow and steady wins the race – Junior’s influence on Mayer’s racecraft

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Dale Earnhardt Jr, who has been closely mentoring Mayer, revealed an interesting facet of the young driver’s approach to racing. Mayer is known for his eagerness to push the limits right from the start of a race, sometimes to the detriment of his own performance. Earnhardt humorously mentioned how he advised the fiery driver to calm down during the initial laps, emphasizing the importance of pacing oneself.

Dale mentioned, “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!’”

The NASCAR community may have playfully remarked about Mayer’s hot-headedness, but Dale Jr saw it as an opportunity for growth. He worked with Mayer to refine his craft and steer clear of unnecessary troubles on the track. The supportive mentor noted that Mayer might have secured the win even earlier without those setbacks.

Junior said, “Man, if you don’t have the troubles, you win this race. So fix that!” All lessons came to fruition as Sam Mayer added his name to the list of winners at the iconic track!

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