Home

NASCAR

Sam Mayer’s Completion of NASCAR’s Passage Rites Cuts Short Toyota’s Championship Chase

Published 10/22/2023, 3:03 AM EDT

Follow Us

via Imago

Chevrolet, Toyota, and Ford—without these three companies, today’s stock car racing in NASCAR wouldn’t have been possible. Whenever one thinks of NASCAR, it’s the picture of a car that first comes to mind. Although the Gen-7 cars rely on various other single-source companies for various components, the manufacturers, to this day, provide important parts of the car like the engine block, both cylinder heads, and the intake manifold.

So it goes without saying how important the role of a manufacturer is in NASCAR. Moreover, NASCAR awards the most successful manufacturer, as determined by a points system based on race results. With the similarity of every next-gen car, it’s solely in the manufacturer’s championship that these three companies get to compete with each other. And it looks like Chevy remains as dominant as ever on the Xfinity side of things.

Chevrolet versus Toyota—a battle that just never seems to end

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Despite the resurgence of Ford in the Cup Series this year, a strict look at the results of all the seasonal races would tell the predominant story of the rivalry between Chevrolet and Toyota. Interestingly, the two winningest teams in NASCAR, i.e., Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing, carry that rivalry forward. And the story is no different in the Xfinity Series either.

However, with Sam Mayer’s victory at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday, Chevrolet has clinched the 2023 Bill France Performance Cup in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for the 25th time. The Chevrolet Camaro made its debut as a flagship vehicle in the Xfinity Series back in 2013 and, since then, has earned nine manufacturer’s championship titles. Adding more glory to the Bow Tie brand, this year’s title is its seventh titular win in a row.

According to Speedway Digest, General Motors U.S. Vice President of Performance and Motorsports, Jim Campbell, expressed his mirth at Chevrolet earning the Bill France Performance Cup in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for the seventh consecutive year. He said, “Thank you to the Chevrolet drivers, crew chiefs, and teams for all of their hard work to contribute valuable points toward this special championship.”

Watch this story: NASCAR’s Future: A Power Struggle Brewing?

And with that, JR Motorsports driver Sam Mayer’s dominant run and his fourth win in the last 12 races remain as inconspicuous as ever.

Two birds in one shot for Sam Mayer

Trending

Get instantly notified of the hottest NASCAR stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.

Follow Us

Driving the #1 Chevy for Dale Earnhardt Jr., Sam Mayer had entered the 1.5-mile racetrack in Florida, 6th in the driver’s standings. And after he held off Riley Herbst in the closing laps to be the first one to punch his ticket into the Championship 4, the 20-year-old Wisconsin native’s joy knew no bounds.

Sam Mayer’s biggest career highlight is perhaps his expertise in running on-road courses. The first three victories of his career at Road America, Watkins Glen, and Charlotte ROVAL, all of which are road course circuits, loudly speak of that prowess. But this young man is one to look out for, even when it comes to ovals.

The victory at Homestead-Miami Speedway is his first win at an oval. Moments after coming out of his machine, Sam Mayer was smiling to himself, still in utter disbelief. And when Kim Coon walked up to him and held the microphone out for him, Mayer couldn’t hold back anymore.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

He shouted, “That’s unreal, we won on an oval! I can’t believe it.” Indeed, winning in a road course is one thing but winning on an oval, and that too at an intermediate racetrack like Homestead-Miami that’s well known for having multiple grooves, each quite far away from each other, is surely a marvelous feat for this JRM speedster.

“It’s all about putting a full race together, and I’m so proud of these guys. They kicked tail on pit road, and we made it happen,” he added with a big smile on his face.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Nevertheless, it was an unfortunate day for Stewart-Haas Racing and Riley Herbst. Coming in second at such a decisive moment must have hurt quite a bit. It’s only a matter of time before we get to see who’ll join Mayer in the championship battle. Martinsville will be a witness to that.

NASCAR Xfinity Driver Sam Mayer Apologises to Official Hurt in his Brawl with Ty Gibbs

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Soumyadeep Saha

486Articles

One take at a time

Soumyadeep Saha is a NASCAR Author at EssentiallySports. Holding a Master's degree in English literature from a top-tier university, he has always had a great affinity for writing. In the past couple of years, he has channeled his love and commitment for stock cars into building a career path in the arena of Motorsports Journalism.
Show More>

Edited by:

Shivali Nathta