Sam Mayer Takes First Win of Season in HyVee Perks 250; Remains Undefeated in NASCAR's Return to Iowa

Jeffrey Hrunka - INDYCAR Contributor

Riley Ogle (Motorsports Today, 2025)

Back to back.

Sam Mayer stays undefeated in the NASCAR Xfinity Series second year back at Iowa Speedway. He led 28 laps en route to his first win of the season in the HyVee Perks 250 on Saturday afternoon. 

“We’ve put so much work in this year to chase the checkered flag,” Mayer said. “We’ve been close so many times this season, and to finally get it feels really good.” 

This victory didn’t come easy for the 22-year-old Wisconsin native, as pit road issues plagued him on two separate occasions. Both mistakes happened on the first and last stops of the day. On Lap 64, Mayer overshot his pit box, falling from fourth to 17th. With 52 laps to go, a portion of the team’s pit gun was caught under the front bumper, which lost him several positions.

“One of it’s my fault and one of it’s not my fault,” said Mayer. “We can point fingers at each other, but at the end of the day, the guys that come over the wall for me, the guys that build this race car for me, everyone in the shop… We all kind of have a get-along attitude. If something goes wrong, we don’t care.” 

Love sat in the catbird seat, holding off Mayer on back-to-back restarts on Lap 207 and Lap 220. However, oil left on the racetrack by Matt DiBenedetto from contact on the latter restart set Love out of the groove and the cars of Chastain and Brandon Jones spinning. Each driver finished second, third and 23rd, respectively.

JR Motorsports had three cars inside the top five with under 50 laps to go, until all three of them wrecked one another. Connor Zilisch got loose underneath, Chastain, who in turn hooked Justin Allgaier, which brought out the penultimate caution. Zilisch remained in fourth while Allgaier was relegated to 16th.

The incident effectively granted Zilisch the points lead, as he entered the weekend 21 points behind his teammate. Both drivers sit atop the standings tied, but Zilisch claimed the points lead by having five wins to Allgaier’s three. Mayer sits third in the standings, cutting his deficit to the duo to 41 points.

“It’s going to be a heater for the regular season title now,” Mayer said. “I don’t know exactly what it looks like, but it definitely looks like it’s better for us than it was a week ago. We’re going to keep doggin’ on them and we’re going to keep trying to get better each week.”

Jeb Burton and Harrison Burton entered this weekend ten points on either side of the Xfinity Series playoff cutline. Unfortunately for Jeb Burton, he was out of the mix all race long, crossing the line in 29th.

A fifth-place finish combined points in both stages for Harrison Burton, moving him into the playoff picture in 12th. Ryan Sieg was another beneficiary of Jeb Burton’s bad day, as he jumped him for 13th with an eighth-place finish. Sieg is the first driver out of the playoffs, 17 points behind Harrison Burton.

“I feel like this package and this car, even though it's a single groove track and hard to pass, there's a lot you can do as a driver,” Harrison Burton said. “It’s rewarding to see the results of that and the results of all of our team’s hard work.

Mayer’s win marks the first victory for Ford and Haas Factory Team in the Xfinity Series. With four races left before the start of the playoffs, the group eyes more success.

“The deal that I signed with Haas Factory Team. It's a two-year deal,” Mayer said. “I'm locked and loaded for next year, and I'm freaking trophy hunting next year. I want to optimize myself as much as I possibly can. I'm so excited about it because I know that we can now run for a championship this year and next year.”

HyVee Perks 250 Results:

1. Sam Mayer #41 - (LEADER)

2. Jesse Love #2 -3.289s

3. Ross Chastain #9 -4.858s

4. Connor Zilisch #88 (R)  -5.224s

5. Harrison Burton #25 -6.146s

6. Carson Hocevar #11 -6.966s

7. Sheldon Creed #00  -7.881s

8. Ryan Seig #39 -8.598s

9. Carson Kvapil #1 (R) -10.075s

10. Christian Eckes #16 (R) -11.314s

11.  William Sawalich #18 (R) -12.145s

12. Justin Bonsignore #19 -12.992s

13. Parker Retzlaff #4  -14.233s

14. Austin Dillon #21  -15.131s

15. Sammy Smith #8 -16.501s

16. Justin Allgaier #7 -17.332s

17. Taylor Gray #54 (R) -17.927s

18. Kyle Sieg #28 -18.470s

19. Nick Sanchez #48 (R)  -19.065s

20. Brennan Poole #44 -19.522s

21. Josh Bilicki #91  -26.571s

22. Jeremy Clements #51 -27.161s

23. Brandon Jones #20 -31.526s

24. Corey Day #17 (R) -1 Lap Down

25. Ryan Ellis #71 -1 Lap Down

26. Anthony Alfredo #42  -1 Lap Down

27. Joey Gase #53 -1 Lap Down

28. Blaine Perkins #31 -1 Lap Down

29. Jeb Burton #27 -1 Lap Down

30. Patrick Emerling #07 -1 Lap Down

31. Dean Thompson #26 (R) -2 Laps Down

32. Thomas Annuzziata #70 -2 Laps Down

33. Garrett Smithley #14 -2 Laps Down

34. Tyler Tomassi #35 -10 Laps Down

35. Matt DiBendetto #99 -29 Laps Down (OUT)

36. Daniel Dye #10 (R) -50 Laps Down (OUT)

37. Mason Massey #45 -78 Laps Down (OUT)

38. Dawson Cram #74 -157 Laps Down (OUT)

The NASCAR Xfinity Series returns at Watkins Glen International for the Mission 200 at The Glen on Aug. 9, on the CW.