Can consistent Sam Mayer rise to a championship-sized challenge?

Sam Mayer has developed a reputation as one of the more clutch drivers in the NASCAR Xfinity Series field in recent years — no pun intended. 

Walk-off wins at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval in both 2023 and 2024 lifted Mayer to the Round of 8. In 2023, Mayer carried that momentum to a Championship 4 appearance at Phoenix, his lone appearance in the championship race to date. 

After a three-year stint with JR Motorsports, Mayer joined the rebranded Haas Factory Team for 2025, and while the results have been good, he'll likely need more to make it back to Phoenix. 

Time for Sam Mayer to rise to the occasion

To his credit, Mayer has been consistent this season. Thirteen top-five finishes and 16 top-10s is nothing to sneeze at, especially for a driver with an organization that has been through massive upheaval and change in the last calendar year. 

Still, for all the speed the No. 41 Ford has had this season, Mayer only has one win — Iowa Speedway on Aug. 2 — to show for it. In order for Mayer to get back to Phoenix and chase his first championship, another win might have to materialize. 

Mayer does enter Saturday's Round of 8 opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on the plus side of the cut line by two points, but that leaves little margin for error. Las Vegas has been hit-or-miss for Mayer, but he finished fifth at the track in March. Talladega, meanwhile, has not been kind to Mayer — he only has one top-10 in seven 'Dega starts. 

Martinsville could be Mayer's best shot at winning his way to the Championship 4, as he has five top 10s in eight starts, including a fifth-place effort in March. The tricky part of attempting to map out Mayer's run to Phoenix is that, while he'll have speed, he may not have the winning speed nor the right tracks at his disposal in order to get back to the Championship 4. 

But these are the moments that turn drivers into superstars. And for a driver like Mayer who undoubtedly has his sights set on a future Cup Series ride, these are the moments where he has to show that he can rise to the occasion, even when his circumstances aren't ideal.