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NASCAR Official 'Anticipates Something Coming' From Mayer-Burton Tussle

Originally posted on Racing America on SI
By Joseph Srigley | Last updated Oct 28, 2025 12:24 PM ET

There’s a distinct possibility that Sam Mayer, driver of the No. 41 Audibel Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Haas Factory Team, has already taken the final checkered flag of his 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series campaign, following his post-race actions at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday.

An eight-time NASCAR Xfinity Series race-winner, Mayer was engrained in the battle to advance to the Championship 4 throughout Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs event at the half-mile paperclip, but despite a seventh-place finish, came up just short.

The Franklin, Wisconsin-native’s elimination didn’t come without some fireworks, though.

After several points of contact throughout the 250-lapper on Saturday, it appeared that Mayer had picked up an adversary: Jeb Burton, driver of the No. 27 NORMA Precision Ammunition Chevrolet for Jordan Anderson Racing.

Burton was beyond unhappy about the way he had been raced on Saturday – as was evident by listening to his radio communication throughout the race – and whenever he got the opportunity to show his displeasure to the driver of the black and green No. 41 Ford, he did just that. But it notably did not cost the Haas Factory Team driver much of anything in terms of track position.

That little bit of late-race contact, though? That was enough to send Mayer over the edge, and once the checkered flag was displayed, the driver of the No. 41 made a retaliatory move entering the first corner, dumping the No. 27 Chevrolet into the outside wall.

There were, surprisingly, not words between Mayer and Burton following Saturday’s event, but there’s a good chance that was at the direction of team owner Jordan Anderson. Instead, Anderson was the one who confronted Mayer on pit road for a heated discussion.

.@sam_mayer_ was not happy with @JebBurtonRacing after the race. pic.twitter.com/PIrQHCTTY9
— The CW Sports (@TheCW_Sports) October 26, 2025

Jordan Anderson Racing fields two full-time entries in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with a third, and sometimes even a fourth, part-time entry, with a much tighter budget than Haas Factory Team, so an incident like this definitely has a bigger impact on JAR than it does HFT.

Elton Sawyer, Senior Vice President of Competition for NASCAR, spoke to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Tuesday and confirmed that he anticipates something will come out regarding the tussle between Burton and Mayer, but isn’t exactly sure what, as that will require further review from a competition panel at NASCAR headquarters.

“Having those types of incidents after the checkered flag is just not something we’re going to tolerate,” said Sawyer. “So, we’ll get with our team today here and discuss it and see what the next steps are.”

When it comes to intentionally wrecking another driver, NASCAR's past precedent usually dictates a one-race suspension, which would have Mayer out for the final event of the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series campaign -- and the final race of HFT's tenure as a Ford Performance team.

"I'll let our series director, in this case, Eric Peterson run points, he'll talk to both drivers in this case, get their side of the story," Sawyer added regarding the procedures. "We'll go back and look at all the replays, we'll look at the race as an entirety to see what unfolded early on, and we take all that, we sit down and look at prior situations that are similar and we'll make a decision on how we move forward."

Who Could Jump In The No. 41 If Needed?

It's unknown who exactly would be replacing Mayer in the No. 41 Ford Mustang Dark Horse, should he be suspended from Phoenix. Some potential options could include Ryan Sieg, who drives for the Haas-aligned RSS Racing. Layne Riggs, who was just eliminated from the Championship 4 at Martinsville for the NASCAR Truck Series, is a Ford Racing driver and could potentially get the call-up.

There are some additional possibilities, as well, like NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series drivers Chandler Smith (who ran in the Xfinity Series last season), or Jake Garcia (who attempted his debut in the second-tier series at Talladega). Matt Crafton is a little bit more of an unlikely option, but has played 'super sub' in the past when needed, but would he be willing to do so in his final weekend as a full-time Truck Series driver?

NASCAR typically makes final announcements regarding post-race penalties via a penalty report on Tuesday or Wednesday.

This article first appeared on Racing America on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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