Sam Mayer snatches Talladega defeat from the jaws of victory

As has happened so many times to so many different drivers over the years, Sam Mayer was in position to win Saturday's NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Talladega Superspeedway on the final lap until a last-lap incident relegated him to a poor result.

Mayer was battling Corey Day for the lead on the last lap of Saturday's Ag-Pro 300 when contact from Brent Crews sent him spinning down the backstretch. 

Mayer finished 25th, a far cry from what would've been a trip to victory lane and his first superspeedway win. Still, his drive on Saturday afternoon was an impressive one, given that he nearly spun in the closing laps and had to drive his way back into the top five late. 

Sam Mayer's thoughts on Talladega near miss

"We were cooking there," Mayer told CW Sports. "The fact that we were even in that spot to have a shot at it after almost getting spun off [turn] 2 and saving it is a ton of fun."

"Hats off to everyone at the shop. I felt like it was going to be an awesome finish. Just move onto the next one and hopefully we can finish it."

Mayer is 14th in the series standings through 11 races, 29 points back of Rajah Caruth for the 12th and final provisional Chase berth.