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NASCAR XFINITY Series

Sam Mayer Collects Dash 4 Cash Check at Richmond

(Photo: Molly Gastineau | The Podium Finish)

RICHMOND, Va. — Sam Mayer didn’t win Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at Richmond Raceway, but for him, it certainly felt like it. With a third-place finish, Mayer took home $100,000 to win the Dash 4 Cash event of the season

“I’m figuring it out,” Mayer said. “The team knows what they have to do. And they’re doing a really damn good job of it. It’s just about staying clean, staying out there.”

Mayer finished in the top five for the second consecutive race. He finished 20th or worse in four of the first races this season, but now, he has some momentum and luck.

“We’ve had speed [at] every single track this year so far,” he said. “We’re up there, we can find our way up there, we’ve just got to manage to stay up there, stay clean and kind of mind our own business.”

For most of the race, AJ Allmendinger led Mayer, Austin Hill and Noah Gragson in the Dash 4 Cash battle. Hill struggled and finished 18th while Gragson had brake problems and finished 21st.

Allmendinger finished top five in each of the first two stages while Mayer finished tenth and seventh. The final stage stayed green in its entirety and most cars began to fade from tire wear.

“Everyone was slowing down with tires, but I feel everyone was getting worse and worse,” Mayer said. “I was too a little bit, but the progression down wasn’t as steep.”

With about 18 laps to go, Mayer moved into the top five and passed Allmendinger for third. He couldn’t catch Ty Gibbs and John Hunter Nemechek for the lead, but he held on to leave $100,000 richer.

“They left [the radio] completely quiet because they know better,” Mayer said. “I would definitely overdrive it if they told me what was going on.”

With his Dash 4 Cash victory, Mayer remains eligible for another $100,000 next week at Martinsville Speedway. But, more importantly, he feels he’s inching closer to an Xfinity Series victory.

“I have to have the confidence going into next week,” Mayer said. “There’s so much incentive just to run well and prove that my name belongs here because that’s what Xfinity is all about.

“But, I think I can do it.”

Nathan Solomon serves as the managing editor of The Podium Finish. He has been part of the team since 2021 and is accredited by the National Motorsports Press Association. Solomon is a senior in the Jandoli School of Communication at St. Bonaventure University. Contact him at NSolly02@Yahoo.com.

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