Sam Mayer charged his way around Indianapolis Motor Speedway all afternoon, but fell one spot short at the end. (Photo Credit: Zach Irvine | The Podium Finish)
SPEEDWAY, Ind. — It’s safe to say that Sam Mayer is still hungry for his first victory of not only the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series campaign, but also claiming the first victory under the new Haas Factory Team banner, as he finished runner-up to Connor Zilisch in Saturday’s Pennzoil 250 at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The finish marks the third runner-up finish of the season, as well as lowering his average finish to 10.3, which ranks second best amongst the other full-time competitors this season.
Starting from pole position in Saturday’s 100-lap sprint, Mayer battled against the JR Motorsports duo of Connor Zilisch and defending Xfinity Series champion Justin Allgaier. He showcased his strength by leading the first 30 laps, ultimately earning the Stage 1 victory.
After pitting between stages, Mayer restarted fourth and spent much of Stage 2 battling in the middle of the top 10. He slipped back briefly to eighth around lap 51 but worked his way up to seventh before the stage ended.
Sam Mayer (pictured in third place) on the final restart of the 2025 Pennzoil 250 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (Photo Credit: Zach Irvine | The Podium Finish)
As the final stretch of the event began, Mayer quickly moved up to third place. However, a series of cautions, including several due to weather conditions, shuffled the field and created chaotic restarts. After briefly dropping to fifth, Mayer took advantage when Allgaier hit the wall while leading, allowing him to surge back to third place. On the final restart with four laps to go, he overtook Taylor Gray to claim second place and maintained that position through the checkered flag. Ultimately, he finished just 0.339 seconds behind Zilisch, who secured the 100th win in JR Motorsports’ history.
“Proud of these guys,” Mayer remarked about the strong finish. “They put the work in the last couple of weeks. We’ve been getting better and better every time we show up at the racetrack. We brought a heater here for sure.”
Mayer finds himself with a massive points cushion as the Xfinity Series inches closer to the beginning of the playoffs, as he sits with a 193-point buffer above the provisional playoff cutline heading into the upcoming race at Iowa Speedway on Saturday, August 2nd.
Coverage of the race will be aired live on The CW at 4:30 p.m. ET, with radio coverage provided by The Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.
