Sam Mayer Scores First Career Points-Paying TA2 Victory

Overview:

Date:  July 3, 2021

Event:  Trans Am at Road America (Round 6 of 12)

Series:  Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli (TA2)

Location:  Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin

Layout:  4.048-mile, 14-turn road course

Format:  25 laps or 75 minutes

Race Winner:  Sam Mayer of TeamSLR (took lead on lap nine and held it through to the finish)

TeamSLR:

• Sam Mayer – Started 3rd, Finished 1st (Running, completed 25/25 laps)

• Austin Dillon – Started 38th, Finished 5th (Running, completed 25/25 laps)

• Connor Mosack – Started 4th, Finished 23rd (Accident, completed 21/25 laps)

• Austin Green – Started 5th, Finished 30th (Mechanical, completed 6/25 laps)

Sam Mayer, Driver No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro, TeamSLR:

“It’s huge to get the win. First of all, winning in my home state, at my home track, in front of all my friends and family is a blessing, to say the least. Obviously, the Xfinity Series side today didn’t go as planned, whatsoever. But we rebounded really good and I felt really good after the wreck. Unfortunately, they were having to go home early but we were able to bring it home here today.”

Mayer is from Franklin, Wisconsin. He is a two-time ARCA Menards Series East champion (2019-2020) and won his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race in his just his seventh career start last September at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. Shortly after turning 18 on June 26, Mayer made his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut last Sunday at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. He is now the fulltime driver of the No. 8 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports and he pulled double duty at Road America, competing in the TA2 race for TeamSLR and the Henry 180 Xfinity Series race for JR Motorsports. Road America marked Mayer’s eighth career Trans Am start.

Connor Mosack, Driver No. 28 Chevrolet Camaro, TeamSLR:

“I think we had good speed in the car. It’s just that once we got into second place there behind Sam (Mayer), just running with him, I felt like we were just riding even though I was faster than him for a while. But then the car started to get really free and he started driving away. And then (Mike) Skeen caught back up to me and I was just trying to hold him off. In turn 13, he was a lot better than I was there, so I was just trying to roll into there a little bit deeper and kind of lost it on entry. Once I caught the grass, it just slid all the way to the wall. It really sucks, but it’s good to have good speed and I think we can carry that on through the rest of the year. I think we still have a good shot at winning.”

Austin Dillon, Driver No. 92 Chevrolet Camaro, TeamSLR:

“Man, that was a fun race today. I made a mistake early because I didn’t have my earplugs in, so luckily we got a caution lap there, I came down and put my earplugs in and I didn’t get to the back of the field, so I spotted them a couple of seconds there. I was in turn 14 and everybody was in turn one. We were able to make a long run, I cannot believe it went 25 green, but we drove up through there. The car was really good. I was more impressed that we actually got on the track after destroying the car in practice – the brakes went out in turn eight. Scott (Lagasse) and his guys put a front clip on there, pulled and pushed the thing back together, and we ran the second-fastest lap of the race, which was nice. I was looking for a caution to see what we could do with them. But it was a good race. Those TA2 cars are awesome. The field of 38 cars is really impressive and I think it bodes well for the series.”

Austin Green, Driver No. 96 Chevrolet Camaro, TeamSLR:

“We qualified P5, so first time here in a Trans Am car at Road America, I’d say is pretty good. Just kind of riding there in the beginning, trying to make laps and get to the finish. But TeamSLR brought me a good car this weekend and I can’t thank the QPS Employment Group and Jagemann Stamping Company enough. Without them, none of this would have been possible. We had a little fuel pressure issue at the end that took us out of contention, but that’s racing, I guess.”

Next Up:

The Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli heads to Brainerd (Minn.) International Raceway July 16-18 for its seventh points-paying race of the 2021 season. Practice at the 2.5-mile, 13-turn road course begins July 16 with qualifying on July 17 and the race taking place on July 18. Coverage will be livestreamed via the Trans Am by Pirelli Racing App, which can be downloaded on Apple iOS and Android Google Play. The app features high-definition onboard footage and real-time data, including live timing and scoring. A week pass can be purchased for $9.99, or an annual pass for $59.99. (NOTE: Downloading the app is free and free content is available, but a subscription is needed to watch live, on-track action.)