Sam Mayer Bio
Samuel Adam Mayer (born June 26, 2003) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, driving the No. 41 Chevrolet Camaro SS for Haas Factory Team. Mayer has emerged as one of the most promising young talents in NASCAR, having captured multiple championships before reaching the national series level.
Over the course of his young career, Mayer has stacked championships and victories across stock car racing’s developmental ladder. He is a two-time East Series champion, an ARCA Menards Series winner, and a proven race winner at the NASCAR Xfinity Series level. His steady rise through the sport has been marked by speed, race craft, and the poise of a driver well beyond his years.
Early Life and Background
Samuel Adam Mayer was born on June 26, 2003, in Franklin, Wisconsin. He grew up in a household with deep ties to motorsport, as his father, Scott Mayer, was an open-wheel racer before transitioning into the business world. Scott Mayer is the founder of QPS Employment Group and Accelerate Professional Talent Solutions, the company that has served as a primary sponsor throughout his son’s NASCAR career. The family’s Wisconsin roots and racing heritage helped shape Sam’s early interest in competition.
Mayer began his racing journey at the age of four, competing in go-kart events. Although his father came from an open-wheel background, Sam chose to focus on stock car racing during his preteen years. In the summer of 2017, after turning fourteen, he traveled to Charlotte, North Carolina, to compete in Legends cars and won the Young Lions division of the Charlotte Motor Speedway Summer Shootout. He also picked up a Limited Late Model win at Greenville-Pickens Speedway, becoming the track’s youngest winner.
After his Charlotte summer, Mayer returned to Wisconsin and won a Midwest Truck Series race at Dells Raceway Park in his very first series start. Those early successes across karts, Legends cars, and Late Models laid the foundation for his move into NASCAR’s development ladder.
Path to NASCAR
Mayer’s entry into NASCAR’s pipeline came through industry veteran Lorin Ranier, who secured him a Late Model ride with JR Motorsports in the CARS Tour for 2018. During that CARS Tour season, Mayer was voted the Most Popular Driver and picked up his first victory at Wake County Speedway. He also competed in the World Series of Asphalt, finishing second to Stephen Nasse, and ran a limited slate with MDM Motorsports in both the ARCA Racing Series and the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East.
Because both ARCA and the K&N Pro Series East had minimum-age restrictions, Mayer’s 2018 schedule was carefully managed around the tracks that permitted fifteen-year-old competitors. In his first ARCA race, he ran as high as third and finished inside the top ten. That same year he was also named the CARS Late Model Stock Tour Rookie of the Year, a strong sign of the talent that was about to surface on a national stage.
On December 5, 2018, GMS Racing announced that Mayer would run a full K&N Pro Series East schedule in 2019, along with seven ARCA races and four NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series starts. The move formally launched his full-time journey through NASCAR’s development ranks.
Sam Mayer Career
Early Career (2018-2019)
Mayer wasted little time making his mark in NASCAR’s East Series. He scored his first K&N East victory at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 6, 2019, leading every lap of the race. That kind of dominance quickly became a hallmark of his early national-level starts.
In 2019, Mayer won the K&N Pro Series East championship at sixteen years, three months, and eight days old, becoming the youngest NASCAR national-series champion. The previous record had been held by Todd Gilliland, who was sixteen years and five months old when he won in 2016. Mayer ended the 2019 season with four wins and top-ten finishes in all but one race, cementing his status as a top prospect.
NASCAR Xfinity Series Breakthrough (2021-2024)
Mayer moved into the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2022 with JR Motorsports, taking over the No. 1 Chevrolet previously driven by Michael Annett. His rookie year produced a best finish of second at Talladega and a seventh-place result in the final championship standings. A memorable moment came at Martinsville in the spring, when a late-race bump-and-run on Ty Gibbs led to a post-race altercation on pit road between the two young drivers.
The 2023 season marked Mayer’s true breakthrough at the national level. He won his first career Xfinity Series race at Road America, then added victories at Watkins Glen, the Charlotte Roval, and Homestead-Miami Speedway to advance to the Championship 4. He finished third in the final points standings that year. In 2024, Mayer scored a razor-thin win at Texas, beating Ryan Sieg by 0.002 seconds in one of the closest finishes in Xfinity Series history, and added another win at Iowa before taking the Charlotte Roval again during the playoffs.
Haas Factory Team Era (2025-Present)
On August 17, 2024, Mayer signed with Haas Factory Team to drive the No. 41 Ford beginning in 2025, ending his multi-year run at JR Motorsports. The move paired one of NASCAR’s top young drivers with a young organization looking to establish itself in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.
Mayer opened his Haas Factory Team tenure with a strong second-place finish at Daytona. He stayed consistent through the early portion of the season and then captured a win at Iowa, delivering Haas Factory Team’s first career victory and Ford’s first win of the 2025 campaign. The result signaled that both the driver and the team had quickly found a competitive rhythm.
Driving Style and Strengths
Mayer has built his reputation on versatility across track types. He has shown equal comfort on short tracks, intermediate ovals, road courses, and superspeedways, with wins at Road America, Watkins Glen, the Charlotte Roval, and Homestead. His race craft blends patience with late-race aggression, whether producing dramatic bump-and-run moves or pulling off nail-biting photo finishes. That adaptability, paired with steady execution in pressure situations, has made him a threat regardless of venue.
Notable Races and Milestones
Mayer’s career is filled with signature moments, from leading every lap to win at Bristol in 2019, to becoming the youngest NASCAR national-series champion. He earned four Xfinity Series wins in 2023 alone, including playoff victories at the Charlotte Roval and Homestead. In 2024, he produced the second-closest finish in Xfinity Series history at Texas and returned to victory lane at the Charlotte Roval. His 2025 win at Iowa delivered Haas Factory Team its first-ever victory.
Sam Mayer Career Wins
Across stock car racing’s various levels, Sam Mayer has built an impressive resume of victories. His win totals span the K&N Pro Series East, the ARCA Menards Series and its East division, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, the ARCA Menards Series Sioux Chief Showdown, and the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
Xfinity Series Highlights
Mayer has scored multiple NASCAR Xfinity Series victories, beginning with his first career win at Road America in 2023. That season also produced wins at Watkins Glen, the Charlotte Roval, and Homestead-Miami Speedway, the latter two coming during the playoffs to advance him to the Championship 4. In 2024, he added wins at Texas and Iowa, plus another Charlotte Roval victory in the postseason. His first 2025 win came at Iowa with Haas Factory Team.
Other Wins and Performances
Beyond the Xfinity Series, Mayer is a two-time NASCAR K&N Pro Series East champion (2019 and 2020), capturing the 2020 title with a remarkable average finish of 1.2. He also won the inaugural ARCA Menards Series Sioux Chief Showdown championship in 2020 and recorded ARCA Menards Series and East wins at venues including Bristol, Lebanon I-44 Speedway, and Five Flags Speedway. Earlier, he captured a CARS Late Model Stock Tour victory at Wake County Speedway in 2018.
Sam Mayer Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Sam Mayer comes from a family with strong ties to both motorsport and business. His father, Scott Mayer, is a former open-wheel racer who went on to found QPS Employment Group, a major staffing firm with operations across eight states. Scott’s company, Accelerate Professional Talent Solutions, has served as Sam’s primary sponsor throughout his NASCAR career, linking the family’s business success directly to Sam’s progression through the sport.
Personal Life
Sam Mayer was raised in Franklin, Wisconsin, and remains closely connected to his family. His father Scott continues to play a prominent role in his career as both a mentor and the founder of his primary sponsorship group. Outside of racing, Mayer continues to balance the demands of full-time competition with the responsibilities that come with being one of the NASCAR garage’s young standard-bearers.
2025 Season Performance
Mayer’s 2025 season began with a statement result, finishing second at Daytona to open the year with Haas Factory Team. The early momentum suggested a smooth transition from JR Motorsports to his new organization, with Mayer showing speed right out of the gate. He maintained steady form across the early portion of the schedule, putting together consistent finishes that kept him firmly in the playoff conversation.
The highlight of his campaign came at Iowa, where Mayer delivered Haas Factory Team its first-ever victory and Ford’s first win of the 2025 season. That breakthrough validated the team’s offseason preparation and confirmed that Mayer’s road-course and short-track strengths transferred to the new program.
On October 28, 2025, NASCAR issued Mayer a one-race suspension for intentionally wrecking Jeb Burton during the post-race cooldown lap at Martinsville, sidelining him for the season finale at Phoenix with Ryan Sieg stepping in as the replacement driver. Despite the late setback, Mayer’s 2025 results cemented his role as both the face of Haas Factory Team and a key figure in Ford’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series efforts.