NASCAR News: Sam Mayer Shocked As Rival Fumes In Post-Race Altercation At Pocono Raceway

Posted on by thenewsaffair.com

Following the NASCAR Xfinity Series Race at Pocono Raceway, driver Sam Mayer found himself at the center of an altercation following an on-track incident.

As the laps dwindled, Mayer misjudged a critical bit of driving, inadvertently causing Shane van Gisbergen to spin out. Mayer admitted fault over his team radio, attributing the mishap to a fading brake pedal, yet managed to secure a 10th place finish. He commented, as quoted by Road And Track:

“Huge apologies to the No. 97 guys. I just messed up; I drove in a little too hard, and the brake pedal started fading a little bit, and I didn’t account for that. Chandler [Smith], I don’t know, not my problem.”

“He was saying that I put it on his door multiple times. If you watch racing you know that that happens every lap. I’m not really sure why he’s mad about that. It’s definitely frustrating to see him come to my window like that and not give me a chance to talk back.”

Sam Mayer
Sam Mayer, driver of the #1 RTIC Outdoors Chevrolet, waves to fans as he walks onstage during driver intros prior to the NASCAR Xfinity Series Explore The Pocono Mountains 225 at Pocono Raceway on July…


Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images

Van Gisbergen’s race, however, concluded less favorably, as he ended as the last car on the lead lap, placing 31st. The New Zealander voiced his frustration, remarking:

“We just got run over by Sam [Mayer]. I’m sure he didn’t mean it, but it’s gutting, and then at the end, some wobble just took me out again.”

But it was Chandler Smith’s post-race confrontation that left observers and Mayer himself stunned. Approaching Mayer’s car aggressively on pit row, Smith accused Mayer of overly aggressive racing tactics, which Mayer dismissed as a normal part of the sport. Mayer stated:

“He can’t handle being raced hard. That’s the last person I expected to be upset with me today.”

Smith could be seen approaching Mayer’s car after the race before the pair got into a heated discussion. Fox NASCAR shared to social media:

NASCAR Xfinity 2024 Explore The Pocono Mountains 225 Results

  1. #00 – Cole Custer
  2. #7 – Justin Allgaier
  3. #17 – William Byron
  4. #18 – Sheldon Creed
  5. #19 – Taylor Gray
  6. #16 – AJ Allmendinger
  7. #21 – Austin Hill
  8. #48 – Parker Kligerman
  9. #8 – Sammy Smith
  10. #1 – Sam Mayer
  11. #98 – Riley Herbst
  12. #39 – Ryan Sieg
  13. #9 – Brandon Jones
  14. #5 – Anthony Alfredo
  15. #81 – Chandler Smith
  16. #26 – Corey Heim
  17. #10 – Daniel Dye
  18. #11 – Josh Williams
  19. #20 – Ryan Truex
  20. #28 – Kyle Sieg
  21. #27 – Jeb Burton
  22. #2 – Jesse Love
  23. #91 – Kyle Weatherman
  24. #38 – Matt DiBenedetto
  25. #42 – Leland Honeyman
  26. #44 – Brennan Poole
  27. #15 – Josh Berry
  28. #4 – Thomas Annunziata
  29. #14 – Mason Massey
  30. #51 – Jeremy Clements
  31. #97 – Shane Van Gisbergen
  32. #31 – Parker Retzlaff
  33. #07 – Patrick Emerling
  34. #29 – Blaine Perkins
  35. #35 – Stephen Mallozzi
  36. #43 – Ryan Ellis
  37. #92 – Josh Bilicki
  38. #74 – Dawson Cram

The next NASCAR Xfinity race is due to take place on Saturday, July 20 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the 20th race of the season.