Sam Mayer makes feelings known after delivering first NASCAR victory to Haas Factory Team

After securing Haas Factory Team's first win at Iowa Speedway, Sam Mayer was overwhelmed. The result also marked Ford's maiden win this season.

Mayer caught a lucky break when race leader and polesitter Jesse Love slid from a patch of oil, allowing the 22-year-old to take the lead with 28 laps to go. However, he also had the pace to pull away during a restart on lap 234.

When Garrett Smithley spun out on the final lap, Mayer had already crossed the white flag and finished the race under caution, recording a sizable win margin of 3.289 seconds. Notably, the result marks his second consecutive win at the Iowa track.

Speaking to the media after Saturday's (August 2) HyVee Perks 250, the HFT driver had this to say about his milestone win (via X/NASCAR Xfinity):

"I mean this one's everything right here. This one's for all of the guys here at Audibel, there are a lot of people in the stands, the Audibel people. So, it's really cool to get a win in front of them. First win for Haas Factory team, that's awesome. This car was fast Xfinity mobile all day long." "I tried to botch it on pit road, but we didn't. I can't believe it. This is one of the most special ones I have. These guys, they love me to death, I love them to death and we're just some good old boys trying to go race it. So this one feels great," Sam Mayer added.

Cup Series driver Ross Chastain was the day's most dominant driver with 120 laps led. He'd taken Stage 2 but ultimately fell short of a win and finished third. Meanwhile, Spire Motorsports' Carson Hocevar, who'd begun on the second row, finished three spots behind at sixth.

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A look back on Sam Mayer's season thus far

During the off-season, Sam Mayer jumped ship from JR Motorsports to the newly formed Gene Haas-owned outfit, rebranded from the now dissolved Stewart-Haas Racing. The team currently fields a Cup entry with Cole Custer and two NXS teams with Sheldon Creed as Mayer's teammate.

Mayer predicted multiple wins with HFT this season and came close to reaching victory lane thrice, including last weekend's bout at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The famed oval bore witness to his maiden pole of the season before Connor Zilisch stole his thunder for a third straight win.

He began the season with a strong runner-up finish at the Daytona 500 and followed it up with yet another second-place result at Homestead-Miami. Otherwise, the Wisconsin native finished among the top five on 10 occasions and showed impressive pace at road courses like COTA and the Chicago Street Course.

With just two DNFs across 22 rounds, Sam Mayer currently ranks third in the drivers' standings with 756 points, 16 points behind equally placed season leaders, Connor Zilisch and Justin Allgaier.

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Edited by Samya Majumdar