Sam Mayer

Mayer was one of the big surprises of last season. The 20-year-old prospect would vault to four wins and 19 Top-10 finishes in just his second full season of Xfinity Series competition and thrust himself surprisingly into the championship picture. While he'd come up short of championship gold, Mayer would serve notice he's going to be around a while and be a factor. He returns to the JR Motorsports No. 1 team, which is returning mainly intact from last year. What will Mayer do for an encore? He could be one of the drivers poised to grow more than any other at the top tier of this division of NASCAR. He seemingly just scratched the surface in 2023 for what he could compile statistically. Don't be surprised if Mayer really breaks out in 2024 and upstages some of the drivers ahead of him in the pre-season rankings.

He was overshadowed by much more high-profile rookies last season, but Mayer was the best young driver in the Xfinity Series that didn't get the headlines every week. Mayer made a big splash with the No. 1 JRM team by collecting 11 Top-5 and 19 Top-10 finishes. Although the young driver didn't scratch the win column, Mayer showed incredible maturity and consistency behind the wheel on a weekly basis. The result would be a decent drive into the Xfinity Series playoffs and a final ranking of seventh-place in the driver standings. Mayer will get a new crew chief for season two. Mardy Lindley joins the team and will look to continue Mayer's development as a driver. We would not be surprised to see him crack the win column in 2023 and post even more counting performance stats.

Michael Annett retired at the end of last season and brought to an end his 11-season career in the Xfinity Series. JRM moved quickly and filled the No. 1 Chevrolet with prospect Mayer in an announcement October of last year. The 18-year-old made a big impression racing in just 18 events last season. Mayer claimed one Top-5 and six Top-10 finishes in those efforts. However, he did crash and DNF in six events as well. That shows he still has a lot to learn, but the talent is there to be developed. Mayer has won races and championships at every level he's raced, so he's quite talented. He'll get the full 33-race schedule and this strong race team as his support for his rookie campaign. Mayer is a talent to watch closely this season, and he could have some impact in the orbit of the championship battle.

Mayer will share the No. 75 Chevrolet in 2021. The team has committed to the first handful of races in the upcoming season with Mayer sharing the truck with Parker Kligerman. More races could be added if funding is made possible.