Groovy Hollow Recap
NASCAR has suspended Haas Factory Team driver Sam Mayer from the final NASCAR Xfinity Series race of the season following an intentional wreck with Jeb Burton at Martinsville Speedway this past weekend.
As a result of his suspension, RSS Racing and Ford driver Ryan Sieg will pilot the No. 41 this weekend.
Tensions were high between the two drivers throughout Saturday night’s race.
Mayer, who was on the outside looking in after a tough start to the Round of Eight, needed a win or a solid finish, while Burton was racing for the win, not having made the playoffs.
All the signs were there that this was just the start, and, following the final lap of the race, Mayer, who had just been eliminated from the NASCAR playoffs, turned Burton as they entered turn one during the cool-down lap.
As a result, NASCAR announced Wednesday afternoon that Mayer is out of the No. 41 for this weekend’s NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship race.
Mayer’s actions were scorned by The CW analysts Parker Kligerman and Jamie McMurray, and he received an earful from Burton’s car owner Jordan Anderson on pit road after the race.
Following the race, Mayer told The CW that his beef with Burton went back to the prior week at Talladega, saying that a “demolition derby” caused by the No. 27 put the No. 41 in a bad spot entering Martinsville. Furthermore, Mayer then said, “[Burton] just decides to be an absolute dumbass this go around and race a guy with a purple spoiler.”
Burton, normally reserved unless provoked, much like his father Ward, has not shied away from the incident either, posting about the back and forth on social media.
Mayer is the second Xfinity Series driver suspended for such actions this season, with Austin Hill’s run-in with Aric Almirola at Indianapolis Motor Speedway essentially costing the RCR driver a real shot at the title.
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