Sam Mayer was apologetic after causing a 23-car pileup in Saturday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Qualcomm Circuit on Naval Base Coronado. Mayer pinned the blame on himself and called it an ‘irresponsible’ and ’embarrassing’ situation.
On a lap 35 restart, Mayer brought the day’s second red flag when he caught the inside wall of Turn 1. His No. 41 Chevy ricocheted off the barriers and collected Anthony Alfredo, among several others trailing them.
NASCAR had to make extensive repairs to get the race going, and Mayer was the first to admit fault. In a post-race interview, the 22-year-old said (via X/Dustin Long),
“First off, I just need to apologize for everybody in the field and everybody in the garage. I cannot be making mistakes like this and I’m just heartbroken right now. I mean I can’t be doing that. It’s irresponsible. It’s embarrassing. I got to be better and these HAAS factory boys they put together really fast Audible Chevy and we were up front….I just overstepped my bounds and this one hurts a lot because San Diego is so freaking cool.”
“These guys work so hard I’m literally gonna have to go walk around the entire garage and apologize because there’s what 20 some people involved like. That’s just embarrassing. I can’t be doing that. I hate it for everyone who’s involved because they literally had no choice but to just drive in it. And it’s on me,” he added.
Here’s a list of drivers who were involved in the chaotic melee:
Alex Labbe, Sheldon Creed, Jesse Love, Justin Allgaier, Sammy Smith, William Sawalich, Brent Crews, Brandon Jones, Austin Hill, Harrison Burton, Dean Thompson, Jeb Burton, Blaine Perkins, Andrew Patterson, Ryan Sieg, Sam Mayer, Brennan Poole, Preston Pardus, Jeremy Clements, Brad Perez, Austin Green, Leland Honeyman, and Anthony Alfredo. Eight of these drivers retired from the race.
Sam Mayer has harsh words for himself
Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
When recalling the pileup, Sam Mayer revealed that it was tough to see the inside wall while following cars. Mayer explained that he had been conservative through the corner all day before deciding to push on the restart.
Right after the wreck, Mayer went on the radio and addressed his mistake, saying (via X/The CW Sports),
“I have to be one of the worst race car drivers to ever touch this sport.”
Here’s a clip of the incident:
Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill won the 60-lap event after a 13-lap lead, marking his second win of the season. Sheldon Creed finished on the podium despite sustaining damage from the mid-race wreck.
Hill jumped into the top 5 after his win, while Sam Mayer dropped out of the top 10. The Haas Factory Team driver is now tied with Taylor Gray, who finished second on Saturday.
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