Sam Mayer is in an all-out battle for his first championship in the Legend Car Pro division of the Bojangles' Summer Shootout at Charlotte Motor Speedway. A 15-year-old native of Franklin, Wisconsin, Mayer travels to Charlotte each summer to pursue his dreams of becoming a NASCAR superstar. This year marks Mayer's fourth year at the Bojangles' Summer Shootout and his first as a Legend Car Pro driver, where he continues to lead the points standings with four races left in the season.
"Straight up, all of the drivers are really good in the Pro division," Mayer said. "That's why they're Pros in the first place. All of them can win."
Like his father, Scott - who raced in IndyCar as well as sports-car racing - Sam Mayer's career began on road courses. Mayer followed in his father's footsteps when he was introduced to road course go-kart racing as a toddler. Mayer continued to drive go-karts until 2014, when he made the switch to Legend Cars. Having loved racing right off the bat, Mayer knew that one day he wanted to reach the top ranks of NASCAR and drive in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.
"I really want to run in the Cup Series," Mayer said. "It's pretty much the premier series of the stock car industry. I want to have fun racing. That's why I got into it. It looked fun when I first got into it and it still is."
While it may seem like a lofty goal, many current and past NASCAR stars - including Joey Logano, Chase Elliott and Bubba Wallace - got their start racing in the Bojangles' Summer Shootout.
Mayer's hopes of NASCAR stardom received a significant boost when he signed on as a development driver for JR Motorsports. Mayer will compete in 20 late model races this season for JRM, the prominent race team owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr. Despite Mayer's young age, the aspiring hotshoe races against drivers twice his age and beyond. He enjoys the challenge, though. Mayer believes that it pushes him harder than other drivers his age and gives him more experience on the track.
"I'm still learning a lot about late model cars," Mayer said. "Some of the people I'm going up against have been doing this longer than I've been alive, so that's a big step. I'm really out here to learn the cars and learn car control."
Mayer hopes that his four years of polishing car-control skills in the Bojangles' Summer Shootout will pay big dividends - starting with a championship trophy when the season ends on July 31.
"I'm out here to win," Mayer said. "I want to win as much as possible and win the championship."
Mayer's next step in the title battle comes in Tuesday's Bojangles' Summer Shootout, which includes a pre-race autograph session featuring NASCAR standouts Erik Jones, Matt DiBenedetto, Tyler Reddick and Cole Custer. The autograph session runs from 5:30-6 p.m. on the speedway concourse and is open to all Shootout ticketholders.
Race fans who attend Tuesday's FREE ROVAL™ Test Fest - NASCAR teams' final shakedown before the Sept. 28-30 Bank of America ROVAL™ 400 - will receive a voucher for a free ticket to the Bojangles' Summer Shootout. ROVAL™ Test Fest runs from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and features food, games and music at the speedway's Whisky River location.
