It is no secret that NASCAR is becoming stricter with its rules, and after last weekend’s Xfinity Martinsville mayhem, Sam Mayer, driver of the No. 41 Ford Mustang Dark Horse, won’t be hitting the track for this weekend’s NASCAR Xfinity Championship race at Phoenix. On Tuesday night, NASCAR dropped the news in its weekly penalty report, confirming that the 22-year-old has been handed a one-race suspension.
And the Haas Factory team quickly confirmed that it won’t appeal the penalty. Instead, Ryan Sieg will take the wheel of the No. 41 this weekend. Sieg, who normally drives the No. 39 RSS Racing Ford, a team with Haas ties, will be making his 400th career start at Phoenix. They didn’t mince words in their statement.
The statement read, “Although we are disappointed with the results, Haas Factory Team will not appeal the penalty NASCAR issued to Sam Mayer and the No. 41 team following last weekend’s race at Martinsville Speedway. We remain focused on finishing the season out strong at Phoenix Raceway and look forward to contending for a race win with Ryan Sieg at the wheel.”
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The suspension stems from a heated moment at Martinsville, where Mayer slammed into Jeb Burton’s No. 27 Chevrolet after the checkered flag had already waved. The two had been trading jobs all along, but things boiled over on the cooldown lap when the No. 41’s move sent Burton spinning hard into the outside wall. This led to Mayer delivering a cold response after the race, as things got heated during the interview.
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NASCAR cited Mayer for violating Section 4.4B of its member code of conduct, resulting in a one-race ban. The Wisconsin native will be eligible to return at the start of the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season at Daytona. Having already been knocked out of playoff contention, the 22-year-old was going to be racing for nothing but pride at the season-finale, before the sanctioning body’s verdict was released.