Dale Earnhardt Jr. was not a fan of Sam Mayer’s post-race comments following Sunday night’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Mayer, who finished 24th in the Blue Cross NC 300, blasted the series by saying the entire field “sucks.”
Earnhardt Jr., who will have Mayer back at JR Motorsports next year, did not approve of the remarks. The NASCAR Hall of Famer believes Mayer put a target on his back with his blunt statements.
Sam Mayer on O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Field
Following a difficult 24th-place finish, a dejected Sam Mayer did not hold back in his opinion of his O’Reilly Auto Parts Series competition.
“Everyone in the series sucks. There’s nobody worth anything past 10th place. It’s atrocious. I hate it. It’s annoying,” Mayer said.
Mayer said the end of races end up being chaos. While the driver of the No. 41 said they normally race clean through the bulk of the race, things take a turn for the worse in the latter stages.
“Everyone just crashes at the end of these races and it just doesn’t make sense to me. We can’t go another 10 laps without hitting each other. It was a clean race all race and at the end of these races, everyone just loses their minds and it’s just pathetic,” he said.
On a recent episode of “Dale Jr. Download,” Earnhardt Jr. acknowledged Mayer’s frustration but disapproved of making an indictment on the entire NOAPS field.
“I don’t know. He’s mad. Sam’s a good driver but, man, he’s made his own mistakes. I think in those moments, you can be made and say, ‘God dang, I’m mad at this person.’ … But you can’t throw a blanket on the field and say the whole field sucks because now you’ve basically got the whole field hating you,” Earnhardt Jr. said.
Now that Mayer’s opinion is out there, Earnhardt Jr. believes his fellow competitors will not give him the same breaks they might have before his comments.
“He just made things harder for him. Because now, if anybody was going to cut him a break, they’re less likely to,” Earnhardt Jr. said.
Sam Mayer Returning to JR Motorsports in 2027
In Earnhardt Jr.’s opinion, the bottom line is that a driver cannot make a statement like Mayer’s.
“You can’t say the whole field sucks. You just can’t,” he said.
The 26-time Cup Series winner joked, however, that with Mayer coming back to JR Motorsports next year, they can hold his feet to the fire over his comments.
“He’s coming to JR Motorsports next year, so we can give him some [expletive],” Earnhardt Jr. said.
Mayer joined JR Motorsports full-time in 2022 to pilot the No. 1 Chevrolet. The 23-year-old of Franklin, Wisconsin has registered eight career victories, seven of which came for JR Motorsports between 2022-2024.
In 2025, Mayer joined Haas Factory Team to wheel the No. 41 car. Mayer won a race at Iowa Speedway last year but has yet to win in 2026. He ranks sixth in the points standings with four races remaining.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Disapproves of NASCAR Driver’s Blunt Comments