Sam Mayer Clinches Spot in O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Chase at Daytona.

DAYTONA BEACH, FL (August 28, 2026) – Sam Mayer used a productive day to lock himself into the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Chase on Friday night at Daytona, while Sheldon Creed capped off his regular season with his 16th top-10 finish while clinching the third seed heading into the Chase next weekend.

41 Sam Mayer:

Entering the final weekend of the regular season just 19 points above the Chase cutline, Sam Mayer put himself in position to succeed by qualifying sixth Friday afternoon. Working with teammate Sheldon Creed in the opening laps, Mayer pushed into the top five before getting caught out of line and falling to seventh. He quickly worked his way back into the fight for the lead, with the No. 41 Starkey / CW / NXT Heatwave Chevrolet settling in with the leaders. After leading five laps, Mayer fell back before a spinning car in turn three made contact, leaving him with damage and a flat tire. However, Mayer saved a near-spin before being able to pit and keep himself in contention the rest of the night.

Mayer was sent to the rear for the Stage Two restart, but he quickly worked his way through the field. A lap-45 caution proved beneficial when a three-car incident included Brent Crews, who entered the night on the Chase bubble. Restarting 11th, Mayer stayed with the lead pack in his No. 41 Starkey / CW / NXT Heatwave Chevrolet and earned a sixth-place stage finish when a caution ended the stage early on lap 56.

Restarting 31st after additional repairs to the No. 41 Starkey / CW / NXT Heatwave Chevrolet, Mayer focused on protecting his Chase position and settled just outside the top 20 early in the final stage. With the No. 19 still fighting to get back on track, Mayer returned his focus to the leaders before backing off to eliminate any risk of losing points. A late spin had little impact, as Mayer restarted and finished 25th, securing his spot in the Chase for the fifth consecutive season.

“This No. 41 Starkey / CW / NXT Heatwave Chevrolet had a lot of speed today but we never really had the opportunity to show that outside of stage one,” Mayer said. “I hate that we didn't really put it out there but did what we needed to do, and we'll move on to the next couple of weeks.”

00 Sheldon Creed:

Making his 11th O’Reilly Series start at Daytona, the 00 Ollie’s Chevrolet rolled off fourth for the final race of the regular season. Choosing the high line on the opening lap, Sheldon Creed and quickly joined Rajah Caruth in a battle for the lead. After leading three laps in Stage One, Creed remained in the top five before missing a late run and falling outside the stage points. However, he was able to avoid the late caution and crossed the line 14th to end the stage.

Creed restarted 26th in Stage Two and quickly charged into the top 15 in his No. 00 Ollie’s Chevrolet, moving up to seventh by the lap-45 caution. He restarted there with eight laps remaining and battled his way to fourth before another caution, triggered by a spin from Austin Hill. The yellow ended the stage early with Creed finishing sixth, earning five stage points.

Starting the final stage eighth, Creed pushed to the front of the bottom lane and battled Carson Kvapil and Brandon Jones for the lead. After settling into second behind the No. 1, Creed gradually fell back as the pace picked up, eventually falling into line in 10th. He continued searching for runs on the bottom before a caution with two laps remaining set up overtime. Restarting 12th, Creed was unable to find a run after getting caught in the middle of three-wide and crossed the line 10th, capping off a strong regular season that included his first career win at Atlanta in February and 16 top-10 finishes.

Up Next:

The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series heads to Darlington Raceway for the first race of the Chase next Saturday, September 5th, with race coverage on the CW set for 7:30 p.m. ET.

About Haas Factory Team:

Haas Factory Team is a NASCAR Cup and O'Reilly Auto Parts Series program owned by Gene Haas, founder of Haas Automation. New in 2026, Haas Factory will align with Chevrolet. As part of the manufacturer switch, HFT will have a technical alliance with Hendrick Motorsports, which will include using Hendrick-built engines across both series. The team will feature Cole Custer driving the No. 41 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in the NASCAR Cup Series, while Sheldon Creed and Sam Mayer take on the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series in the No. 00 and No. 41 Chevrolet Camaros, respectively. Based in Kannapolis, North Carolina, the Haas Factory Team reflects a commitment to performance and engineering excellence, carrying forward Gene Haas’s commitment to motorsports.