Mayer Scores Eighth Career Pole, HFT Combines to Lead 60 Laps at EchoPark Speedway.

HAMPTON, GA (July 11, 2026) – Haas Factory Team showcased front-running speed at EchoPark Speedway on Saturday night, with Sam Mayer earning his eighth career O’Reilly Series pole and Sheldon Creed leading 27 laps before late-race incidents ended both drivers’ nights early.

00 Sheldon Creed:

Defending race winner Sheldon Creed returned to EchoPark Speedway looking to complete a season sweep after earning his first career O'Reilly Series victory at the track in February. Rolling off sixth in the No. 00 Ollie's Chevrolet, Creed quickly established himself inside the top three, but a loose handling car forced him back to fifth by the end of Stage One. Creed was able to collect six stage points after a steady opening segment, inching closer to clinching a spot in The Chase.

Following the stage break, Creed restarted ninth and immediately put the outside lane to work, charging back into the top five in the opening laps of Stage Two. As the race settled into its longest green-flag run, Creed maintained a strong pace inside the top 10. He worked alongside Jesse Love for most of the segment before bringing the No. 00 Ollie’s Chevrolet home ninth to add two more stage points. A strong pit stop gained the team two positions, allowing Creed to line up seventh for the start of the final stage.

Creed capitalized on the restart by surging to the front, using momentum from the inside lane to take the race lead before a caution froze the field. However, a series of late-race restarts shuffled the running order, dropping the No. 00 Ollie’s Chevrolet to ninth after Creed was trapped in the middle groove on lap 130. As the intensity continued to build through multiple cautions, Creed was collected in a multi-car incident with 11 laps remaining. The damage proved too extensive to repair, cutting short a strong points day for the No. 00 team.

41 Sam Mayer:

After earning his second pole position at EchoPark Speedway to complete a qualifying sweep at the track this season, Sam Mayer led the field to green as he continued his push toward a berth in The Chase. Entering the weekend 66 points above the cutline with four races remaining in the regular season, Mayer controlled the opening stage, leading 33 of the first 34 laps to set a new career high for laps led on a drafting track. However, a right-front tire went flat late in the stage, dropping the No. 41 Audibel Chevrolet to the back of the field at the Stage One finish.

Despite losing a lap after the stage break, the No. 41 team worked to regain track position throughout Stage Two while making adjustments to improve the balance of the No. 41 Audibel Chevrolet. Their persistence paid off when Mayer received the free pass on a lap-101 caution, returning to the lead lap and giving the team an opportunity to contend in the closing laps.

However, Mayer's recovery effort came to an end just 20 laps later when a multi-car stack-up on a restart left the No. 41 Audibel Chevrolet with heavy damage. The team was forced to the garage, ending an otherwise promising night with a 31st-place finish.

“I haven't had a clean Atlanta race in, I don't know how long. This place is so much fun, and the cars have been fast that I've been driving, but I haven't gotten the chance to show it”, Mayer said. “We were finally on the lead lap again and I was looking to get another top 10 out of it there at the end. I hate it for Audibel and everyone at Haas Factory Team that works so hard on these cars.”

Up Next: The NASCAR O’Reilly Series takes next weekend off before heading to Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, July 25th, with race coverage on the CW set for 4 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.