Haas Factory Team News
Mayer Delivers Third-Place Run at Dover, Creed Finishes 18th.
By Haas Factory Team
DOVER, DE (May 16, 2026) – Sam Mayer matched his season-best finish with a third-place effort on Saturday afternoon at Dover Motor Speedway, while Sheldon Creed rebounded from a mid-race setback to finish 18th.
A slow stop between stages shuffled Mayer back to ninth to begin Stage Two, but he methodically worked his way back to the front. After an early caution regrouped the field, Mayer capitalized on the Lap 61 restart to climb to sixth before powering around Carson Kvapil on Lap 80. Mayer ultimately finished fifth after battling door-to-door with Jesse Love in the closing laps of the stage, collecting six additional stage points to continue his strong afternoon.Multiple cautions in the final stage created opportunity, as Mayer moved into fourth and later advanced to second amid contact ahead. A pit stop under caution on Lap 119 dropped Mayer to 13th, but once the race settled into a green-flag run, he surged back into the top five. Mayer then set his sights on leader Justin Allgaier but ultimately crossed the line third, moving him up three spots in the regular-season standings.“Overall, we had a good day. We had speed in the car, but pit road was a little tough today,” Mayer said. “We made up for it by passing a lot of cars on track so hats off to the No. 41 Audibel Chevrolet team for another fast car and solid finish.”
Contact off turn four in Stage Two forced Creed to pit twice under caution, dropping him to 29th for the restart. Undeterred, he surged to 22nd in just six laps before another yellow on Lap 61 halted his momentum. Creed continued to fight forward after an additional pit stop, climbing back inside the top 20 and closing the stage in 18th to continue an impressive recovery.In the final stage, Creed capitalized on early cautions and mistakes ahead to advance as high as 12th before pitting on Lap 119. Restarting 17th shortly after, he battled back to 13th prior to a late caution on Lap 159. Despite giving up a few positions during the closing green-flag run, Creed brought the No. 00 Boulder Crest Foundation Chevrolet home 18th.
41 Sam Mayer
Sam Mayer rolled off sixth at The Monster Mile after a strong qualifying effort and immediately put the No. 41 Audibel Chevrolet in contention. Mayer quickly drove into the top five after making a pass on Corey Day in the opening laps and maintained his position through an early caution on Lap 12. Lining up third on the restart from the bottom lane, Mayer held strong despite pressure from Taylor Gray to secure a third-place finish in Stage One, earning eight valuable stage points.A slow stop between stages shuffled Mayer back to ninth to begin Stage Two, but he methodically worked his way back to the front. After an early caution regrouped the field, Mayer capitalized on the Lap 61 restart to climb to sixth before powering around Carson Kvapil on Lap 80. Mayer ultimately finished fifth after battling door-to-door with Jesse Love in the closing laps of the stage, collecting six additional stage points to continue his strong afternoon.Multiple cautions in the final stage created opportunity, as Mayer moved into fourth and later advanced to second amid contact ahead. A pit stop under caution on Lap 119 dropped Mayer to 13th, but once the race settled into a green-flag run, he surged back into the top five. Mayer then set his sights on leader Justin Allgaier but ultimately crossed the line third, moving him up three spots in the regular-season standings.“Overall, we had a good day. We had speed in the car, but pit road was a little tough today,” Mayer said. “We made up for it by passing a lot of cars on track so hats off to the No. 41 Audibel Chevrolet team for another fast car and solid finish.”
00 Sheldon Creed
Despite his nine-race top-10 streak coming to an end at Watkins Glen last weekend, Sheldon Creed responded with a determined effort on Saturday. Rolling off 12th, the No. 00 Boulder Crest Chevrolet quickly charged into the top 10 and battled with Corey Day for ninth following an early caution cycle. Creed, however, would narrowly miss out on stage points, slipping to 12th by the end of Stage One.Contact off turn four in Stage Two forced Creed to pit twice under caution, dropping him to 29th for the restart. Undeterred, he surged to 22nd in just six laps before another yellow on Lap 61 halted his momentum. Creed continued to fight forward after an additional pit stop, climbing back inside the top 20 and closing the stage in 18th to continue an impressive recovery.In the final stage, Creed capitalized on early cautions and mistakes ahead to advance as high as 12th before pitting on Lap 119. Restarting 17th shortly after, he battled back to 13th prior to a late caution on Lap 159. Despite giving up a few positions during the closing green-flag run, Creed brought the No. 00 Boulder Crest Foundation Chevrolet home 18th.
Up Next
The NASCAR O’Reilly Series heads to Charlotte Motor Speedway next Saturday, May 23rd, with race coverage on the CW set for 5 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.