Mayer, a 20-year-old native of Franklin, Wisc., got around Parker Kligerman for the lead exiting Turn 14 and just before the start of the final lap of double overtime.
Mayer skillfully completed the 4.048-mile track for the final time and narrowly beat Kligerman by only 0.368 seconds to achieve his inaugural victory in his 71st race.
Mayer had an opportunity to win the race when his teammate Justin Allgaier, who had won both stages and led for 42 out of 49 laps, veered off track during the second overtime restart.
Sage Karam subsequently took over the first position, but was overtaken by Kligerman, who was then overtaken by Mayer – all within the same lap.
“I can’t believe it,” Mayer exclaimed. “We were so close to victory, but then we lost control for a moment and chaos ensued towards the end. It’s truly remarkable to achieve that initial triumph and finally overcome the obstacles. The satisfaction is indescribable.”
“I sensed it throughout the entire day. I had a strong belief that if I could accomplish this particular task, I would be capable of achieving anything. And today, we have indeed accomplished it. I suppose everything turned out fine in the end.”
The victory secures a spot in this season’s playoffs for the former ARCA Menards Series champion, even though he was already in a favorable position in terms of points to qualify for the field.
Austin Hill finished in third place, with Karam coming in fourth. Despite being involved in an early-race accident, Riley Herbst managed to make a comeback and secure fifth position.
Josh Berry, Kaz Grala, Josh Bilicki, A.J. Allmendinger, and Brandon Jones rounded out the top-10 positions.
Stage 1
Allgaier claimed the Stage 1 win over Cole Custer under caution when Chandler Smith lost a brake rotor and slammed hard into the Turn 1 wall with two of 22 laps to go.
Allmendinger was third, John Hunter Nemechek fourth and Karam rounded out the top five.
Katherine Legge, making his first NASCAR start since 2018, stalled on the track on lap 10 which brought out a planned competition caution a lap early.
Stage 2
Allgaier held off Custer by 0.284 seconds in a one-lap dash to the finish and earned the win in Stage 2. Karam was third, Allmendinger fourth and Mayer was fifth.
After Nemechek veered off track towards the end of the 12-lap stage, causing damage to the front splitter of his No. 20 Toyota and spilling fluid onto the track, a one-lap restart was arranged. Subsequently, he decided to withdraw from the race.
Stage 3
Allgaier remained out front to start the final 11-lap stage followed by Custer and Karam.
Custer took a wide turn during the restart when there were only nine laps left, enabling Karam to advance to second place and Mayer to third.
Mayer managed to surpass Karam and secure the second-place position just one lap afterwards.
Alex Labbe smoothly navigated the sand trap in Turn 1 but unfortunately got stuck in the tire barriers, resulting in a caution and setting the stage for a restart with only four laps remaining.
During Turn 5 following the restart, Berry collided with Sammy Smith, causing Smith’s vehicle to spin sideways and subsequently involving Allmendinger and Custer in the incident.
The incident sent the race into a two-lap overtime with Allgaier still out front followed by Mayer and Karam.
Connor Mosack experienced engine issues during the restart, causing fluid to be spilled on the track. As a result, the race was brought to a second overtime after a red-flag period of almost 10 minutes to clear the track.
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