Home / NASCAR / NASCAR Suspends Sam Mayer For Wrecking Jeb Burton Post-Race At Martinsville

NASCAR Suspends Sam Mayer For Wrecking Jeb Burton Post-Race At Martinsville

Jared Turner Written by Sports EditorJared Turner
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Sam Mayer

For NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Sam Mayer, the offseason break has arrived a few days early.

Not that he has any reason to be thrilled about it.

NASCAR on Tuesday announced the suspension of Mayer for the Xfinity season finale at Phoenix Raceway. The decision comes following the Haas Factory Team driver’s actions toward Jeb Burton this past weekend at Martinsville Speedway.

And with Mayer’s punishment, his 2025 season has come to an abrupt end.

What Did Sam Mayer Do To Incur Such A Harsh Penalty?

Sam Mayer was admittedly unhappy with Jeb Burton before Xfinity Series drivers ever rolled into Martinsville.

Caught up in a multicar wreck that Burton caused the previous weekend at Talladega, Mayer suffered a major blow to his chances of reaching the Championship 4.

So after he and Burton bounced off each multiple times at Martinsville, Mayer finally snapped. On the cooldown lap, he drove straight into the second-generation driver’s No. 27 Jordan Anderson Racing car, sending it into the wall.

Moments later, Mayer minced no words about his belief that Burton cost him a Championship 4 berth.

“He caused a 20-car pileup at Talladega, which put us in the spot we were in going into today,” Mayer said. “So, it was his fault to begin with. Him left-hooking the 20 car (Brandon Jones) in the middle of the tri-oval at Talladega is just an absolutely silly thing to have happen. And me getting caught up in it sucks, because everyone at Haas Factory Team has worked their freaking tails off all year to have a shot at a championship.

“Those probably 25 points that we could have gotten at Talladega is the reason we didn’t make it.”

Mayer called his decision to run into Burton after the Martinsville race “a principle thing.”

“He’s the worst person to race around in the entire garage,” Mayer said. “He has a reputation of being over his head every single week. And this was a prime example of it. … He has no respect for someone racing for something bigger than what he is. And, I mean, what is he? He’s like 35th in points. And I don’t know what he’s trying to do. It’s awful.”

Whether Burton had one coming or not, NASCAR obviously didn’t take too kindly to Mayer’s post-race tactics.

Jeb Burton Got The Last Laugh In Dustup With Sam Mayer

After finishing sixth at Martinsville, one spot better than Sam Mayer, Jeb Burton naturally didn’t expect Mayer to immediately plow into his car. And he was less than pleased about it.

In fact, Burton lobbied NASCAR to do exactly what the sanctioning body did do on Tuesday — penalize Mayer in a meaningful way.

“After the checkered, he destroyed our car and wrecked us,” said Jeb, son of 2002 Daytona 500 winner Ward Burton. “So, hopefully, NASCAR does something, because he literally right-reared me into the outside wall.

“I race a lot of people out here with respect. And I just want it back. He ran over me for no reason (during the race), so I gave it back to him. And he threw a temper tantrum.”

Speaking with reporters at Martinsville, Burton also suggested he wanted to fight Mayer. He then made it clear that on-track retaliation would be forthcoming for Mayer at a future race.

“I would love to talk to him. But there wouldn’t be much talking right now,” Burton said. “When it matters the most for him — he’s in a really good car — it’s not going to work out very well for him. … He’s a punk. And I think everybody knows it.”

Haas Factory team seemingly didn’t approve of Mayer, either. On Tuesday, the organization said it won’t appeal NASCAR’s decision to suspend its driver for one race. Rather, the company is attempting to turn the page on Martinsville and focus its efforts on competing with Ryan Sieg in the No. 41 at Phoenix.

Jared Turner Written by Sports EditorJared Turner
Jared Turner is a motorsports writer who has covered NASCAR for 20 years. He has interviewed over 20 NASCAR Hall of Famers and around 100 drivers, crew chiefs, and team owners, both past and present. He has also covered the sport for FOX Sports (where he was a two-time recipient of the FOX “X” Award for “Xtraordinary” job performance), NASCAR.com, Sporting News, NASCAR Pole Position Magazine, the SPEED network, and plenty of other online and print-only publications throughout his career. Notably, Jared has penned dozens of articles for NASCAR souvenir programs, including several featured prominently in Daytona 500 keepsakes. A Virginia Press Association award winner and former member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA), Jared has racked up accolades both for his writing and his academic work. He studied both Communication and Psychology at Virginia Tech, where he was permanently enshrined in Phi Beta Kappa — the nation’s oldest and most prestigious academic honor society. Jared excels at feature writing and opinion writing, much of which stems from his dedication to all levels of racing.
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