NASCAR: Sam Mayer heads back to JR Motorsports for 2027

Back in the No. 1 Chevrolet

Seven of Sam Mayer’s eight career NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series wins came in one car: the No. 1 Chevrolet of JR Motorsports. From 2027, he will be driving it again.

JRM confirmed today that Mayer will return to the team for next season, with Starkey on board as partner. It ends a two-year stint at Haas Factory Team, which he joined midway through what had been three and a half seasons with the Dale Earnhardt Jr.-owned outfit.

His best years came in that car. Mayer won four races in 2023 and finished a career-best third in the championship, then added three more wins in 2024. His ties to the organization go back further still, to JRM’s Late Model program in 2018 and 2019, when he was a teenager.

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What the Haas years looked like

The move away was not a flop. In 2025, his first season with HFT, Mayer won once and matched his career high of 13 top-five finishes, while posting his best numbers yet for average start (8.1) and average finish (11.5). This year he has six top fives and 13 top 10s, and sits 78 points behind HFT teammate and series points leader Sheldon Creed.

“I am really happy to be back with JR Motorsports and back behind the wheel of the No. 1 Chevrolet,” Mayer said in a team release. “There is still some racing left to do this year and I am focused on that, but I can’t wait to get the 2027 season underway at Daytona with JRM.”

Joining the series’ heavyweight

He is rejoining a team in rare form. JRM has won 15 of the 27 races run so far in 2026 and has four drivers in the 12-driver Chase.

Earnhardt Jr. sees a changed driver coming through the door. “I think he’s a different dude than when he left,” the team co-owner told NASCAR.com. “And I think he also appreciates us a little more. I think he realizes he was in a really good spot with us.” He added that the team had worked hard to give Mayer what he needed “to win and be successful mentally.”

First, though, Mayer has a title fight to finish in Haas colors.

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