Sam Mayer has been flawless at Toledo Speedway this year. He swept the ARCA Menards Series doubleheader there earlier this season, and finished second in the ARCA Menards Series East race earlier this year as well. On Saturday (Sept. 12), he won the combination national tour and East Series race.
His victory in the Royal Truck & Trailer 200 is his four career ARCA Series win and his third in the East Series.
Mayer was at the head of the field the whole day. He paced the field during practice, then won the pole. He led the field when both competition cautions were displayed en route to parking his No. 21 GMS Racing Chevrolet in victory lane.
Mayer has been on a winning streak. Prior to Toledo, he won the most recent ARCA race at Lebanon I-44 Speedway. He also won the most recent East Series race at Dover International Speedway on Aug. 21, and is the East Series points leader.
Finally, he leads the ARCA Menards Series Sioux Chief Showdown. The 17-year-old is on fire.
Three in a row at @ToledoSpeedway for @sam_mayer_! #WeAreGMS https://t.co/w0gnCvgbjs
— GMS Racing (@GMSRacingLLC) September 12, 2020
Chandler Smith finished second, 3.071 seconds back. He and Mayer both competed in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race at Richmond Raceway two days prior to this ARCA race.
Ty Gibbs, Bret Holmes, and Taylor Gray finished third through fifth, respectively. Holmes became the ARCA points leader after his fellow championship contender Michael Self finished seventh. Self’s crew chief Kevin Reed reportedly told MAVTV he was befuddled throughout this race.
In addition to the competition cautions, two other caution flag periods occurred at this half-mile short track. One included a blown right-front tire for Chase Cabre, who slammed into the wall. He finished 16th.
? Trouble for @CabreChase ?#ARCAMenards | @ToledoSpeedway pic.twitter.com/6IM8EkuskZ
— ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) September 12, 2020
On lap 86, Drew Dollar wrecked after contact with Parker Retzlaff.
? @DrewDollar00 goes backward into Turn 2 ?#ARCAMenards | @ToledoSpeedway pic.twitter.com/pneA5VAFdZ
— ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) September 12, 2020
“We had a fast No. 15 Toyota today so that was nice for a change,” Dollar told MAVTV. “We fired off good, were running a good race and something broke. We got back racing around some slower cars. Some guy decided to junk us. It’s pretty obvious what happened. We’re going to talk to him after the race.”
Dollar finished 15th, his second-worst finish of this season. As for Retzlaff, he finished eighth in his first main ARCA race.
Royal Truck & Trailer 200 Results
The Royal Truck & Trailer 200 was the first of three ARCA races on short tracks in a span of a week. The series next will head to Bristol Motor Speedway for the Bush’s Beans 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway on Thursday (Sept. 17), then two days later race in the Toyota 200 at Winchester Speedway.
About the author
Mark Kristl joined Frontstretch at the beginning of the 2019 NASCAR season. He is the site's ARCA Menards Series editor. Kristl is also an Eagle Scout and a proud University of Dayton alum.
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It appears ARCA officials had a serious driver meeting talk about taking out the car ahead of you to make the pass. It’s sad to see Michael Self destruct like last year. pun intended