Sam Mayer will reunite with JR Motorsports for the 2027 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season to drive the team’s No. 1 Chevrolet, the team announced Tuesday.
Mayer spent the first three-and-a-half seasons of his O’Reilly career with JRM before departing for Haas Factory Team, for which he’s driven in the 2025 and 2026 seasons. Mayer currently drives the No. 41 Chevrolet for HFT and sits fifth in The Chase standings after Friday’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Starkey will serve as Mayer’s primary sponsor for the 2027 season, according to the team’s press release.
RELATED: Full press release on jrmracing.com
A Wisconsin native, Mayer earned seven of his eight career O’Reilly Series victories driving the No. 1 JRM Chevrolet, winning four races in 2023 and three in 2024. Mayer finished a career-best third in the championship standings in 2023. Mayer also competed for JRM’s Late Model program in 2018 and 2019 in a successful tenure as a teenager.
“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. “I’m really grateful to continue my career with the organization that gave me my start and thankful to Starkey for being an incredible partner and for their continued support in my racing career. 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.”
The reunion pairs Mayer once again with the series’ powerhouse organization as JRM continues to excel, winning 15 of 27 races so far this season with four drivers competing in the 12-driver Chase this season.
“I think he’s a different dude than when he left,” team co-owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. told NASCAR.com. “And I think he also appreciates us a little more. … I don’t want that to sound the wrong way, but I think he realizes he was in a really good spot with us. And we’ve really worked hard to try to figure out how to put around him what he needed to win and be successful mentally, really. So I think he’s excited, and we worked with him all the way through the Late Models and all that so it’s very familiar. He’ll be a nice addition to what we’ve got going on.”
MORE: O’Reilly Chase standings | O’Reilly schedule
With one win last year, Mayer matched his career-high mark of 13 top fives in 2025 in his first campaign with HFT while posting career-best average starts (8.1) and average finishes (11.5). In 2026, Mayer has collected six top fives and 13 top 10s and sits 78 points behind HFT teammate and points leader Sheldon Creed.