What followed that shift in mindset was a boom of success, as Mayer collected back-to-back titles in the Bojangles’ Summer Shootout Series for Legend Cars, topping the Young Lions class in 2017 and adding a Pro crown in 2018.
He then roared through the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East (now ARCA Menards Series East) last season, earning four wins and 11 top-five finishes in 12 starts en route to becoming the youngest champion in NASCAR national or touring series history.
Mayer also made selected starts in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series following his 16th birthday, showing plenty of speed despite not having the luck to go along with that performance.
“Man, three years ago, everyone was talking about me going out to the Summer Shootout for the first time and getting my butt kicked out there. At that point I was like, ‘Oh gosh, this is tough.’ And now here we are talking about me winning championships. It’s just crazy,” said Mayer. “During this break, I’ve done a lot to try and be better for the future, but I’ve thought about the past as well. But all this has been really, really special to me and I really can’t thank any everyone around me enough for all they do.
“My dad gave me financial support to even start racing in the first place and has supported me since. Between him and Lorin (Ranier) helping to connect me with JR Motorsports … that’s really what launched my career with Chevrolet, was getting with those guys,” Mayer noted. “Thinking about that is really special to me and hopefully we can continue pushing even higher from here.”
Mayer began the year with his eyes set firmly on a defense of his East championship and started that goal with a victory at New Smyrna Speedway in the season opener in February.
With that race being the only East run held prior to the racing shutdown, Mayer sits atop the early point standings. He also earned an ARCA West win at The Bullring at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway as well, in a special one-off appearance on the opposite coast.
That’s all nice, he admitted, but added that he doesn’t allow himself to get comfortable.
His focus is always on the goals ahead of him, including nailing down a second East championship and excelling in a limited Truck Series slate with GMS Racing later this year.
“Like Alex Bowman said earlier this season, every year is a contract year, and we’re in that same boat. We don’t know what we’re doing next year,” Mayer said. “We’re just going to try to get there by running as well as we can. We want to win some championships, win some races, and get all the finishes we can in the Truck Series as well. If we can’t get some wins, we’ll just do the best we can, and hopefully that’ll prove our worth in a way that lets us come back and do it again and again and again.
“I don’t want to get complacent or get to a point where I’m not pushing as hard as I can,” he added. “We’ll just truck along and keep doing what we know how to do, and we’ll see where it takes us.”