NEWTON, Iowa — Runner-up Riley Herbst ran into winner Sam Mayer’s car after Saturday’s Xfinity race at Iowa Speedway but when Mayer explained what “makes me so mad,” he wasn’t referencing that contact.
Mayer, who turns 21 on June 26, earned his second victory of the season and his sixth in 99 career Xfinity starts.
Sam Mayer scored his sixth career Xfinity win Saturday at Iowa
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While NASCAR’s Silly Season has focused on where the Stewart-Haas Racing drivers could go or where Craftsman Truck Series driver Corey Heim could be headed, Mayer’s name rarely is mentioned among the young prospects for potential Cup rides.
Asked about that after the race, Mayer said: “Yeah, it kind of pisses me off, to be honest with you. I feel like we’ve proved ourselves a lot more. Like I’m dead serious. It makes me so mad that my name isn’t in more hats for race teams. So hopefully today kind of put my name in a couple of them. We’re working really hard. I want to go Sunday racing, obviously, one day. How soon? I don’t know.
“Me, (Herbst), all those guys, there are so many people in the top five and top 10 that have something to prove. If you can be top dog in those guys, I feel like you deserve it.”
Mayer’s win was his seventh top-four finish in the last nine races. His Iowa victory marked his first victory on a short track. His other wins had come at road courses (Road America, Watkins Glen and Charlotte Roval) and 1.5-mile tracks (Homestead and Texas).
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Highlights: NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Iowa
Watch the best moments from the NASCAR Xfinity Series HyVee Perks 250 at Iowa Speedway.
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As for what happened after the race? Herbst ran into Mayer’s car and flattened Mayer’s left rear tire.
“I like racing Sam, but stage one or two he just absolutely brooms me,” Herbst told NBC Sports’ Dave Burns after the race. “We were racing clean for fourth and takes us back to 10th and then doors me down the back straightaway before the green-white-checker. It’s just frustrating the way he wants to do that.”
Herbst later said: “There’s no issue. I was just frustrated by the way … he slid me, I think it was stage one or two and he wasn’t clear. He drove both of us up to the fence in Turns 1 and 2. … At the end, it was fair racing on the green-white-checkered. It was fun. I enjoy racing Sam, but I was frustrated early in the race.”
Said Mayer of the contact after the race from Herbst: “I knew immediately it was either … ‘I hate you’ or ‘Congratulations.’ I think that we know the answer to that unfortunately. I feel really bad. Obviously I got into him earlier.
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“It was so top dominant there at the end. We were all fighting for literally four feet of asphalt around the whole race track. Just did all I could to get there and just overstepped it a little bit.”
Herbst recaps runner-up finish, racing with Mayer
Riley Herbst comes up just short in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Iowa Speedway and expresses his frustration with the way Sam Mayer raced him on the final restart, but feels encouraged with the No. 98’s speed.
It’s an underrated storyline that I can’t help but think will rear its head at some point this season for the Iowa Hawkeyes.
The complete overhaul of the special teams unit is a massive change for this team after years of continuity under LeVar Woods, who is now coaching at Michigan State.
The Hawkeyes will see a new placekicker, punter, and return man. Drew Stevens is kicking in the NFL, Rhys Dakin followed Woods to Michigan State to punt, and Kaden Wetjen took his return talents to the NFL as well.
Chris Polizzi is at the helm now and has a blank canvas to fill out with his depth chart before Week 1 versus Northern Illinois.
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Kicker
Kicker: Eli Ozick
The Hawkeyes only roster two kickers, Eli Ozick and Caden Buhr, who will compete for the starting job.
Ozick comes to Iowa from the North Dakota State Bison, where he was 16-for-18 last year, which earned him Second-Team FCS All-American notoriety. That performance translates well to Iowa, where I think he gets the nod in Week 1.
Should things go sideways, Caden Buhr could step in to kick. He was with Iowa last year and has one kickoff under his belt.
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Punter
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Punter: Boston Everitt
Only at Iowa is the starting punter such a focus. It’s what makes Iowa, well, Iowa. Iowa has dipped into its Australian pipeline with Boston Everitt, who comes from the University of Melbourne. Iowa’s trend of Australian punters gives Everitt the slightest of nods.
The other punter rostered is Tanner Philpott, a D3 AP All-American last year at Simpson College. Philpott has much more collegiate experience and could easily push for the job. It won’t be a shock to see Iowa give him in-game opportunities.
Long Snapper
Long Snapper: Ike Speltz
Long snappers simply don’t get enough love. No one knows their name or hears of them unless the snap has gone bad. It’s a thankless job, but someone has to do it.
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Ike Speltz saw some long snapping action in 2025, which gives him the track here. He is also Iowa’s only long snapper listed on the roster.
Kick and Punt Returners
Punt Returner: Zach Lutmer
Kickoff Returner: Nathan McNeil
I make this prediction very begrudgingly. Zach Lutmer is going to be such a focal point on defense that exposing him to injury here is a bit scary. He is that talented with the ball, though.
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Other names to watch for in the return game come from the running back room. I think Iowa could give kickoff return duties to the running back room. Nathan McNeil or Brevin Doll, two athletic backs, could get their chance on kickoffs.
On the eve of the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft, Iowa basketball’s Bennett Stirtz has been talked about on several mock draft boards as potentially being the Hawkeyes’ first opening-round selection since Kris Murray was chosen No. 23 overall by the Sacramento Kings in 2023.
As the 6-foot-4, 190-pounder from Liberty, Missouri, prepares to join a collection of future stars in the NBA draft green room on Tuesday night, CBS Sports’ most recent NBA mock draft projects the former Hawkeye to slide to the back of the first round and be selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers at the No. 29 overall slot.
Here is what CBS Sports’ Cameron Salerno had to say about his projection for Stirtz:
One of the point guards is bound to slide a bit on draft night. I could see that being Stirtz. The Iowa star has had an incredible rise from playing at the Division II level to being a likely first-round pick. This would be a BPA (best player available) pick from the Cavs.
In his one season with the Hawkeyes after transferring from Drake, Stirtz was the centerpiece of Iowa’s historic March Madness run that saw the program reach the Elite Eight for the first time since 1987, averaging 19.8 points and 4.4 assists per game on 47.7% field goal shooting and 35.8% 3-point shooting in his 37 games played.
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While a slide for Stirtz is not ideal given his immense talent, falling to a Cavaliers squad that has appeared in back-to-back Eastern Conference Finals is certainly not something to scoff at.
With a 36-year-old James Harden at the starting point guard position alongside 32-year-old Dennis Schroder, the Cavaliers will likely look for more youth at the position to add alongside Craige Porter Jr. and 2025 2nd-round pick Tyrese Proctor.
The first round of the 2026 NBA Draft will be nationally broadcast on ABC from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY, with coverage beginning at 7 p.m. CT on June 23.
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions. Follow Scout on X: @SpringgateNews
Iowa Realtors Association data shows the number of Iowa home sales in May jumped 17.3% compared to April.
Iowa Realtors President Erik Melloy says Iowa’s housing market was active and balanced in May. Homes were on the market for about 10 days, compared to 12 days in April. The median sales price for a home in May was $260,000. That’s 5.1% higher than April.
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The number of pending home sales was up 4.1% in May compared to the same month a year ago. The Realtors report tracks the sale of Iowa condos and townhomes, too, and shows both a reduction in the median time on the market and an increase in the number of closed sales of condos and townhomes in May.
