Young NASCAR star Sam Mayer managed to demolish his own car on Saturday night at Atlanta, well after the chequered flag had waved.
Mayer's Haas Factory Team team-mate Sheldon Creed had just taken his first O'Reilly Series victory after an astonishing 15 second-place finishes in dramatic fashion, taking the lead with just half a lap to go after Ross Chastain pushed leader Austin Hill into a slide.
Hill made a brilliant save on the apron to avoid wrecking but was well out of contention, allowing Creed to push through into the lead and take the flag for the first time in 138 starts.
Mayer had caught up with Creed as the cars came back around after the race finished, giving a celebratory door bump before realising that he was about to miss the entrance to pit road. He pulled down and ran across the infield grass in an attempt to make up for missing the pit entry, but his car dug into the wet grass and tore the front end off.
The 22-year-old was able to make the most of the situation, with one young fan ending up going home from the track with a signed front Camero bumper.
Creed: Winless streak was wearing
In his post-race press conference, Creed said: "I don't have to finish second again before winning. So yeah, it’s been four years of trying, 137 starts, 15 second-place finishes.
"It wears on you because you win a Truck championship and win eight races and have a shot at winning those races every week and then go Xfinity racing and expect to win right away. We’ve had some good runs but just never finished off.
"So, to finally do that on a night that looked like another second or third place run, it just worked out."
Hill didn't appear to hold any bitterness for his friend Creed about how the win came about (for Chastain, he had some stronger words), saying of his former team-mate's maiden victory: “We have been really, really good friends for a very long time, and he is going to burn it down. I’ll say that. It’s going to be a good time.”
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