Wisconsin driver Sam Mayer's career takes a turn on his path toward the NASCAR Cup Series

Sam Mayer, who got to the Xfinity Series with help from Chevrolet’s development program, will be racing a Ford in NASCAR’s top steppingstone division next season.

Haas Factory Team announced Saturday the 21-year-old Franklin native will drive its No. 41 Mustang next year alongside Sheldon Creed in the No. 0. The team, a scaled down version of what now is Stewart Haas Racing, announced earlier it would field a car in the Cup Series for Cole Custer.

Mayer, who won the 2019 and ’20 ARCA East championship, moved to the Xfinity Series with JR Motorsports in mid-2021 once he reached the required minimum age of 18. He has raced for the team full-time since, winning six times. The first of those victories came in Mayer’s home race at Road America in Elkhart Lake last season.

Mayer, who reached the final four of the playoffs last season to race for the championship , is already locked into the 12-driver, seven-race title chase with victories this season at Texas Motor Speedway in April and Iowa Speedway in June. He was 12 ^th in points heading into the race Saturday at Michigan International Speedway.

“The Xfinity Series is a really great place to learn and grow and get yourself ready for the NASCAR Cup Series,” Mayer said in the team’s announcement. “Cup is my ultimate goal, and to really push myself to become the kind of driver who can succeed in Cup, I needed to get out of my comfort zone, challenge myself, and hone my race skills so that when that Cup moment comes, I’m ready. The Haas team got Cole Custer ready for his moment and it’s a place that will help get me and Sheldon ready for our moments.”

JR Motorsports announced this month that 18-year-old Conor Zilisch, a highly touted Chevy prospect, would drive one of its cars fulltime next season.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin driver Sam Mayer's career takes a turn on his path toward the NASCAR Cup Series