NASCAR
Jesse Love Wins Talladega in Double Overtime, First NASCAR National Victory
TALLADEGA, Ala. – The one that got away from Jesse Love at Atlanta in February came back to him at Talladega. After being up front much of the afternoon, Love was in a very similar situation. The No. 2 was leading heading into overtime with a fuel tank running dangerously close to empty. Love’s gas held up though, putting the 19-year-old rookie in victory lane. Richard Childress Racing now has both of their Xfinity drivers locked into the 2024 playoffs.
From the pole, Austin Hill dominated Stage 1. The No. 21 would lose out on this win however to teammate Jesse Love. The No. 2 Chevrolet made a pass on Hill just before a Justin Allgaier wreck ended the opening Stage early.
Hill retook command late in Stage 2 and held on for this win over Love. Not far into Stage 3 however came the first big wreck of the afternoon. Brandon Jones was sent sideways after contact from Parker Kligerman. The No. 9 Chevrolet was sent into the paths of many other drivers, but this could have been a much bigger incident.
Superspeedway menace Austin Hill slowly and methodically picked his way back forward after pitting for four tires. The 21 retook command from Love with two laps to go, but his time out front would be short-lived. A slow block on Kligerman sent the 21 spinning from the lead, taking the fastest car of the day out of contention.
Now heading into overtime, Kligerman held the lead over multiple drivers going for their first win. The initial overtime restart would not see turn one under green. A bad push sent Kligerman hard into the outside wall. This exchange handed the lead back to Love, but with fuel concerns rising on the 2 team.
Love was able to fire off on a second overtime restart, and had just enough fuel to take home a maiden Xfinity Series triumph. The reigning ARCA Menards Series champion is now also a winner on a National Series stage.
“Just a great group of guys, man it’s been a journey to get to this point,” Love said. “I got so many people to thank, first off thank you and I give all the glory to God. Thank Him for this opportunity and the people around me. Whelen Engineering, with the WAT scheme this weekend, Danny Stockman (crew chief), Duncan, Mug, everyone that believes in this team. Danny Lawrence, Mike Dillon, Richard and Torrey Galida, thank you guys so much. Billy Venturini and Shannon Rursch, thank you guys for helping me to get to this point.”
“I just wanted this so bad, and had PTSD flashbacks from Atlanta. We burned her to the ground though, huge thank you to the boys at ECR for bringing the most steam in the building. It’s awesome, I love Talladega, my favorite speedway. I love the fans. I saw great people out on the Boulevard last night. They were wearing my shirts and everything.”
“I watched The Masters and took one out of Scottie Scheffler. I just knew my victory was secure on the cross, and I didn’t have to worry about much. If I ran out, then we ran out. But my team did a phenomenal job today.”
“I made some moves earlier and was like ‘what are you doing dummy?’ I mean that was not smart. I could kind of hear it in (spotter) Brandon Benesch’s voice. Thank you Brandon for all you do. Danny was like ‘now you’re getting too far out,’ and I was just kind of going back and forth. I thought I was doing a good job, then I was making dumb decisions towards the end. The bottom started rolling. I don’t even remember what happened. I’d be lying if I told you otherwise.”
“Just a phenomenal car, faster than Xfinity internet, and I’m ready to go celebrate. My family, mom, dad, and my sister are all here. Jackson, Christina, lot of people that I love very much who sacrificed a lot for me to get to this point.”
Behind Love, Riley Herbst, Anthony Alfredo, Leland Honeyman Jr, and Brennan Poole were the top five. Sheldon Creed, Caesar Bacarella, Matt DiBenedetto, Jeb Burton, and Cole Custer rounded out the top-10.
By virtue of finishing 17th, Ryan Sieg wins the Dash4Cash bonus money. Love, Herbst, Alfredo, and Honeyman are the four prize eligible drivers heading to Dover.
The A-Game 200 goes green from the Monster Mile Saturday at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to James Gilbert/Getty Images
