UPDATE: Jesse Love was disqualified from his Xfinity Series win at Rockingham, after failing a rear suspension measurement. This violated rule 14.14.2.I-5.H (All mating surfaces between the truck trailing arm and the U-bolt saddle must be in complete contact with each other). As a result, runner-up Sammy Smith has now been declared the winner.
NASCAR
Jesse Love Triumphs in Xfinity Comeback to Rockingham
ROCKINGHAM, N.C. – Inexorably tied to the history and tradition of Rockingham Speedway is Richard Childress Racing. The storied race team has quite literally seen some of their highest victories and greatest defeats at the one-mile oval. At the first Xfinity Series race back in the sand hills since 2004, RCR reigned supreme once again with Jesse Love. Their young phenom takes a first non-drafting track win in front of a sold out Richmond County crowd.
Late cautions in both stages jumbled up their respective running orders. Despite Jesse Love looking fast early, he was shut out of any stage wins. These bonus points went to Nick Sanchez and Dean Thompson.
The RCR No. 2 Chevrolet soon found the top spot in Stage 3, only for a few successive yellows to keep everyone close. By not pitting under one yellow, Ryan Sieg cycled to the top spot. The No. 39 led a career-high 77 laps, before running out of fuel under yellow with about 10 laps left.
This ensuing restart was far from the last stoppage, however. A total of 14 cautions sent this race into overtime, with Love initially losing ground on the second-to-last restart. The two-lap dash to the checkers was executed flawlessly by the No. 2 though. Thanks to shoving Sammy Smith just enough, Love retook the top spot by the white flag and brought home win number two of the season.
“Oh my gosh these fans are amazing,” Love said. “What an incredible racetrack, this is right up my alley. You probably can’t even hear me right now. This place is hammer down, you’ve got to be in the gas good today.”
“I had such an incredible car, as fast as Xfinity Mobile, I’m so proud of Whelen, RCR, ECR Engines, CT Springs, my whole crew, the pit crew. We had it tough on pit road today, where our pit stall was located, and who was coming around us. My pit crew just stayed calm, cool, and collected, and put us in position. My car chief Bug is racing at Bowman Gray tonight, so we’re going to haul ass over there and see if we can get another win.”
Behind Love, Sammy Smith rallied late to a runner-up result, just edging out Parker Retzlaff. Underdog favorites Harrison Burton and Brennan Poole rounded out the top-five. Taylor Gray, Austin Hill, Josh Williams, Jeb Burton, and Daniel Dye rounded out the top-10.
The other big focus of this race was Love’s teammate in the No. 33 Chevrolet–Kasey Kahne. After suffering damage early and fighting back onto the lead lap, a blue-collar day ends with Kahne in 15th. The past NASCAR star said he was thrilled throughout this entire comeback race, and may be open to more future starts.
Xfinity cars will be back in action next weekend from Talladega Superspeedway. The Ag-Pro 300 marks one year since Jesse Love’s maiden Xfinity triumph, him and Austin Hill will both be heavy favorites on Saturday. The Alabama green flag flies at 4 p.m. ET on The CW, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credits to Peter Stratta/TSJSports
