Tag: Jesse Love

Jesse Love wins Xfinity Series race at Talladega, full results and race recap

Jesse Love wins the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Talladega Superspeedway. Check out the full results, race recap from Talladega!

The NASCAR Xfinity Series arrived at Talladega Superspeedway and put on a show. [autotag]Jesse Love[/autotag] won the Xfinity Series race at Talladega for his first career victory in NASCAR’s top levels. Love held off the pack with drivers who usually don’t run up front finishing behind him. The No. 2 car stretched it on fuel for a 50-plus lap run.

Love’s victory at Talladega represents redemption, as the No. 2 car ran out of fuel after dominating the race at Atlanta Motor Speedway earlier in the year. Now, the 19-year-old driver is a winner in the Xfinity Series. Love won Stage 1, while his teammate Austin Hill won Stage 2. The Richard Childress Racing drivers had the best cars all day.

Following the event in Alabama, Love can call himself a NASCAR winner. If Richard Childress Racing can show this type of speed moving forward, Love will have an excellent opportunity to replicate this success at a superspeedway track later in the season.

Ag-Pro 300 finishing order:

  1. No. 2 Jesse Love
  2. No. 98 Riley Herbst
  3. No. 5 Anthony Alfredo
  4. No. 42 Leland Honeyman
  5. No. 44 Brennan Poole
  6. No. 18 Sheldon Creed
  7. No. 45 Caesar Bacarella
  8. No. 38 Matt DiBenedetto
  9. No. 27 Jeb Burton
  10. No. 00 Cole Custer
  11. No. 14 Mason Massey
  12. No. 15 Hailie Deegan
  13. No. 28 Kyle Sieg
  14. No. 21 Austin Hill
  15. No. 19 Taylor Gray
  16. No. 92 Josh Bilicki
  17. No. 39 Ryan Sieg
  18. No. 35 Joey Gase
  19. No. 16 A.J. Allmendinger
  20. No. 11 Josh Williams
  21. No. 8 Sammy Smith
  22. No. 97 Shane van Gisbergen
  23. No. 29 Blaine Perkins
  24. No. 66 David Starr
  25. No. 81 Chandler Smith
  26. No. 43 Ryan Ellis
  27. No. 91 Kyle Weatherman
  28. No. 4 Dawson Cram
  29. No. 48 Parker Kligerman
  30. No. 31 Parker Retzlaff
  31. No. 32 Jordan Anderson
  32. No. 07 Patrick Emerling
  33. No. 9 Brandon Jones
  34. No. 20 Ryan Truex
  35. No. 51 Jeremy Clements
  36. No. 1 Sam Mayer
  37. No. 26 Jeffrey Earnhardt
  38. No. 7 Justin Allgaier

RCR might takes Love to maiden Xfinity win at Talladega

Jesse Love earned his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory Saturday in a typically wild double overtime finish in the Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway – crossing the line by a slight 0.141s ahead of Riley Herbst. It many ways, it …

Jesse Love earned his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory Saturday in a typically wild double overtime finish in the Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway – crossing the line by a slight 0.141s ahead of Riley Herbst.

It many ways, it was victorious redemption for the 19-year old Californian, who earlier this season was leading the race in overtime at Atlanta only to run out of fuel before the checkered flag. Love’s win in the No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet makes him only the seventh driver to score his maiden win at the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway.

“Just a great group of guys [on my team] and it’s been such a journey to get to this point,’’ a grinning Love said before thanking a litany of people that helped him in his young career to date.

“I had PTSD flashbacks from Atlanta,’’ Love acknowledged, adding “I love Talladega. I love the speedway and I love the fans.”

 

Love certainly earned this first win – starting on the outside of the front row next to his veteran RCR teammate Austin Hill, winning his fourth stage of the season (Stage 1) and leading 28 of the 124 laps. He ran top five for most of the afternoon and when he needed to go on that final restart, he went. Jumping to the lead at the overtime green flag and holding off the field when it mattered most.

His RCR teammate Hill, the polesitter, led a race-best 42 laps and was out front with two laps remaining in regulation when he was hit from behind by Parker Kligerman. The incident sent Hill’s car into the wall and ultimately collected nine cars, including many that had been running toward the front much of the afternoon – putting the race in overtime.

On the ensuing overtime restart, Kligerman was eliminated in a four-car crash at the front as various cars started running out of gas in the field. Love lined up on the front row for the final restart among eight drivers racing for their career first wins.

Herbst’s runner-up finish in the Stewart-Haas Racing Ford was his best showing of the year. Our Motorsports Anthony Alfredo finished third, followed by Young’s Motorsports rookie Leland Honeyman and Alpha Prime Racing’s Brennan Poole. Alfredo tied his career best mark and Honeyman had a career best finish.

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Joe Gibbs Racing’s Sheldon Creed, Alpha Prime Racing’s Caesar Bacarella, Viking Motorsports’s Matt DiBenedetto, 2023 Talladega winner, Jordan Anderson Racing’s Jeb Burton and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer rounded out the top 10.

There were 34 lead changes among 16 drivers in a typically Talladega afternoon.

Ryan Sieg, who lost to Sam Mayer last week at Texas Motor Speedway in a photo finish – by 0.002s – won the Dash 4 Cash $100,000 bonus.

An 11-car accident on lap 65 proved critical to several race frontrunners as well as Dash 4 Cash eligible drivers.

Herbst hit Justin Allgaier’s No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevy with only two laps left in the opening stage – both vying for a top 10 and some early stage points. It eliminated Allgaier from contention. Mayer was eliminated in a later multi-car crash and that left an intriguing battle between Sieg, who had to make a green flag late race pit stop because of a flat tire and A.J. Allmendinger, whose car was damaged in a crash.

Sieg and Allmendinger lined up 19th and 20th respectively on the second overtime restart and Sieg was able to pull away, finishing 17th with Allmendinger 19th.

“This is huge for our team,’’ Sieg said. “It was a rough one. I thought I threw it away, but [we were] lucky enough to get the caution at the end and come back and beat the No. 16. So it all worked out and is pretty extraordinary for our small team.”

Not only does he win the Dash 4 Cash paycheck, but Sieg will compete against Love, Herbst and Alfredo next week at Dover, Del. for the final race of the incentive program.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Chandler Smith, who finished 25th, still holds a 14-point lead over Custer atop the championship standings.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series moves to the one-mile Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway next week for Saturday’s BetRivers 200 (1:30 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Ryan Truex is the defending race winner.

RESULTS

ARCA champ Love to race in MX-5 Cup at Sebring

Jesse Love, driver of the No. 2 Whelen Engineering Chevrolet in the NASCAR Xfinity Series will join the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin grid for Rounds 3 and 4 at Sebring International Raceway. Mazda MX-5 Cup continues to attract …

Jesse Love, driver of the No. 2 Whelen Engineering Chevrolet in the NASCAR Xfinity Series will join the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin grid for Rounds 3 and 4 at Sebring International Raceway.

Mazda MX-5 Cup continues to attract high-profile fans among accomplished professional drivers, with Love joining that list. The 2023 ARCA Menards Series champion was introduced to the series via shared sponsor Whelen Engineering and instantly wanted a chance to participate.

“I’m excited for the opportunity to compete at Sebring for the first time,” said Love. “Our season with the No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet has been off to a strong start, and with an off weekend early in the Xfinity Series schedule, it allowed for this to come together. I have driven a lot of different cars throughout my career, from sprint cars to stock cars, so this is another tool that I can use in the future.”

Love will drive the No. 2 Team Fox (the marketing arm of the Michael J. Fox Foundation) car entered by a new team, Hendricks Motorsports. Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, the team is led by Kimberlee Hendricks, a second-generation racer. Hendricks operates a race-prep shop founded by her father Buddy Hendricks in 1989. She took over in 2014 and sees MX-5 Cup as an opportunity to expand the business.

“We are excited to announce our two-car program for the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin and confirming driver Jesse Love for our debut race at Sebring International Raceway,” Hendricks said. “It is a blessing of momentum and confidence. For many years we have been working diligently toward growing into a professional-level series. We now have the opportunity to combine our passion, dedication and race experience to build a top performing team. Thank you to our partners and everyone that has been involved in aiding us, to make this dream a reality. We look forward to the future possibilities as we expand this program!”

With the Xfinity Series off the weekend of March 16 – 17, Love has the opportunity to race MX-5 Cup as part of the celebrated 12 Hours of Sebring event week. The 3.741-mile circuit uses portions of Hendricks Field, a former WWII airstrip. It is famous for its rough track surface that gave birth to the slogan ‘respect the bumps.’

“The level of interest in Mazda MX-5 Cup from prominent drivers across all racing disciplines is incredible,” Mazda Motorsports Senior Manager Jonathan Applegate said. “It proves we’re doing something amazing in this sport, with just the right mix of driving skill and fun.

“I’m also excited to welcome a new team to the MX-5 Cup paddock led by a woman, Kimmie Hendricks. That makes two female-led teams in our series, with the other being BSI Racing and Shea Holbrook.”

Love will have two practice sessions on Wednesday, March 13, before qualifying the same day. Race 1 takes place on Thursday, March 14 at 1:05pm ET. Race 2 is scheduled for 11:15am ET on Friday, March 15. Both races will be streamed live on RACER.com and IMSA.tv.

Jesse Love to join Richard Childress Racing for 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series season

Richard Childress Racing announced on Wednesday afternoon that Jesse Love will drive the No. 2 Xfinity car during the 2024 NASCAR season.

[autotag]Richard Childress Racing[/autotag] announced on Wednesday afternoon that [autotag]Jesse Love[/autotag] will drive the No. 2 Xfinity car on a full-time basis starting in 2024. This is a shocking move as Love only has two starts in the NASCAR top-3 levels, which both came in the Truck Series. Now, the 18-year-old driver will become a full-time competitor in the Xfinity Series.

Love won the 2023 ARCA Menards Series championship with 10 wins in 20 races. Granted, the field in the ARCA Menards Series was not up to par as in previous seasons and Love was the overwhelming favorite due to six full-time drivers, plus William Sawlich’s inability to run every race. The new Richard Childress Racing driver also has one top-10 finish in the Truck Series.

Overall, this is a surprising move that not many would have expected as Toyota loses another prospect to Chevrolet. Love may not have been in line for a good ride with Toyota in the Cup Series and Richard Childress Racing gives him a better opportunity. For now, Love will develop with the NASCAR team’s Xfinity Series program for the next few years.

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