Jesse Love, driver of the #2 WAT Chevrolet, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Xfinity Series Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 20, 2024 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images for NASCAR)

NASCAR News: Jesse Love wins Talladega Xfinity race

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 Superspeedway — crossing the line by a slight 0.141-seconds ahead of Riley Herbst.

In many ways, it was victorious redemption for the 19-year-old Californian, who earlier this season was leading the race in overtime at Atlanta Motor Speedway 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 41 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 into 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. 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 Jr. and Alpha Prime Racing’s Brennan Poole. Alfredo tied his career best mark and Honeyman had a career-best finish.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Sheldon Creed, Alpha Prime Racing’s Caesar Bacarella, Viking Motorsports’s Matt DiBenedetto, Jordan Anderson Racing’s Jeb Burton (the 2023 Talladega winner) 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.

Jesse Love, driver of the #2 WAT Chevrolet, and RCR team owner and NASCAR Hall of Famer, Richard Childress pose for photos in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 20, 2024 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

Ryan Sieg, who lost to Sam Mayer last week at Texas Motor Speedway in a photo finish by 0.002-seconds, 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 AJ Allmendinger, whose car was damaged in a crash.

Sieg and Allmendinger lined up 19th and 20th — respectively — on the second overtime re-start 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 were lucky enough to get the caution at the end and come back and beat the 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 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 1-mile Dover 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.

Xfinity Race Results

Pos

St

No.

Driver

Car

Laps

1

2

2

Jesse Love #

WAT Chevrolet

124

2

8

98

Riley Herbst

Monster Energy Ford

124

3

11

5

Anthony Alfredo

Dude Wipes Chevrolet

124

4

33

42

Leland Honeyman #

Mezrano Injury Lawyers Chevrolet

124

5

27

44

Brennan Poole

CW & Sons Infrastructure Chevrolet

124

6

10

18

Sheldon Creed

Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Toyota

124

7

29

45

Caesar Bacarella

Prime Bites Chevrolet

124

8

28

38

Matt DiBenedetto

Viking Motorsports Ford

124

9

35

27

Jeb Burton

Puryear Tank Lines Chevrolet

124

10

4

00

Cole Custer

Haas Automation Ford

124

11

38

14

Mason Massey(i)

Fan Controlled Chevrolet

124

12

31

15

Hailie Deegan #

AirBox Ford

124

13

25

28

Kyle Sieg

North Country Ford Ford

124

14

1

21

Austin Hill

Bennett Transportation Chevrolet

124

15

13

19

Taylor Gray(i)

Operation 300 Toyota

124

16

36

92

Josh Bilicki

Insurance King Chevrolet

124

17

24

39

Ryan Sieg

Sci Aps Ford

124

18

17

35

Joey Gase

Fireside RV Rental Chevrolet

124

19

14

16

AJ Allmendinger

Celsius Chevrolet

124

20

9

11

Josh Williams

Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet

124

21

5

8

Sammy Smith

Pilot Flying J Coffee Chevrolet

124

22

18

97

Shane Van Gisbergen #

Wendy’s Chevrolet

124

23

26

29

Blaine Perkins

Ollie’s Ford

123

24

19

66

David Starr

GreenLightPP.com Chevrolet

123

25

7

81

Chandler Smith

QuickTie Toyota

123

26

37

43

Ryan Ellis

Four Loko Jungle Juice Chevrolet

123

27

20

91

Kyle Weatherman

DriveSmartWarranty.com Chevrolet

120

28

30

4

Dawson Cram #

TeamJDMotorsports.com Chevrolet

120

29

3

48

Parker Kligerman

Spiked Lite Coolers Chevrolet

117

30

21

31

Parker Retzlaff

EasyCare Chevrolet

113

31

32

32

Jordan Anderson

Bommarito Automotive Group Chevrolet

111

32

12

07

Patrick Emerling

BIG Studio Group Chevrolet

111

33

23

9

Brandon Jones

Menards/Criterion Appliances Chevrolet

65

34

6

20

Ryan Truex

The Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota

65

35

22

51

Jeremy Clements

One Stop/All South Electric Chevrolet

65

36

15

1

Sam Mayer

First Bank of Alabama Chevrolet

65

37

34

26

Jeffrey Earnhardt

ForeverLawn Toyota

46

38

16

7

Justin Allgaier

BRANDT Chevrolet

24

 

(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

Next Race: April 27, 2024 – Dover Motor Speedway