NASCAR Xfinity: Jesse Love Secures Maiden Victory in Thrilling Overtime Finish at Talladega
Jesse Love scored his first career victory in the NACAR Xfinity Series after going into overtime at Talladega.
The beginning of the first overtime saw Love pass Big Machine Racing driver Parker Kligerman. A collision between multiple cars which faced fuel shortages; however, sent the race into a second overtime period. With one lap left, Love briefly battled with Leland Honeyman before passing and holding off Riley Herbst by 0.141 seconds to secure his maiden victory.
Image from: https://www.jayski.com/2024/04/20/jesse-love-stretches-fuel-mileage-to-win-first-xfinity-race-at-talladega/
Anthony Alfredo, Honeyman, and Brennan Poole finished in third, fourth, and fifth, respectively. Ryan Sieg, who finished 17th, claimed the $100,000 Dash4Cash bonus, joining Love, Herbst, and Alfredo in eligibility for the next race at Dover, Delaware.
This marks Love’s first win in just his ninth start. The 19-year-old rookie has now joined the 2024 playoffs alongside Richard Childress Racing teammate Austin Hill. Love’s win comes after running low on fuel as the race ran for 11 laps beyond the scheduled distance. The rookie faced a similar situation earlier this season in Atlanta where he led most of the race before running out of fuel in overtime.
Image from: https://motorsportswire.usatoday.com/2024/04/20/jesse-love-wins-xfinity-series-race-talladega-full-results-race-recap/
Love said of the fuel shortage after his exciting win, “If we run out, we run out. My team did a phenomenal job. I don’t even know what all happened, I’d be lying if I told you I knew what happened.”
Stage 1 of the race saw Love’s last lap pass on Hill amid Justin Allgaier’s wreck. Stage 2 saw Hill holding off Love for the win, with Allmendinger, Sieg, and Jones rounding out the top five. In Stage 3, a series of wrecks, including a major one involving multiple contenders, se the stage for a race finish in overtime, ending with Love’s triumph.
Image from: https://www.tsn.ca/auto-racing/nascar/rookie-jesse-love-claims-first-nascar-xfinity-series-win-in-another-wild-talladega-finish-1.2107314
Love went on to say of his win, “It’s been a journey to get to this point. There are so many people to thank. I was having flashbacks for me to Atlanta. I love Talladega. It’s my favorite speedway, love the fans.”
