Love Wins the NASCAR Xfinity Race at Rockingham

NASCAR Media

View Image Gallery

ROCKINGHAM, NC – RIS -As the NASCAR Xfinity Racs came down to a finish, any number of drivers could win, but the question was who would win? It was difficult to determine. As it turned out, Jesse Love won, but it was an exciting climax until the caution flew that determined who that would be.

Jesse Love went from third to first on the overtime restart to win Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity race at Rockingham Speedway, the first Xfinity race at the historic track since 2004.

Love led 53 laps and stretched his fuel over the final 96 laps to collect his second win of the season and third career Xfinity win. He did so before a sellout crowd at Rockingham. Sammy Smith, who lost the lead to Love on the overtime restart, finished a season-best second. Smith collected the $100,000 bonus for winning the Xfinity Dash 4 Cash. It was his first Dash 4 Cash bonus.

Parker Retzlaff overcame a flat tire with about 100 laps to go to finish third, tying his career-best Xfinity result, Harrison Burton placed fourth, and Brennan Poole completed the top five. Alpha Prime Racing had two cars finish in the top five for the first time with Retzlaff and Poole.

Kasey Kahne, making his first NASCAR start since 2018, finished 15th after he was collected in two separate incidents.

Saturday's race was slowed by 14 cautions for 83 laps and two red flags in the 256-lap race.

Katherine Legge failed to qualify for the race but replaced JJ Yeley in a car for Joey Gase Motorsports. She finished last in the 38-car field after a crash. William Sawalich made contact with Legge's car as she was being lapped. The contact spun Legge's car into the path of Kahne's car, causing damage to the right front of Kahne's vehicle.

Nick Sanchez won Stage1 and Dean Thompson won Stage 2.

As the race moved on to its conclusion, fuel was the issue for several drivers. Love last pitted with 90 laps to go, in the final 60 laps after the 11th caution, Love was chasing Ryan Sieg, who pitted 10 laps before him, and hanging back knowing that his No. 10 Richard Childress Racing car had a higher chance of making it to the end. For the fifth time this year, the end of the race came out of regulation with a green-white-checkered finish.

With 18 laps remaining, Love was setting up Sieg to pass him on the inside when Daniel Dye went around collecting Kasey Kahne. This was the second spin that caught Kasey Kahne in his NASCAR return after being retired from the sport for eight years. William Sawallich collected the retired driver along with Katherine Legge in her first Xfinity Series start of the year, to bring out the first yellow of the race back in stage one.

Sieg held the lead based on when the yellow came out, according to timing and scoring.

On the restart, with 12 to go, Sieg started up front when he misfired low on fuel and could not maintain speed under the caution. On the restart, Sammy Smith took the lead from Love as Love fell back to third. The No. 16 failed to fire and collected eight cars in the middle of the pack, including Justin Allgaier, Sieg, Nick Sanchez, and Carson Kvapil.

Love was told he was 13 laps to the good with six laps remaining. Smith controlled the next restart, and with three laps remaining in regulation, a final caution came out as multiple cars started to run out of fuel, spin, and finally cause enough potential damage for the 14th caution of the race to be thrown.

With the amount of cleanup and speedy dry that needed to be placed as the sun began to set over Rockingham, the race was red-flagged for the second time, and after a five-minute stoppage, went back green. On the restart, Love pushed Smith to the lead, and then up the track to reclaim the lead and drive off to a victory at a track the Xfinity Series stopped visiting before he was born.

Smith settled for second after his late chance to secure his first win of the 2025 season. Parker Retzlaff, who pitted with under 40 laps to go in regulation, was hoping for more leaders to fall below on fuel, but ultimately recorded his best finish in third. Harrison Burton and Brennan Poole completed the top five. With Retzlaff's third and Poole's fifth this is the first time that the Alpha Prime Racing, a smaller team, has put two cars into the top five.

Unofficial Results for the North Carolina Education Lottery 250 presented by Black’s Tire, April 19, 2025 - Rockingham Speedway
Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
1) 7, Jesse Love, No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet, 256, , 7, 6, 53, 5, 45, Running
2) 13, Sammy Smith, No. 8 Pilot Chevrolet, 256, , , 1, 9, , 35, Running
3) 2, Parker Retzlaff, No. 4 Scentsy Chevrolet, 256, 2, , , , , 43, Running
4) 29, Harrison Burton, No. 25 DEX Imaging Ford, 256, , , , , , 33, Running
5) 28, Brennan Poole, No. 44 Macc Door Systems Chevrolet, 256, , , , , , 32, Running
6) 15, Taylor Gray #, No. 54 Operation 300 Toyota, 256, , 10, , , , 32, Running
7) 10, Austin Hill, No. 21 Bennett Transportation Chevrolet, 256, , , , , , 30, Running
8) 21, Josh Williams, No. 11 Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet, 256, , , , , , 29, Running
9) 22, Jeb Burton, No. 27 CELSIUS Chevrolet, 256, 5, 2, , , , 43, Running
10) 27, Daniel Dye #, No. 10 Champion Container Chevrolet, 256, , , , , , 27, Running
11) 16, Jeremy Clements, No. 51 Harrison's Chevrolet, 256, 9, 3, , , , 36, Running
12) 18, Dean Thompson #, No. 26 Thompson Pipe Group Toyota, 256, , 1, 1, 11, 1, 35, Running
13) 6, Brandon Jones, No. 20 Menards/Barracuda Toyota, 256, 10, 6, 2, 6, , 30, Running
14) 1, Connor Zilisch #, No. 88 WeatherTech Chevrolet, 256, , , , , , 23, Running
15) 4, Kasey Kahne, No. 33 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 256, , , , , , 22, Running
16) 34, Anthony Alfredo, No. 42 Randco Chevrolet, 256, 4, 5, , , , 34, Running
17) 25, Carson Kvapil #, No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Clarience Tech Chevrolet, 256, 7, 8, 2, 47, , 27, Running
18) 26, Josh Bilicki, No. 91 Insurance King Chevrolet, 256, , , , , , 19, Running
19) 12, Ryan Sieg, No. 39 Sci Aps Ford, 256, 3, , 2, 77, , 26, Running
20) 37, Patrick Emerling, No. 07 Firman Power Equipment Chevrolet, 256, , , , , , 17, Running
21) 35, Kyle Sieg, No. 28 Night Owl Companies Ford, 256, 6, 9, , , , 23, Running
22) 8, Justin Allgaier, No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet, 254, , , , , , 15, Running
23) 33, Garrett Smithley, No. 14 Molly Strong Chevrolet, 253, , , , , , 14, Running
24) 9, Christian Eckes #, No. 16 Black's Tire Chevrolet, 252, , , 1, 1, , 13, Running
25) 36, Vicente Salas, No. 45 Miramar Financial Group Chevrolet, 251, , , , , , 12, Running
26) 5, William Sawalich #, No. 18 Soundgear Toyota, 248, , , , , , 11, Running
27) 11, Sam Mayer, No. 41 Audibel Ford, 247, , , , , , 10, Accident
28) 14, Matt DiBenedetto, No. 99 Viking Motorsports Chevrolet, 247, 8, 4, , , , 19, Accident
29) 30, Kris Wright, No. 5 First National Bank Corp Chevrolet, 247, , , , , , 8, Accident
30) 20, Thomas Annunziata, No. 70 Bayshore Mortgage Chevrolet, 246, , , , , , 7, Suspension
31) 32, Austin Green, No. 87 OVERPLAY Chevrolet, 241, , , , , , 6, Accident
32) 3, Nick Sanchez #, No. 48 Big Machine Vodka Spiked Chevrolet, 240, 1, , 2, 52, 1, 15, Accident
33) 24, Blaine Perkins, No. 31 Opti-Coat/KSDT CPA Chevrolet, 226, , , , , , 4, Accident
34) 23, Ryan Ellis, No. 71 Southern Elevator Chevrolet, 180, , , , , , 3, Accident
35) 38, Greg Van Alst, No. 35 CB Fabricating Chevrolet, 171, , , , , , 2, Brakes
36) 19, Justin Bonsignore, No. 19 M3 Technology Toyota, 157, , , , , , 1, Accident
37) 17, Sheldon Creed, No. 00 Road Ranger Ford, 109, , , , , , 1, Accident
38) 31, Katherine Legge(i), No. 53 Ace Hardware Rock Hill Chevrolet, 50, , , , , , 0, Accident
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie

Race Length: 256 Laps, 240.64 Miles
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 59 Mins, 38 Secs.
Average Speed: 80.377 MPH
Margin of Victory: 0.691 Seconds

Fastest Lap Bonus: No. 2, lap 156, 23.267 sec

Stage 1 Top 10: 48, 4, 39, 42, 27, 28, 1, 99, 51, 20
Stage 2 Top 10: 26, 27, 51, 99, 42, 20, 2, 1, 28, 54

Comments: Jesse Love has won the North Carolina Education Lottery 250 presented by Black’s Tire at Rockingham Speedway, his third career victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

Prior to the start, the following cars dropped to the rear for the reasons indicated:
No. 35: engine change,
No. 42: unapproved adjustment,
No. 53: Driver Change,
No. 88: Unapproved adjustments.

Failed to Qualify: (2) 32 Katherine Legge (i), 74 Dawson Cram.

Cautions: 14 for 83 laps;
Laps: 14-17 (No. 45 Incident Backstretch [None]);
53-58 (No. 18, 33, 53 Incident Turn 1 [14]);
62-70 (Stage 1 Conclusion [35]);
110-117 (No. 00, 19 Incident Turn 4 [14]);
122-128 (Stage 2 Conclusion [39]);
130-134 (No. 11, 18 Incident Turn 4 [33]);
139-143 (No. 35 Spin Turn 2 [88]);
149-153 (No. 07 Incident Backstretch [88]);
159-164 (No. 19 Incident Backstretch [07]);
182-188 (No. 28, 51, 71 Incident Backstretch [14]);
228-232 (No. 31 Incident Turn 4 [07]);
236-240 (No. 10, 33, 91 Incident Turn 3 [28]);
242-246 (No. 1, 7, 16, 20, 39, 48 Incident Turn 1 [Red Flag: 2:59] [28]);
249-254 (No. 27, 88 Incident Turn 2 [Red Flag: 5:38] [39]).

Lead Changes: 17 among 8 drivers;
C. Zilisch # 0;
N. Sanchez # 1-44;
J. Love 45-56;
N. Sanchez # 57-64;
C. Kvapil # 65-102;
J. Love 103;
C. Kvapil # 104-112;
D. Thompson # 113-123;
B. Jones 124-128;
J. Love 129-133;
B. Jones 134;
J. Love 135-160;
R. Sieg 161-187;
C. Eckes # 188;
R. Sieg 189-238;
J. Love 239-245;
S. Smith 246-254;
J. Love 255-256.

Unofficial Points, North Carolina Education Lottery 250 presented by Black’s Tire, Rockingham Speedway
Rank, Driver, Car, Starts, GL, Points, Ldr, Nxt, Race Wins, Stage Wins, Playoff Pts
1) Justin Allgaier, 7, 10, 0, 410, 0, 0, 2, 3, 13
2) Jesse Love, 2, 10, 1, 331, -79, 79, 2, 0, 10
3) Sam Mayer, 41, 10, -1, 322, -88, 9, 0, 1, 1
4) Austin Hill, 21, 10, 0, 310, -100, 12, 2, 4, 14
5) Carson Kvapil #, 1, 10, 1, 284, -126, 26, 0, 0, 0
6) Brandon Jones, 20, 10, 1, 283, -127, 1, 1, 0, 5
7) Connor Zilisch #, 88, 10, -2, 283, -127, 0, 1, 2, 7
8) Sammy Smith, 8, 10, 2, 276, -134, 7, 0, 1, 1
9) Ryan Sieg, 39, 10, 0, 275, -135, 1, 0, 0, 0
10) Sheldon Creed, 00, 10, -2, 253, -157, 22, 0, 0, 0
11) Jeb Burton, 27, 10, 2, 250, -160, 3, 0, 0, 0
12) Harrison Burton, 25, 10, 0, 242, -168, 8, 0, 2, 2
13) Daniel Dye #, 10, 10, -2, 239, -171, 3, 0, 0, 0
14) Taylor Gray #, 54, 10, 2, 221, -189, 18, 0, 0, 0
15) Dean Thompson #, 26, 10, 3, 219, -191, 2, 0, 1, 1
16) Christian Eckes #, 16, 10, -2, 217, -193, 2, 0, 0, 0
17) Nick Sanchez #, 48, 10, -2, 217, -193, 0, 0, 1, 1
18) Brennan Poole, 44, 10, 1, 199, -211, 18, 0, 0, 0
19) Jeremy Clements, 51, 10, 2, 196, -214, 3, 0, 0, 0
20) Josh Williams, 11, 10, 0, 192, -218, 4, 0, 0, 0
21) Aric Almirola, , 4, -4, 186, -224, 6, 1, 1, 0
22) Parker Retzlaff, 4, 9, 0, 184, -226, 2, 0, 0, 0
23) Anthony Alfredo, 42, 10, 3, 154, -256, 30, 0, 0, 0
24) Matt DiBenedetto, 99, 10, 0, 146, -264, 8, 0, 0, 0
25) William Sawalich #, 18, 10, -2, 142, -268, 4, 0, 0, 0
26) Kyle Sieg, 28, 10, 2, 134, -276, 8, 0, 0, 0
27) Ryan Ellis, 71, 10, -2, 125, -285, 9, 0, 0, 0
28) Blaine Perkins, 31, 10, -1, 123, -287, 2, 0, 0, 0
29) Josh Bilicki, 91, 7, 1, 100, -310, 23, 0, 0, 0
30) Kris Wright, 5, 10, -1, 92, -318, 8, 0, 0, 0
31) Garrett Smithley, 14, 9, 0, 92, -318, 0, 0, 0, 0
32) Leland Honeyman, , 5, 0, 65, -345, 27, 0, 0, 0
33) Joey Gase, , 5, 0, 59, -351, 6, 0, 0, 0
34) Patrick Emerling, 07, 4, 2, 57, -353, 2, 0, 0, 0
35) Justin Bonsignore, 19, 4, -1, 54, -356, 3, 0, 0, 0
36) Mason Massey, , 5, -1, 45, -365, 9, 0, 0, 0
37) Nick Leitz, , 3, 0, 32, -378, 13, 0, 0, 0
38) Jordan Anderson, , 1, 0, 30, -380, 2, 0, 0, 0
39) Alex Labbe, , 2, 0, 30, -380, 0, 0, 0, 0
40) Greg Van Alst, 35, 7, 0, 30, -380, 0, 0, 0, 0
41) Thomas Annunziata, 70, 4, 5, 25, -385, 5, 0, 0, 0
42) Caesar Bacarella, , 1, -1, 24, -386, 1, 0, 0, 0
43) Brad Perez, , 2, -1, 23, -387, 1, 0, 0, 0
44) Kasey Kahne, 33, 1, -44, 22, -388, 1, 0, 0, 0
45) Patrick Staropoli, , 1, -2, 21, -389, 1, 0, 0, 0
46) Mason Maggio, , 4, -2, 21, -389, 0, 0, 0, 0
47) Ryan Truex, , 1, -2, 20, -390, 1, 0, 0, 0
48) Austin Green, 87, 3, 1, 18, -392, 2, 0, 0, 0
49) Corey Day, , 1, -2, 16, -394, 2, 0, 0, 0
50) Cj Mclaughlin, , 2, -2, 16, -394, 0, 0, 0, 0
51) Vicente Salas, 45, 1, -51, 12, -398, 4, 0, 0, 0
52) Carson Ware, , 2, -2, 12, -398, 0, 0, 0, 0
53) David Starr, , 1, -2, 11, -399, 1, 0, 0, 0
54) Myatt Snider, , 2, -2, 11, -399, 0, 0, 0, 0
55) Dawson Cram, , 2, -2, 7, -403, 4, 0, 0, 0
56) Sage Karam, , 1, -2, 5, -405, 2, 0, 0, 0
57) Preston Pardus, , 1, -2, 1, -409, 4, 0, 0, 0
58) Baltazar Leguizam?n, , 1, -2, 1, -409, 0, 0, 0, 0
59) Kyle Larson(i), , 2, -2, 0, -410, 1, 1, 2, 0
60) William Byron(i), , 1, -2, 0, -410, 0, 0, 1, 0
61) Alex Bowman(i), , 1, -2, 0, -410, 0, 0, 1, 0
62) Chase Elliott(i), , 1, -2, 0, -410, 0, 0, 0, 0
63) Ross Chastain(i), , 2, -2, 0, -410, 0, 0, 0, 0
64) Corey Heim(i), , 3, -2, 0, -410, 0, 0, 0, 0
65) Riley Herbst(i), , 1, -2, 0, -410, 0, 0, 0, 0
66) Christopher Bell(i), , 1, -2, 0, -410, 0, 0, 0, 0
67) Carson Hocevar(i), , 1, -2, 0, -410, 0, 0, 0, 0
68) Katherine Legge(i), 53, 1, -68, 0, -410, 0, 0, 0, 0
69) Tyler Tomassi, , 0, -3, 0, -410, 0, 0, 0, 0
70) Jj Yeley(i), , 0, -3, 0, -410, 0, 0, 0, 0
 -Ldr/-Nxt = Points behind Leader/Next higher, (i) Ineligible for driver points