Jesse Love clinched victory in the United Rentals 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series season-opener at Daytona International Speedway, securing the win in overtime moments before a massive multi-car accident brought the race to an official end.

The 20-year-old Californian led three times for 30 laps, emerging victorious in his No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. Sam Mayer and Sheldon Creed of Haas Factory Team finished second and third, followed by rookies Carson Kvapil and Taylor Gray completing the top five.

Early race dominance belonged to Love's teammate Austin Hill, who led 56 laps and won both Stage 1 and 2. However, Hill's bid for a fourth consecutive season opener victory ended due to engine issues shortly after the second stage break.

The race featured 11 different leaders and 24 lead changes, with several rookies showing strong performance before being eliminated in various incidents. Harrison Burton, last summer's NASCAR Cup Series Daytona winner, finished sixth in his return to full-time Xfinity Series racing.

Key race highlights:

• Jordan Anderson, Dean Thompson, Jeremy Clements, and Patrick Emerling rounded out the top 10
• Clements earned a bonus point for setting the Xfinity Fastest Lap
• Creed leads the championship standings by nine points over Love

The NASCAR Xfinity Series continues next Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where defending champion Austin Hill swept both races last year. The race begins at 5 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on CW, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Related Articles

Previous Articles