The NASCAR Xfinity Series kicked off its 2025 season Saturday at Daytona International Speedway with the United Rentals 300. 20-year-old Jesse Love took the checkered flag driving for Richard Childress Racing, notching his second career victory. The race ended with a multi-car crash just as the field took the white flag, freezing the running order in place before they could dive into turn one.
“So many people have helped me get to this point,” Love said after his win. “Not sure what happened to [Austin Hill] tonight, but he was really dominant tonight,” Love continued. “We’re working on changing our culture here at RCR. We’re winners, we know we are and we really want to win a championship for Richard Childress. I’m ready to go to [the next race at] Atlanta now.”
As referenced by Love, his RCR teammate Austin Hill had a disappointing race after winning the event each year from 2022 to 2024. An engine failure marred Hill’s chances at a four-peat, which seemed likely after he won both stages and led 56 of the first 82 laps.
Brandon Jones (20) and Justin Allgaier (7) both left Daytona with wrecked racecars. ⓒ Eryn Harris
Several drivers saw their race end prematurely when a multi-car crash kicked off on lap five. The bottom line briefly stalled, causing a series of cars with a healthy space between them to suddenly become bunched up. Contact from Jesse Love’s #2 Chevrolet turned Brandon Jones’ #20 Toyota up into the outside wall, impacting several of the cars around them. DeLand, Florida native Daniel Dye in particular was incensed to have been “wrecked by [my] best friend”, referring to Love.
The evening was also disappointing for Sheldon Creed, who as of this week has thirteen second place finishes in the Xfinity Series without a win. “When [Love] got control at the end I tried to make a few runs at him,” said Creed, who finished third. “I think I got next to him, I got by him twice. But he could pounce right back, where I felt like when I got passed by him it took me a few laps to try to create a run.”
Harrison Burton finished in sixth place. ⓒ Eryn Harris
The race was no easier for Harrison Burton, the sixth-place finisher who won the most recent NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona last year. “The racing in this series is completely different,” Burton said. “I was thinking of how to race a Cup car the whole time and figured it would translate well. This is so different.”
The final-lap wreck eliminated several late contenders, including defending Xfinity champion Justin Allgaier, plus Josh Williams, Ryan Sieg, Jeb Burton, Caesar Bacarella, and others. Williams’ car was pitched into the air at one point, sitting on top of multiple of his competitors.
“You certainly want to make sure you’re there at the end and take care of your stuff to make sure it goes to the end,” added seventh-place driver-owner Jordan Anderson, whose wallet gets hit each time his race cars do. “I’m gonna race, but I’m gonna make sure I’m conservative enough to where I’m not going to put myself in a bad spot.”
- Jesse Love – #2 Whelen Chevrolet (Richard Childress Racing)
- Sam Mayer – #41 Audibel Ford (Haas Factory Team)
- Sheldon Creed – #00 Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Ford (Haas Factory Team)
- Carson Kvapil – #1 Bass Pro Shops/Clarience Tech Chevrolet (JR Motorsports)
- Taylor Gray – #54 Operation 300 Toyota (Joe Gibbs Racing)
- Harrison Burton – #25 Dead On Tools Ford (AM Racing)
- Jordan Anderson – #32 Volpi Chevrolet (Jordan Anderson Racing)
- Dean Thompson – #26 Thompson Pipe Group Toyota (Sam Hunt Racing)
- Jeremy Clements – #51 One Stop/All South Electric Chevrolet (Jeremy Clements Racing)
- Patrick Emerling – #07 Firman Power Equipment Chevrolet (SS-Green Light Racing)
- Matt DiBenedetto – #99 Viking Motosports Chevrolet (Viking Motorsports)
- Christian Eckes – #16 Celsius Chevrolet (Kaulig Racing)
- Caesar Bacarella – #45 Mongoose Power Solutions Chevrolet (Alpha Prime Racing)
- Josh Bilicki – #91 Rita’s Chevrolet (DGM Racing with Jesse Iwuji Motorsports)
- Joey Gase – #53 NCPC Race Against Crime Chevrolet (Joey Gase Motorsports)
- Jeb Burton – #27 Golden Corral Chevrolet (Jordan Anderson Racing)
- Ryan Truex – #24 BB Printing Co. Toyota (Sam Hunt Racing)
- Justin Allgaier – #7 Brandt Chevrolet (JR Motorsports)
- Ryan Sieg – #39 Sci Alps Ford (RSS Racing)
- Josh Williams – #11 Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet (Kaulig Racing)
- Leland Honeyman Jr. – #70 DPR Construction Chevrolet (Cope Family Racing)
- Anthony Alfredo – #42 Dude Wipes Chevrolet (Young’s Motorsports)
- Ryan Ellis – #71 Classic Collision Chevrolet (DGM Racing with Jesse Iwuji Motorsports)
- Sammy Smith – #8 TMC Transportation Chevrolet (JR Motorsports)
- Justin Bonsignore – #19 M3 Technology Toyota (Joe Gibbs Racing)
- Greg Van Alst – #35 CB Fabricating Chevrolet (Joey Gase Motorsports)
- Connor Zilisch – #88 WeatherTech Chevrolet (JR Motorsports)
- William Sawalich – #18 Soundgear Toyota (Joe GIbbs Racing)
- Parker Retzlaff – #4 Visual Pak/Rewind It 10 Chevrolet (Alpha Prime Racing)
- Brennan Poole – #44 Macc Door Systems Chevrolet (Alpha Prime Racing)
- Garrett Smithley – #14 Hire Heroes USA Chevrolet (SS-Green Light Racing)
- Kris Wright – #5 First National Bank Corp. Chevrolet (Our Motorsports)
- Austin Hill – #21 Bennett Transportation Chevrolet (Richard Childress Racing)
- Blaine Perkins – #31 Werner Chevrolet (Jordan Anderson Racing)
- Nick Sanchez – #48 -Big Machine Vodka Spiked Chevrolet (Big Machine Racing)
- Kyle Sieg – #28 TopPool.com Ford (RSS Racing)
- Brandon Jones – #20 Menards/Swiffer Toyota (Joe Gibbs Racing)
- Daniel Dye – #10 Champion Container Chevrolet (Kaulig Racing)
ⓒ Eryn Harris
