By David Morgan, Associate Editor
TALLADEGA, Ala. – Redemption.
It may have taken two overtimes to get there and the stress of a fuel tank running dry, but Jesse Love is a winner in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, holding off the field to win Saturday’s Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega.
In the second race of the season at Atlanta, Love seemed destined to win, only to have his fuel tank run dry and snatch victory from his hands, but this time around, he had enough to see him through to the finish, holding off a pack of hungry drivers behind him to do so.
“Man, it’s been such a journey to get to this point,” Love said. “I just wanted it so bad. I had PTSD flashbacks to Atlanta and burned it to the ground. Huge thank you to the boys at ECR for bringing the most steam in the building. This is awesome…
“If I run out, then we run out. My team did a phenomenal job. We fought. I made some moves earlier, I was like ‘What are you doing, dummy? That was not smart’…. I was just kind of going back and forth between doing a good job and making dumb decisions.
“Toward the end, the bottom started rolling and I don’t even remember what happened. I’d be lying if I told you I remembered what happened. Just a phenomenal car.”
Shuffled out of the lead with two laps to go, Love was able to avoid his crashing RCR teammate Austin Hill spinning in front of him to line up third for the first overtime restart.
Ducking under Parker Kligerman on the restart to move to the lead, Love was out front when the caution flag flew for Kligerman and others crashing behind him to send the race to a second overtime.
With more than 50 laps since he last pitted, fuel was becoming more of a concern with each passing lap. It seemed that Love may have been in for a repeat of his Atlanta heartbreak.
However, the final restart went his way as he was able to get clear into the lead and while a car at the back of the field spun at the start, the race stayed green and they were able to make it back around to the white flag.
As the field reached the final lap, Love was facing a fierce charge from Leland Honeyman, also seeking his first career win, forcing Love to play just as much defense as he was playing offense for nearly the entirety of that final lap.
Charges from both Honeyman and Brennan Poole were held at bay, with Love keeping his Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet out front – sometimes by only a nose.
With his challengers…
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