DAYTONA, Fla. (NEXSTAR) — The three-time defending champion Austin Hill looked well on his way to a fourth win at Daytona, sweeping the first two stages of Saturday’s Xfinity Series season opener, before the engine in his #21 car gave out, ending his night early.
Jesse Love capitalized on the opportunity as his Richard Childress Racing’s #2 Chevrolet made it to the overtime white flag just moments before a multicar pileup brought out a caution and ended the race.
“I thought we won the race, but I immediately started saving fuel in case we didn’t, in case the caution came out before we crossed the finish line,” Love said. “This feels, you know, really special for a lot of people have sacrificed a lot for me to get to this point.”
Hill had by far the fastest car through the first two stages before his engine failed him. He was disappointed by the early departure but left Daytona with plenty of optimism about starting another season strong.
“We’ve done something special, you know, to be able to win three in a row to start the season,” Hill said. “I feel really strong about this year. I feel strong about this season in general. I think that we can go anywhere.”
It’s Love’s second-ever title win in the Xfinity Series, and while he is now locked in for the playoffs, he says he’s not resting easy for the remainder of the season.
“We still are going to, you know, stage race and try to get points and stage wins,” Love said. “We got to keep pushing. We got to, you know, focus on time with the regular season points champion, and that’ll set us up good for the playoffs.”
Focus now turns to Atlanta, where the Xfinity season will continue at the Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday, Feb. 22, starting at 5 p.m. ET on The CW.
Hill, an Atlanta native, won both races in Atlanta in last year’s Xfinity season.
