LAS VEGAS, Nev: Austin Hill and Jesse Love, the powerhouse duo from Richard Childress Racing, weren’t in contention to win Saturday afternoon’s The LiUNA! NASCAR Xfinity Series Race at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway. However, the team will leave Sin City wondering if they could have challenged Justin Allgaier for the win if not for hiccups earlier in the race.
Love, the Daytona Xfinity Series winner, wasn’t satisfied with the handling of his No. 2 Whelen Engineering Chevrolet on Friday afternoon. However, the hard work of his No. 2 Richard Childress Racing team, led by Danny Stockman, erased any concerns throughout the race’s 200 laps.
Love started seventh in the fifth NASCAR Xfinity Series race of the season and stayed in contention for a top-five in the opening 45-lap sprint in Stage 1 before finishing eighth with a loose race car.
The team took the opportunity to improve the handling of Love’s machine with an air pressure adjustment, and Love secured his placement initially inside the top-10 to start Stage 2.
Unfortunately, NASCAR handed the team a pit road penalty for an uncontrolled tire, which sent Love to the rear for the start of Stage 2.
After starting outside the top 20 for the start of Stage 2, Love methodically worked his way forward. By the end of Stage 2, Love was able to earn a single stage point by finishing 10th.
The race’s final stage went caution-free, with Love restarting fifth and maintaining his position inside the top five.
On Lap 145, Love made his final pit stop of the afternoon for four tires, fuel, and another air pressure adjustment. Battling his way back into the top five over the final 40 laps, Love cruised to a fourth-place finish and earned his second top-five result of the season.
After the checkered flag, both drivers admitted they had hoped for a late caution to bunch up the field and give them a chance to challenge the dominant cars of race winner Justin Allgaier and Aric Almirola. But with only three cautions in one of the cleanest spring Xfinity Series races in recent memory, both had to settle for solid but relatively quiet rebounds.
“When we unloaded this week, we were pretty far off. Danny (Stockman) and I were both nervous going into this race, because we were here past closing time yesterday and worked late to figure out what we needed to do to be better,” said Love.
“We didn’t think that we could contend for a top-10 yesterday, so this is a big confidence boost. To know that we can come to these places and be a little off but still find a way to have a winning car at the end is encouraging.
“At the end, our No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet was really good. Obviously, we were hoping for a caution, but it didn’t come. It’s still a great rebound for our No. 2 team. The call on pit road doesn’t make much sense to me, so we will have to look at it this week.”
Las Vegas served as the opening race of the annual Xfinity Series Dash-4-Cash, putting Love and his team in the hunt for a $100,000 bonus at Homestead-Miami Speedway on March 22.
“Overall, I’m proud of my pit crew for rebounding today,” added Love. “They did a good job of getting me back in contention after the trouble we had earlier. Thanks to everyone back at Richard Childress Racing. Proud of our company and look forward to Homestead next week to race for the Dash 4 Cash bonus.”
Hill, one of the pre-race favorites entering Saturday afternoon’s Xfinity Series, showcased top-five speed in his race car. However, an unscheduled pit stop for a loose wheel before the end of Stage 2 threw his race into unfamiliar territory.
Down a set of tires compared to the rest of the field, Hill — like his teammate in the previous stage — started outside the top 20 and rallied through a caution-free stage to secure a fourth-place finish, bouncing back from a devastating mistake last weekend at Phoenix Raceway.
