The NASCAR Xfinity Series visited Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday afternoon for the AG-Pro 300. Richard Childress Racing driver Jesse Love started the race on the pole with his teammate Austin Hill starting in second place.
In Stage 1, Jesse Love led the opening 27 laps. There were no cautions and Love won the stage. In Stage 2, Christian Eckes was leading when the stage started. Jesse Love, Sammy Smith, and Jeb Burton all led laps. Austin Hill took the lead on lap 44. He led the last nine laps to win the second stage.
In the final stage, there were three cautions. On lap 80, Sammy Smith and Greg Van Alst made contact that also involved Ryan Sieg and Jeb Burton. On lap 102, Aric Almirola made contact with Katherine Legge. Jeffrey Earnhardt and Brandon Jones were also involved in the crash.
There was some controversy on the final lap. The battle for the lead came down to Austin Hill, Jesse Love, Connor Zilisch, Jeb Burton, and Sammy Smith when Connor Zilisch tried to block Jesse Love and got turned resulting in hard contact with the inside wall.
From one angle, it looked like Jeb Burton was leading Austin Hill at the time of the caution lights coming on. After several minutes, NASCAR determined that Austin Hill was the winner. It was Hill’s third win of the season.
The rest of the top ten finishers were Jeb Burton second, Jesse Love third, Justin Allgaier fourth, Matt DiBenedetto fifth, Anthony Alfredo sixth, Blaine Perkins seventh, Harrison Burton eighth, Sheldon Creed ninth, and Daniel Dye tenth. There were five cautions for 23 laps and 26 lead changes among 13 drivers. Jesse Love led 50 laps, the most of the race.
The Xfinity Series visits Texas Motor Speedway next Saturday at 2 pm on The CW. Purchase NASCAR Xfinity Series tickets today at StubHub.
