Love is DQ’d, Sammy Smith is a NASCAR Xfinity Series winner at Rockingham Speedway on Saturday in the North Carolina Education Lottery 250.
ROCKINGHAM, N.C.—Long after the checkered flag waved in the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ long-awaited return to Rockingham Speedway, Sammy Smith’s fortunes improved dramatically.
Sammy Smith is a Winner at Rockingham
Smith was awarded the victory in the North Carolina Education Lottery 250 after the No. 2 Chevrolet of ostensible race winner Jesse Love was deemed to have violated Rule 14.14.2.I-5.h, which covers trailing arm spacers and pinion angle shims.
“All mating surfaces of those parts need to be in complete contact with each other, and unfortunately they violated that rule and were disqualified,” said series director Eric Peterson.
The disqualification of Love’s car gave Smith his first victory of the season and the third of his career. Sammy Smith is a wnner with a $100,000 bonus as the highest finisher inl Xfinity Dash 4 Cash race of the season.
“It’s a tough way to win that, but I feel like we’ll take ‘em any way we can get ‘em,” Smith said after learning of Love’s disqualification. “We waited here to see what happens, but overall, it was a good day, and I’m very happy with the progress we’ve made recently.
“I’m kind of speechless, to be honest with you.”
Jesse Love/Richard Childress Racing Faces Rockingham Disqualification
After Love climbed from his car at the finish line, the No. 2 Camaro rolled away from him down the banking and into the infield grass. Perhaps that was an omen of problems to come.
Love had just done a celebratory burnout after a magnificent restart in overtime propelled him to the apparent victory. He finished 0.691m seconds ahead of Smith, but the margin was negated by the infraction, and the win went to the driver of the No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet.
Before the infraction was discovered, Love was ecstatic to win at ‘The Rock.’
“Oh, my gosh, these fans are amazing,” said Love, who was all but drowned out by the cheers from the onlookers, who celebrated the return of the Xfinity Series to Rockingham for the first time since 2004. “What an amazing race track. Man, this race track’s right in my alley. It’s hammer down—you’ve got to be in the gas good today.
“I had such an incredible car… (On the final restart) I don’t know if I hit him (Smith) or if he stumbled… I had to get it done—we had too good of a piece.”
Unfortunately, the fastest car on Saturday couldn’t pass post-race inspection.
The North Carolina Education Lottery 250 Results
In a race that featured 14 cautions for 83 laps—with nine yellows occurring in the final stage—Parker Retzlaff ran second, a career best; Harrison Burton was third, giving AM Racing its best-ever Xfinity Series finish; and Brennan Poole came home fourth, scoring his second top five in the last four races.
Sunoco rookie Taylor Gray completed the top five. Austin Hill, Josh Williams, Jeb Burton, Daniel Dye, and Jeremy Clements finished sixth through tenth.
Big Wrecks Eliminate Contenders
Ryan Sieg led a race-high 77 laps, battling Love for the lead in the final stage, but was collected in a massive lap 241 crash when Christian Eckes ran short of fuel on a restart and backed up the field behind him.
That wreck ruined the Dash 4 Cash hopes of the three other contenders for the bonus, Justin Allgaier, Carson Kvapil, and Brandon Jones.
Nick Sanchez was out front for 52 circuits, including the first 44 of the race, but he, too, fell victim to the lap 241 crash, which forced the first of two red-flag periods.
Carson Kvapil led 47 laps in the second stage as he and Love fought for the lead. Sanchez won Stage 1, and Dean Thompson scored the first-ever stage win for Sam Hunt Racing in Stage 2.
Fans who came to Rockingham anticipating a show weren’t disappointed. A workable second groove opened above the bottom lane, and drivers were even able to roll three-wide through the corners on occasion, though some of the attempts to do so produced regrettable outcomes.
Katherine Legg has a Rough Day
Katherine Legge’s sixth Xfinity Series start—and her first since 2023 at Road America—came to an early end on lap 52, when hard contact from William Sawalich turned her No. 53 Chevrolet sideways in the first turn.
Unable to avoid Legge’s spinning car, Kasey Kahne, making his first start in the series since 2017, sustained damage to the right front of his No. 33 Chevrolet, with the blow sending Legge’s Camaro up the track into the outside wall, eliminating her from the race.
Legge had failed to qualify during time trials earlier in the day. So she arranged to take over JJ Yeley’s ride and started from the rear because of the driver change. She had already been lapped by the then-leader Jesse Love when the accident occurred.
Kasey Kahne Recovers and Another Disqualification
Kahne had to pit for repairs to the nose of his car. He lost a lap in the process, but he recovered to finish 14th.
The No. 19 Toyota of Justin Bonsignore was also disqualified. His car’s lug nuts were not installed in a safe and secure manner. Bonsignore had finished 36th of 38 drivers before the disqualification.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series Point Standings
Justin Allgaier remains at the top of the series point standings by 87 points over Haas Factory Team’s Sam Mayer. Austin Hill, Jesse Love, and Carson Kvapil hold the third through fifth spots.
Rounding out the top ten are Brandon Jones, Connor Zilisch, Sammy Smith the winner at Rockingham. Then, Ryan Sieg, and Sheldon Creed.
Up Next
The NASCAR Xfinity Series now heads to Talladega Superpeedway for the next race on Saturday, April 26th. The Ag-Pro 300 starts at 4 pm ET on CW, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. The defending winner is Jesse Love from Richard Childress Racing.