Jesse Love awaiting to qualify his No. 2 Chevrolet Camaro during Friday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying session at Talladega Superspeedway. (Photo Credit: Riley Thompson | The Podium Finish)
LINCOLN, Ala. — The 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series Sunoco Rookie Of The Year recipient, Jesse Love, continues to stay on a hot roll in the first 10 races of the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series campaign, scoring his third Kennemetal Pole Award of the year, leading the 38-car field to green for Saturday’s Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Love, the defending spring Talladega race winner, continues to flex his muscles with his drafting track prowess, with RCR teammate Austin Hill starting in toe to Love’s outside of the front row for Saturday’s race.
Love is coming off a heartbreaking week at Rockingham Speedway, after winning the event but eventually failing post-race technical inspection, sending him to a 37th-place result.
Reigning Xfinity Series champion Justin Allgaier starts in the fourth spot, and owner-driver Joey Gase, who shocked the Xfinity Series garage with his impressive 4th place qualifying effort, starts alongside Allgaier. Jeb Burton, two-time Talladega winner, rounds out the top 5 in the No. 27 Chevrolet Camaro for Jordan Anderson Racing.
Taylor Gray, Josh Williams, Daniel Dye, Ryan Ellis, and Jeremy Clements rounded out the top 10 in Friday afternoon’s qualification session.
Aside from Allgaier, JR Motorsports struggled to put the majority of their four-car squadron inside the top 10, with Connor Zilisch and defending race winner Sammy Smith in 13th and 14th, and Carson Kvapil starting all the way back in 20th.
Austin Hill locked out the front row with his Richard Childress Racing teammate of Jesse Love, seeking his ninth drafting track victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. (Photo Credit: Hayden Hutchinson | The Podium Finish)
Aric Almirola is back for his fifth Xfinity Series start of 2025, rolling off 17th in the No. 19 Toyota Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Katherine Legge gears up for her second of seven scheduled Xfinity Series races, starting her No. 32 e.l.f. Cosmetics Chevrolet Camaro for JAR in 27th spot.
Superspeedway specialist Jeffrey Earnhardt makes his first appearance of the year for Sam Hunt Racing, starting 30th on Saturday afternoon.
Jesse Iwuji makes his return to the Xfinity Series after a two-year hiatus, starting in the 36th spot.
Of the 41 drivers that entered for the race, three cars were sent home, including the No. 14 of Garett Smithley, Austin Green (No.87), and Jake Garcia, a CRAFTSMAN Truck Series regular for ThorSport Racing, who was attempting to make his Xfinity Series debut all failed to qualify for the 113-lap showdown.
“Yeah, I’m looking forward to tomorrow.” Said a positive Love in a post-qualifying interview with The CW.
“I think we got a really good shot at it. I’ve never sat on the pole at Talladega, so that’s really cool. But I think we’re going to have a really good shot tomorrow, I have to just stay out front. And when we do lose track position, just keep a calm headspace, and methodically make our way up and not make any low percentage moves that would put us back a few rows.”
Love expanded on his perception about his disqualification from Rockingham Speedway one week ago, giving insight to how he felt when he received the unfortunate news.
“Yeah, I’ve gotten a lot of feedback from a lot of people that I look up to about how to handle a situation. So feel like I’ll answer the whole question, like right now, and then kind of leave it and then move on. But I feel like our, you know, team deserves to be heard and whatnot.”
“I think through the process of the appeal ,now that NASCAR, you know, showed kind of what the problem was in our car. You know, we went into the appeal process with the hopes that we could prove that it was due to damage that we used to say on the racetrack, you know, having two sets of contact on pit road and then hitting the wall about three times, three or four times that day.”
“I think that we accomplished that goal throughout the appeal process, and we’re able to, I guess, you know, prove as much as we possibly could that it was due to damage. I think where the bummer factor is is that that didn’t matter at the end of the day.”
Love looks to claim his third-career NASCAR Xfinity Series win, and second at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday afternoon.
The Ag-Pro 300 from Talladega Superspeedway will air live on The CW at 4:00 pm ET, MRN, and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
