Sammy Smith Victorious in Rockingham Return; Jesse Love DQ’d

Sammy Smith (No. 8) at Rockingham Speedway during the North Carolina Education Lottery 250. (Photo: Phil Cavali | The Podium Finish)

ROCKINGHAM, N.C. — In the first NASCAR Xfinity Series at Rockingham Speedway in over two decades, Sammy Smith won the North Carolina Education Lottery 250 after Jesse Love was disqualified following post-race inspection.

It was ruled that Love and the No. 2 team violated Rule 14.14.2.1- 5. h, which relates to the trailing arm spacers and pinion shim arms. The ruling relegated Love to a 37th-place finish and rewarded Smith with the victory.

The win was the first of the 2025 season for Smith and his third career victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. He also took home the Dash 4 Cash, finishing the highest of the four eligible drivers and earning the $100,000 bonus.

“It’s a tough way to win that, but I feel like we’ll take them as we can get them,” said Smith after being declared the winner. “We waited here (Rockingham Speedway) to see what happens, but overall, it was a good day. I’m kind of speechless to be honest with you.”

Sammy Smith (No. 8) and Taylor Gray (No. 54) battling for position at Rockingham Speedway. (Photo: Phil Cavali | The Podium Finish)

In the closing laps, the race became a bit of a fiasco with fuel concerns throughout the field. On Lap 241, Christian Eckes ran out of fuel on a restart, causing a big pileup at the start/finish line, taking out Ryan Sieg, who led a race-high 77 laps.

The pileup also involved some of the other heavy hitters in the field, such as Justin Allgaier, Carson Kvapil, Brandon Jones and Nick Sanchez. This opened up the opportunity for the midfield cars and drivers to earn an unexpected great finish.

One of those teams was Alpha Prime Racing, which had two of its cars finish inside the top five with Parker Retzlaff and Brennan Poole finishing second and fourth, respectively. Retzlaff, who qualified in second, thought he was in the catbird seat of the final restart with fuel saving concerns, but both Love and Smith had enough to make it to the end.

“I thought that the (No.) 2 and 8 couldn’t make it, so I thought we had a chance to make it there on the last lap,” said Retzlaff. “Overall, just a really good day and happy with what we did today. I think we can build on it.”

Jesse Love (No. 2), the initial winner at Rockingham Speedway, before being disqualified post-race. (Photo: Phil Cavali | The Podium Finish)

Harrison Burton scored AM Racing the organization’s best result in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with a third-place finish and rookie Taylor Gray rounded out the top five.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 19 team was also disqualified after post-race inspection, dropping Justin Bonsignore from 36th to 38th place in the finishing order.

This weekend also marked the return of Kasey Kahne, who was making his first NASCAR start since 2018. After qualifying in fourth place, he rallied to finish in the 14th position after being involved in an incident at the end of Stage 1.

Stage 1 Top 10 Results

1. Nick Sanchez
2. Parker Retzlaff
3. Ryan Sieg
4. Anthony Alfredo
5. Jeb Burton
6. Kyle Sieg
7. Carson Kvapil
8. Matt DiBenedetto
9. Jeremy Clements
10. Brandon Jones

Stage 2 Top 10 Results

1. Dean Thompson
2. Jeb Burton
3. Jeremy Clements
4. Matt DiBenedetto
5. Anthony Alfredo
6. Brandon Jones
7. Carson Kvapil
8. Kyle Sieg
9. Taylor Gray
10. Sam Mayer

North Carolina Education Lottery 250 at Rockingham Speedway Finishing Results