“We got all the speed in the world, baby!” Jesse Love exclaimed after climbing the pole at Iowa Speedway. At the Hy-Vee Perks 250, Love slammed in a lap of 23.64 seconds to earn his eighth career Xfinity pole and third of the 2025 season, beating William Sawalich by just 0.030 seconds. The qualifying run highlighted his raw pace and hinted at a dominant performance on race day.

But what unfolded on the track turned heartbreakingly different. After leading 31 laps in four separate stints, Jesse ultimately finished second, watching as Sam Mayer overtook him with less than 30 laps to go for the win. Jesse Love was devastated, and in the post-race afternoon, he voiced his frustration about what slipped away late in the afternoon.

Jesse Love reflects on the race that got away

Jesse Love entered the weekend as the clear form car. Pole-winning effort was no fluke; emerging from a multicar session, he constantly topped the matrix for speed and confidence. Starting upfront at Iowa, a tight, high-speed oval, offered him control of the race flow. With that starting advantage, Love positioned himself to dictate restart and pit strategy, ideally setting up for a commanding race day performance.

Through the early stages, Jesse led 27 of the first 18 laps, maintaining an average running position of 3.6 and spending 186 laps in the top five. Car responded well over long runs, though he admitted on restarts he could claw back positions when balanced tight. On lap 21, he led the restart from the outside lane, holding off contenders while managing the shuffle behind him. However, that turned sour soon enough.

In a post-race interview, the No. 2 driver didn’t hold back. He said, “And yeah, that restart was obviously jumbled up, and he (Sam Mayer) was playing the games that he needed to play. Not that it was a bad thing, but he kind of did it perfect and made it really hard for me to launch. And then once I lost the lead, because of the oil on the top lane, I felt like it was going to be tough to get it back, but I felt like if I could stay close, I’d have a shot to move him. And yeah, just for whatever reason, we just had no grip on the short run. It was like a really weird sensation. So yeah, just upside over it.”

The late race caution caused by Matt DiBenedetto and Corey Day’s contact left fluid on the track, setting up the decisive restart on lap 234. Sam. Mayer, who had taken the lead from Jesse just before the caution, nailed the restart from the inside line while Love struggled for grip on the oil-slick high groove. Mayer quickly pulled away, and when another caution on the final lap froze the field, he secured the win, leaving Jesse, who had controlled much of the race, to settle for a heartbreaking second.

Love added, “But yeah, we freed up a little bit the first stop, and it was pretty undrivable, but we made the right adjustments and made big enough swings to get us back in the hunt and had some good restarts go our way. And unfortunately, the things that got us up front in the end took us away from the win. But yeah, we were still as good as a spinning mobile there at the end. We were running pretty fast. Just not enough time. We got like football fielded in the first four laps, so a little bit confused, but yeah, just numb about it.”

Despite a commanding performance in Iowa, Jesse Love’s second-place finish leaves him in fourth in the Xfinity Series standings, behind Connor Zilisch, Justin Allgaier, and Sam Mayer, with 702 points. For Richard Childress Racing, it was a bitter pill to swallow. The organization had hoped it would solidify Jesse’s momentum, but instead, the result underscored how close yet elusive victory remains, especially with the added turbulence from the absence of teammate Austin Hill that weekend. In fact, Denny Hamlin had something to say about Hill’s suspension. But now with Iowa behind the team, Austin Hill’s waiver is under fire.

“He should have to come back and win,” says Kaulig Racing President amid Austin Hill’s suspension

Austin Hill sat out this weekend’s race at Iowa Speedway after Richard Childress Racing confirmed that it would not appeal his race suspension from NASCAR. The penalty stemmed from Hill’s retaliatory hit on Aric Almirola in the closing laps of last Saturday’s Pennzoil 250 at Indianapolis. In Hill’s absence, RCR had announced Austin Dillon’s piloting the No. 21 Chevrolet, who cleaned up a decent P14 in the race.

However, NASCAR parked Hill for five laps during the race and on Tuesday issued a stiffer blow, a one-way suspension on the loss of all 21 playoff points he had earned this season under the new 2025 rules. Though Hill maintains playoff eligibility via a waiver, he can’t earn any more playoff points during the regular season. That leaves just three races- Watkins Glen, Daytona, and Portland- to secure another win and guarantee his postseason spot. Not everyone supports the waiver.

Kaulig Racing’s President Chris Rice told SiriusXM NASCAR radio that he believes Hill should have to come back and win again, arguing drivers must be held accountable for costly on-track decisions. He said, “They go out and get a lot of sponsors for these guys to race cars… I look at it from Richard’s side. I’m standing in Richard’s shoes… There are drivers, and we have to handle them internally. And it’s just bad, right? Like you try to figure out a way that he didn’t do it. You try to figure out something that he didn’t do, but maybe the driver shouldn’t get a chance. Maybe he should have to come back and win.”

The suspension is historic; it is the first time playoff points have been stripped from an in-race disciplinary action, and it leaves Hill’s once comfortable playoff path in jeopardy. And now, as the Xfinity Series heads to Watkins Glen next, all eyes will be on Austin Hill as he prepares to avenge his playoff spot.