Richard Childress Racing maintained its grip on Daytona International Speedway’s season opener, but with a different driver celebrating in Victory Lane. Jesse Love, the defending Rookie of the Year, captured Saturday’s United Rentals 300 after teammate Austin Hill’s bid for a fourth straight Daytona opener victory ended with mechanical issues.

Love demonstrated veteran poise in the closing stages, leading 30 of the final 32 laps and surviving a NASCAR Overtime finish to secure his second career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory. Both of his wins have now come at superspeedways (Daytona/Talladega).

“I just listened to the guy up there,” Love credited spotter Brandon Benesch in his post-race interview with The CW. “Bummer what happened to [Austin Hill]. I’m not sure what happened but he was really dominant tonight, and we’re working on changing our culture here at [Richard Childress Racing]. We’re winners. We know we are. We all want to win a championship for Richard Childress.”

The race appeared to be Hill’s to lose early on, as the three-time defending race winner dominated by leading a race-high 56 laps and claiming both stage victories. However, mechanical problems forced the No. 21 Chevrolet to retire mid-race, immediately preceding Love’s surge to the front.

The Haas Factory Team duo of Sam Mayer and Sheldon Creed finished second and third respectively, with Mayer securing his first-ever Daytona top-10 finish. Carson Kvapil showed remarkable resilience in fourth place, overcoming two incidents including one that tore off his rear bumper on lap five. Rookie Taylor Gray completed the top five in his Joe Gibbs Racing entry.

The event featured the typical superspeedway chaos with eight cautions for 39 laps and 24 lead changes among 11 drivers. Notable incidents included a lap five crash that eliminated Brandon Jones and Daniel Dye, while a bizarre accident saw Kris Wright lose control and collect Josh Bilicki and Ryan Truex at pit road entrance.

Harrison Burton impressed in his return to the series, finishing sixth in his AM Racing debut. Jordan Anderson continued his strong superspeedway performance in seventh, while rookie Dean Thompson secured eighth place after a strong showing that included nine stage points. Jeremy Clements (ninth) earned the Xfinity Fastest Lap bonus point, and Modified standout Patrick Emerling completed the top 10.

Leaving Daytona, Creed holds a nine-point advantage over race winner Love in the regular-season standings, with Thompson sitting third, just 13 points back. The series heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway next Saturday for a 5:00 PM ET start on The CW.