Just when Chandler Smith swept both stages of the Hy-Vee Perks 250 Xfinity race, Jesse Love lost control to bring out the sixth caution of the day at Iowa. This will be the #2 Chevy driver’s first DNF of the 2024 season.

Before the incident, Love, who started P9 by default after a rain-determined qualifying session, was hard in battles with #21 teammate Austin Hill for some crucial stage points at P10. Although Love finished tenth in the first stage, that spot belonged to Hill by the end of Stage 2, not without some close calls on his #2 teammate.

Jesse Love’s Iowa heartbreak courtesy of tire failures & a literal fire

According to motorsports journalist Dustin Albino, a voice on Love’s radio was heard saying, “Don’t worry about him (Hill), he does this sh*t all the time.” However, a separate update by @BrakeHardBlog states, “He (Love) said he felt a vibration” following some dirty racing in battles with Hill.

Regardless, after cutting a right front tire, and facing pressure from Kaulig Racing’s Daniel Dye running around the 15th spot, the #2 Chevy hit the outside barriers near Turn 4 hard, ending Love’s Iowa outing early.

If that wasn’t enough, while his #2 was being towed to the garage, the car caught fire, which naturally became a point of unnatural concern. Another update from the @BrakeHardBlog paints a saddening picture: “Jesse Love just standing there watching his car literally burn on the wrecker.” 

Thankfully, safety officials extinguished the fire, and nobody was harmed. Upon release from the infield care center, Love clarified to the media, speculating what could have caused his misfortunes at the end of Stage 2. “I think on the restart, I imagine when me and the #00 (Cole Custer) made a little bit of contact when I was trying to fill the hole. Maybe it punctured a little bit and then it just started getting tighter and tighter and then it went off… Just a flat tire,” explained the 19-year-old via Frontstretch.

To gain some context, only a few minutes before Love crashed into the barriers, Patrick Emerling had brought out the 4th caution of the race after a spin on that same Turn 2 around lap 125.

Double DNF for Richard Childress Racing

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Nevertheless, answering questions for SiriusXM NASCAR Radio regarding his car “engulfed in flames,” en route to the garage, Love duly stated, “I went to text my dad,  cause he was like, ‘You alright?’ and I only texted him a picture of the car, and the car was on fire. And I was like “Oh my gosh!” Props to the safety vehicles for getting it extinguished very quickly and not making us work harder than we need to. Yeah, just a bummer day, but really good speed in the last few weeks…”

The day went from bad to worse for Richard Childress Racing when his #21 teammate Austin Hill also wrecked out with only 30 laps to go, courtesy of yet again, a left-front tire failure. Hill was running second during his incident, and both RCR cars were only 2 out of the 12 that fell to DNFs caused primarily by contentious tire issues. The #2 and #21 finished P31 and P29 respectively.

In the end, JR Motorsports’ Sam Mayer won his second race of the 2024 season at Iowa. Riley Herbst (P2) and first-time Xfinity Series podium finisher, Corey Heim (P3) finished in the order. Mayer’s teammate, Sammy Smith, finished P4, and Joe Gibbs Racing driver, Sheldon Creed, rounded off the top 5 spot.