Jesse Love wins NASCAR Xfinity Series season opener at Daytona

Mayer, Creed, Kvapil and Jordan Anderson rounded out the top-five, with Harrison Burton, Dean Thompson, Jeremy Clements, Patrick Emerling and Taylor Gray completing the top-10. 

Other notable finishers include Christian Eckes in 12th, Ryan Truex in 17th, Justin Allgaier in 18th, Ryan Sieg in 19th and Austin Hill in 33rd.

A mechanical issue took Hill — the dominant car of the day — out of the race in Stage 3. He finished 44 laps down, and was unable to win his fourth consecutive season-opening race at Daytona.

"It takes me a little time to get up front," Love told CW Sports. 'I'm trying to play chess nowadays and not checkers at Daytona. I'm at a loss for words. It's Daytona. I always cry here when I listen to the national anthem, I'm starstruck. This place is really special to me."

Jeb Burton, Allgaier, Sieg and Josh Williams were among the drivers involved in the last-lap crash on the frontstretch. 

The Xfinity Series will head to another drafting-style next week, taking on Atlanta Motor Speedway on Feb. 22. Hill won both races at Atlanta in 2024.