Jesse Love dominated Phoenix Raceway on Saturday, sweeping both stages and leading 156 of 200 laps to win the Timberland PRO 200 and open a commanding lead in the NASCAR O’Reilly Series Chase.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

The 21-year-old from Clovis, California, drove his No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet to victory by just 0.128 seconds over Sam Mayer, who charged hard from the rear of the field after an engine change. Love’s win—his second of the season and fifth of his career—gave him 75 points and a 36-point advantage over Justin Allgaier (third) and a 39-point edge over Corey Day (fourth). Sheldon Creed, who entered the race with a two-point lead in the standings, dropped to fourth, 59 points back, after a disastrous finish in 32nd.

Unlike last November, when Love clinched the title at this same one-mile track, three races remain in the new nine-race Chase format. Still, the result left little doubt who currently holds the upper hand.

“I would say it’s a day we prepared for, not just dreamed of,” Love said. “I’ve got a great group around me, just preparing me to be in these situations, to be calm, cool and collected. I’ve learned from a lot of mistakes that allow me to execute at a high level at a track like this. I’ve been here, it feels like, a million times… Grateful to the fans for coming out. It’s my favorite race track. I love coming to Arizona—I’m a West Coast kid.”

Jesse Love, driver of the #2 Whelen Chevrolet, celebrates with a burnout as his crew cheer after winning the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Timberland PRO 200 at Phoenix Raceway on October 17, 2026 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

The race’s most dramatic moment came over the final 35-lap green-flag run. Mayer, in the No. 41 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet, closed the gap and stayed on Love’s bumper to the checkered flag. He gained ground over the last two laps and nearly made contact coming off the final corner, but Love held him off.

“Hats off to them, man,” Love said of the Mayer team. “The 41 team did a great job coming from the back and making their car better. Honestly, it felt like they were a little better than we were at the end. I was having to just drive a lot over the tire to make any sort of lap time. I’m just grateful to be in a situation to win races. I’ve got a great pit crew who just maul everybody on pit road every week. It makes my job a lot easier. I’m really proud of the whole group.”

Mayer, who stayed sixth in the standings (86 points behind), acknowledged how close the opportunity was.

“Good job to him—he drove a great race,” Mayer said. “We definitely pressured him the whole time. It came down to making a mistake or not, and he executed really well. Really close… The Hendrick Engine shop brought a really good engine for us—two of them, technically I guess, ‘cause we blew one up. I haven’t had fun this year like that. That was just a lot of fun. It was just great racing, and hopefully we put on a show for everyone at home. That’s some pretty big championship implications if we could have won that one. I’m looking at the numbers right here, and they look pretty ugly for the old 41 and, honestly, the 00, too.”

Creed’s day unraveled during the caution for the first stage break. A kill-switch malfunction shut off his Chevrolet, and he lost three laps on pit road while his crew worked to restart it. He finished 32nd, two laps down, and only climbed as high as he did through attrition. Sammy Smith finished fifth, followed by Brandon Jones (who lost a lap early after pitting for wet tires during a brief shower in the first stage), Dean Thompson, William Sawalich, Rajah Caruth, and Carson Kvapil.

Next up is the Progress Group 250 on Oct. 24 at Talladega Superspeedway (3:30 p.m. ET on CW, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Jesse Love, driver of the #2 Whelen Chevrolet, wears a “8” hat, a tribute to the late Kyle Busch in victory lane after winning the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Timberland PRO 200 at Phoenix Raceway on October 17, 2026 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)
Race Results

Fin
Str
No.
Driver
Team
Laps Led
Laps
Status

1
1
2
Jesse Love (C)
Whelen Chevrolet
156
200
Running

2
35
41
Sam Mayer (C)
Starkey Chevrolet
0
200
Running

3
13
7
Justin Allgaier (C)
Registix Chevrolet
18
200
Running

4
11
17
Corey Day (C)
HendrickCars.com Chevrolet
7
200
Running

5
9
8
Sammy Smith (C)
Pilot Chevrolet
0
200
Running

6
2
20
Brandon Jones (C)
Menards/Monster Energy Toyota
0
200
Running

7
17
26
Dean Thompson
MCM Transportation Toyota
0
200
Running

8
3
18
William Sawalich
SoundGear Toyota
0
200
Running

9
6
88
Rajah Caruth (C)
HendrickCars.com Chevrolet
0
200
Running

10
16
1
Carson Kvapil (C)
Champion Irrigation Products Chevrolet
0
200
Running

11
18
99
Parker Retzlaff (C)
FUNKAWAY Chevrolet
9
200
Running

12
19
51
Jeremy Clements
AllSouthElectric/AllianceDriveawaySol Chev
1
200
Running

13
36
24
Harrison Burton
Klutch Kares Toyota
0
200
Running

14
25
32
Andrew Patterson
Winsupply Chevrolet
0
200
Running

15
10
21
Austin Hill (C)
Titan Chevrolet
0
200
Running

16
22
27
Jeb Burton
AO Smith Chevrolet
0
200
Running

17
15
96
Anthony Alfredo
VaVia Chevrolet
0
200
Running

18
28
2
Ryan Ellis
Tablo TV Chevrolet
0
200
Running

19
30
45
Lavar Scott #
Bender Extender Chevrolet
0
200
Running

20
8
19
Brent Crews # (C)
YoungLife Toyota
1
199
Running

21
27
48
Patrick Staropoli #
Syfovre Chevrolet
0
199
Running

22
7
87
Nick Sanchez(i)
Peterson Racing Group Chevrolet
0
199
Running

23
12
39
Ryan Sieg
SciAps Chevrolet
0
199
Running

24
14
31
Blaine Perkins
WERNER Chevrolet
0
199
Running

25
21
28
Kyle Sieg
LIGHTING SouthWest Chevrolet
0
199
Running

26
23
92
Josh Williams
Lucky Dog Mobile Groomer Chevrolet
0
199
Running

27
37
42
Brad Perez
Santiam Rentals Chevrolet
0
199
Running

28
5
54
Taylor Gray (C)
Homes For Our Troops Toyota
0
199
Running

29
24
53
Will Rodgers
Driving Good Health Chevrolet
0
198
Running

30
31
43
Connor Mosack(i)
Lindamood Demolition Chevrolet
0
198
Running

31
34
0
Garrett Smithley
Dozer Winch Parts Chevrolet
0
198
Running

32
4
0
Sheldon Creed (C)
Ollie’s Chevrolet
8
198
Running

33
38
55
Joey Gase
Ford
0
198
Running

34
20
91
Leland Honeyman Jr.(i)
DPR Construction Chevrolet
0
197
Running

35
26
44
Brennan Poole
Frontline Fire Protection Ford
0
197
Running

36
32
7
Josh Bilicki
SnowEX Chevrolet
0
179
Brakes

37
33
47
Dawson Cram
Hoods Home Center Chevrolet
0
126
Fuel Pump

38
29
9
Jake Finch
Chevy Cares Chevrolet
0
54
Engine

Average Speed of Race Winner:  96.373 mph.

Time of Race:  2 Hrs, 4 Mins, 31 Secs. Margin of Victory:  0.128 Seconds.

Caution Flags:  5 for 35 laps.

Lead Changes:  18 among 7 drivers.

Lap Leaders:   J. Love (C) 1-31;S. Creed (C) 32-39;J. Love (C) 40-49;P. Retzlaff (C) 50;J. Love (C) 51-54;J. Allgaier (C) 55-71;J. Love (C) 72;J. Allgaier (C) 73;J. Love (C) 74-94;P. Retzlaff (C) 95;J. Love (C) 96-100;C. Day (C) 101-105;J. Love (C) 106;C. Day (C) 107-108;J. Love (C) 109-153;B. Crews # (C) 154;J. Clements 155;P. Retzlaff (C) 156-162;J. Love (C) 163-200.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Jesse Love (C) 9 times for 156 laps; Justin Allgaier (C) 2 times for 18 laps; Parker Retzlaff (C) 3 times for 9 laps; Sheldon Creed (C) 1 time for 8 laps; Corey Day (C) 2 times for 7 laps; Brent Crews # (C) 1 time for 1 lap; Jeremy Clements 1 time for 1 lap.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 2,00,7,88,8,41,1,51,54,17

Stage #2 Top Ten: 2,7,54,17,41,88,8,1,21,26