Jesse Love wins at Phoenix, edges Sam Mayer by 0.128 seconds
NXTbets Pro | Published On: October 18, 2026
Love wins
Love grabbed Saturday night’s Timberland PRO 200 at Phoenix Raceway and gave Richard Childress Racing its second straight Phoenix victory. He drove the No. 2 Chevrolet to his second win of the 2026 season and the fifth victory of his career. Love beat Mayer to the line by 0.128 seconds. He led 156 of the 200 laps, swept the first two stages and finished with the victory.
The result gave Love another statement win at Phoenix. He controlled the race in the opening stages and led 156 of the 200 laps while the race produced five cautions for 35 laps and 18 lead changes. Love backed up the speed in the first two stages with the finish that mattered most. He won the race and extended a strong stretch for both himself and Richard Childress Racing.
Mayer rallies
Mayer recovered from the rear of the field after a blown motor in practice and still fought his way into the finish of the race. He emerged as Love’s closest challenger in the closing stages. Mayer’s run added another layer to a race that kept changing shape. The field dealt with five cautions for 35 laps and 18 lead changes, which forced drivers to keep adjusting on the fly. Mayer turned a rough start to the weekend into a second-place finish.
Behind the top two, the finishing order still carried weight. Justin Allgaier came home third, Corey Day finished fourth and Sammy Smith took fifth. Those results mattered in a race where stage points and track position shaped the rhythm of the day as much as the final order did. Love’s pace at the front limited the room for others to make long-term moves, but the lead changes showed that the race stayed competitive throughout. The cautions kept the pack tight and gave drivers chances to attack, defend and reset. Mayer did enough to turn a difficult start into a second-place finish, but Love had the stronger final lap and the faster last answer.
Standings shift after
Love’s victory also changed the look of the standings. He left Phoenix with a 36-point lead over Allgaier after the race. Corey Day moved to third in the standings, three points behind Allgaier, and Sheldon Creed dropped to fourth, 59 points behind Love. Creed finished 32nd and was two laps down, a rough night that left him with more ground to make up in the championship fight. The points picture reflected the speed Love showed all evening, along with the consistency he found from the first stage to the final restart. He left no doubt about the value of the win.
The race gave Love a cleaner path at the top of the standings and put more pressure on the drivers chasing him. Allgaier’s third-place finish kept him close, but the gap grew by the end of the night. Day stayed in the hunt as well, even with a small margin between him and Allgaier. Creed’s slide to fourth made the championship picture tighter behind the leader, but Love controlled the most important part of the night. He won the race, added another trophy to a young career and kept Richard Childress Racing on a strong Phoenix run. The team backed up one victory with another, and Love added another result that strengthened his place near the front of the season-long race.
