ROCKINGHAM, N.C. — Sammy Smith was declared the winner of the NASCAR Xfinity Series North Carolina Education Lottery 250 at Rockingham Speedway on April 19, 2025, after race leader Jesse Love was disqualified for a technical violation. The race, marking the series’ return to “The Rock” after a 21-year absence, featured intense competition, 14 cautions, and a dramatic post-race outcome.
The disqualification came hours after Love crossed the finish line first, 0.691 seconds ahead of Smith. NASCAR officials found that Love’s No. 2 Chevrolet violated Rule 14.14.2.I-5.h, which requires all mating surfaces of trailing arm spacers and pinion angle shims to be in complete contact. “All mating surfaces of those parts need to be in complete contact with each other, and unfortunately they violated that rule and were disqualified,” said series director Eric Peterson. Love was relegated to 37th place, losing what would have been his second win of the 2025 season.
Smith, driving the No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, earned his first victory of the season and the third of his career, along with a $100,000 bonus for winning the final Xfinity Dash 4 Cash race. “It’s a tough way to win that, but I feel like we’ll take ‘em any way we can get ‘em,” Smith said. “We waited here to see what happens, but overall, it was a good day, and I’m very happy with the progress we’ve made recently. I’m kind of speechless, to be honest with you.”
The 256-lap race, extended by overtime, was chaotic, with 14 cautions for 83 laps, nine in the final stage. Parker Retzlaff finished second, a career-best, followed by Harrison Burton in third, giving AM Racing its best-ever Xfinity result. Brennan Poole took fourth, his second top-five in four races, and rookie Taylor Gray rounded out the top five. Austin Hill, Josh Williams, Jeb Burton, Daniel Dye, and Jeremy Clements completed the top 10.
Ryan Sieg led a race-high 77 laps but was caught in a massive Lap 241 crash triggered by Christian Eckes running out of fuel on a restart, ending Sieg’s chance at his first career win. Nick Sanchez, who led 52 laps and won Stage 1, and Carson Kvapil, who led 47 laps, also fell victim to the crash. Dean Thompson secured Stage 2, marking Sam Hunt Racing’s first stage victory.
The race saw 17 lead changes among eight drivers, with a second groove allowing occasional three-wide racing. However, aggressive moves led to incidents, including a Lap 52 crash that eliminated Katherine Legge after contact from William Sawalich. Kasey Kahne, in his first Xfinity start since 2017, was caught in the same incident but recovered to finish 14th despite earlier damage. Legge, who took over JJ Yeley’s ride after failing to qualify, started from the rear and was lapped before the wreck.
Justin Bonsignore’s No. 19 Toyota was also disqualified for improperly installed lug nuts, dropping him to 38th place. The disqualifications altered the points standings, with Justin Allgaier maintaining the lead over Sam Mayer, while Love fell to fourth behind Austin Hill.
Rockingham Speedway, a 1.017-mile oval, hosted its first Xfinity race since 2004, drawing enthusiastic fans. The event, part of a repaved and renovated facility under Rockingham Properties, showcased the track’s challenging layout, with an average race speed of 80.377 mph over 2 hours, 59 minutes, and 38 seconds.
The Xfinity Series heads to Talladega Superspeedway for the Ag-Pro 300 on April 26, 2025, at 4 p.m. ET, broadcast on The CW.
