A development dream season of sorts added another chapter on Saturday when ARCA Racing Series championship Jesse Love went to Victory Lane in the ASA STARS Glass City 200 at Toledo Speedway.
Love inherited the lead with 60 laps to go when championship leaders Ty Majeski and Cole Butcher both ran out of fuel while racing for the lead. Equipped with clean air and a potent Donnie Wilson Motorsports No. 20, Love drove to his first win in the ASA national tour.
“Obviously, me and my Toyota teammate William Sawalich had a great race here last year,” said Love in victory lane. “I got free and came out on the short end of the stick that time. This time, me and Bond just made sure, don’t get free. Even though we were still a little bit free at the end, I think everyone else was a little freer.”
Love has eight victories and counting in ARCA competition but has been stricken by all manner of bad luck in the Super Late Model ranks this year until Saturday.
“I’m just so happy to win a Super Late race again. I feel like I don’t do a good job in these things. I don’t know what it is. I finally think we all did a good job as a team tonight. Me and Bond [Suss], I don’t think we were the fastest all night tonight, but we stuck with what we thought was right. Make the thing tight as heck, and let everyone else come to us when they get free.
“Obviously, we were pretty free the last stage. We probably lucked out going green to checkered, obviously getting track position and things like that.”
Five laps after the leaders ran out of fuel, Gio Ruggiero in another Wilson Motorsports car also ran out of fuel, leading Love to feeling the nerves. However, he reached the stage break on Lap 150 and was able to hold on the rest of the way.
“I think I barely popped the gas for two seconds each lap trying to save as much as I could, rocking it back and forth,” Love said. “Trying to keep anything in the tank, whatever was left. I didn’t even think I saved as hard as Cole was. Maybe I just saved a bit more under green. I was nervous and shaking.”
Butcher recovered from running out of fuel, as well as a spin early in the third stage after contact with Albert Francis, to finish in second place, closing the gap on Majeski in the points.
“I just can’t thank Wilson Motorsports and my guys enough for putting in such hard work these last couple of days,” said Butcher. “P2, but it was a pretty good points day. Congrats to Jesse Love, Bond, Dennis and Will. We’ll work on Winchester.
Majeski suffered an engine failure and parked his No. 91 during the second stage caution, leaving him with a 13th.
“Yeah, the motor let go,” said Majeski. “Unfortunate. We had a good car, one that could compete for the win, but it wasn’t meant to be today.”
Chase Burda finished third, with Bubba Pollard and Andrik Dimayuga rounding out the top five.
Glass City 200 Results:
- Jesse Love
- Cole Butcher
- Chase Burda
- Bubba Pollard
- Andrik Dimayuga
- Austin Nason
- Billy VanMeter
- Scotty Tomasik
- Gio Ruggiero
- Logan Bearden
- Noah Gragson
- Albert Francis
- Ty Majeski
- Kyle Crump
- Brandon Varney
- Michael Simko
- Brian Campbell
- David Liaeff
