The Xfinity Series has had no shortage of races where you feel like things just can’t get going. Whether it’s mistakes or car failure, races like Martinsville seemed to breed cautions all day that never ended.

Somehow for the beast in the southeast, Talladega Superspeedway, the opposite seemed to happen. Through two and a half stages, there wasn’t a single natural caution, with the only two being for stage breaks.

Pole winner Jesse Love, using lessons from his teammate, used the day to coast through the competition and lead over 40 laps.

Then things got hectic, as things at Talladega do.

Before that could happen, things seemed as calm as they could be. Stage one saw limited action with RCR teammates Love and Austin Hill pacing the field, but behind them storylines brewed.

Rookie Connor Zilisch once again proved his growing proficiency across the series schedule, managing his #88 WeatherTech Chevrolet in traffic throughout stages one and two. Another darkhorse that found success early was the #27 of Jeb Burton, whose two series wins at the track are the only two of his career.

The action early on, while caution free, did show the ever progressing rookie of the year battle get even hotter, as drivers like Nick Sanchez, Carson Kvapil and Zilisch all battled amongst each other. As the series approaches the summer swing, it’ll be crucial for the young drivers to capitalize on good finishes, or wins, when they come.

Stage two saw much of the same, as things remained cordial. Pit cycles ensued with no issue and the RCR Chevrolets continued to chariot the field. While Love maintained a steady lead, Hill was poised to make history by becoming the all time series winner at superspeedways, a list that includes legends like the Earnhardts.

Hill snatched the lead from his teammate and won stage two, giving Richard Childress his seventh stage win in a row at superspeedways. Things were looking up for the team heading into an unusual calm final stage.

Finally, after a restart that saw Love and Aric Almirola dueling for the lead, the first natural caution was caused on lap 79 as Sammy Smith got a bit of an extra shove from Burton, sending him and Greg Van Alst into the wall and reminding the field the nature of Talladega.

Sheldon Creed, still searching for his first series win after 13 second place finishes, battled his #00 Haas Ford through the sea of Chevys and soon was fighting the likes of Love and Burton.

As the field raced towards Lap 113, Zilisch flexed his muscles and forced Love to shuffle up the track, taking the lead and eyeing his first oval win in his young career.

Behind the leaders, Almirola checked up the track without being clear of the #32 of Katherine Legge, causing the races second natural caution and forcing the #88 to have to try and earn it.

With the race restarting, Zilisch needed to battle Hill, Love and fellow rookie Sanchez as the packs shifted around and drivers became desperate to launch towards the front.

Laps ticked down without incident, and the 18-year-old coasted down the final front stretch into turns 3 and 4 looking to make headlines once again, but as the #2 of Love was getting closer and closer to his bumper, lifting wasn’t an option.

Whether it was the #2 bullish push, or a late block from the #88, it ended in yet another heartbreaker for Zilisch and the race ended under caution, with Hill making history and disappointment for Burton and Love.

Many fans voiced their displeasure with the race being ended under caution, but Zilisch’s head on hit into the wall after being spun out warranted the immediate yellow as the crew needed to make sure he was alright.

Hill won’t care about the specifics of the win, as he successfully made history for himself and RCR at a superspeedway yet again this season.

“Our car was really good, everyone at RCR, ECR engines bad to the bone like always. We really had to work for that one” Hill said.

The lack of a big one was the most interesting aspect of this race, as a large portion of cars made it out unscathed in a series that often eats cars alive more weeks than not. Regardless, Hill has officially staked his claim as the superspeedway king in the series’ long history.

The win puts Hill solidly in second in the series standings, behind the veteran Justin Allgaier.

Love will have to wait to rectify last week’s post race DQ, but the young RCR driver has plenty to celebrate with a solid third place finish which notches him at fourth in the series standings.

The series heads to Texas Motor Speedway next week for NASCARs return to the lone star state. The green flag waves at 11:00 AM PST.