Jesse Love Eager For Charlotte Xfinity Redempton

Jesse Love (Rusty Jarrett/Nigel Kinrade Photography)

CONCORD, N.C. – Jesse Love returns to Charlotte Motor Speedway’s 1.5-mile quad-oval seeking redemption for a NASCAR Xfinity Series win he felt “got away” last season.

As an Xfinity Series rookie, Love qualified fourth, led 14 laps, and was in contention mid-race to battle with all-time series winner Kyle Busch for a potential victory, but a second-half power steering failure relegated him to two laps down and a 28th-place finish.

Now, with a year of experience under his belt and the confidence of multiple Xfinity Series triumphs, Love hopes he can turn in his first win at an intermediate track during Saturday’s BetMGM 300.

“Last year, our Whelen Chevrolet was fast. We were driving away from Kyle Busch when our power steering went out, which was a shame. I wish we would have been able to play the race out, because I feel like we had a shot at winning,” he recalled. “This weekend, I expect the track to have low grip, and drivers will want to run the wall. Charlotte Motor Speedway is a technical track, but the temperatures aren’t going to be as hot as normal, which could up the grip level.

“Turns one and two are different than turns three and four. There is a little more room to move around in one and two, but when you do move up to run the wall on the other end, you have to rip the fence … which is something that I always love to get the chance to do.”

Love has been a modicum of consistency this season in Xfinity Series competition, winning the season opener at Daytona (Fla.) Int’l Speedway back in February and compiling three top-five and eight total top-10 finishes in 12 races en route to fourth in the regular season standings.

But that’s not enough for the motivated Menlo Park, Calif., native. He wants to string together a multi-win season and contend for a championship with his No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet team.

“We’re capable of greatness, and I feel like we’ve already proven that this season with some of the performances we’ve had,” said the 20-year-old. “Now the goal is to start dominating more races, and if (crew chief Danny) Stockman, me, and this team can do that … I think we’ll really be able to put together something special by the time the playoffs roll around.”

Broadcast coverage of Saturday’s BetMGM 300 at Charlotte is slated for 4:30 p.m. ET, live on The CW, the Performance Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.