Love ‘Super Pumped’ To Earn Iowa Speedway Xfinity Pole

Jesse Love celebrates his NASCAR Xfinity Series pole at Iowa Speedway. (Nigel Kinrade/NKP photo)

NEWTON, Iowa – Jesse Love might not have started his qualifying lap at Iowa Speedway believing it was going to be a pole-winning lap, but the stopwatch told a happier tale at the end.

Love toured the seven-eighths-mile, D-shaped oval in 23.642 seconds (133.237 mph) with the No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet to earn his third Kennametal Pole Award of the season and the eighth of his NASCAR Xfinity Series career.

Though his background growing up was on short tracks, Love’s pole early Saturday afternoon – worth $2,000 – marked his first on a track less than one mile in length since moving into the Xfinity Series in 2024.

The 20-year-old from Menlo Park, Calif., hopes that he can be the one to put an end to his good friend Connor Zilisch’s three-race win streak on tour when the Hy-Vee Perks 250 gets underway.

“Super pumped at that one!” said a jubilant Love following qualifying. “Me and (crew chief) Danny (Stockman) had a pretty big heart-to-heart this week, and we agreed that we need more speed and that here, I needed to run a bigger arc [into the corners]. Well, there’s a big arc and a lot of speed for him.

“This car was as fast as [series sponsor] Xfinity Mobile and I want to keep it that way for the race, because there’s a guy with a target on his back that we’re all trying to beat now,” he added, alluding to Zilisch. “I’m so proud of everyone back in Welcome (on the RCR campus) for taking a tough week last week, putting it behind them, and showing up this week the way we know how to roll off the truck.

“I pride myself on qualifying a lot, and I said going in that I was probably going to be around the bottom, but when I entered the corner with way too much speed … I had to change up the game plan. Fortunately, it all worked out even after I missed my marks early.”

Joining Love on the front row will be Joe Gibbs Racing rookie William Sawalich, who also went out late in qualifying and missed the top spot by just three one-hundredths (.03) of a second in his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

Sawalich’s best time was 23.672 seconds (133.069 mph) as he and Love were the only two drivers to crack the 133-mph threshold in time trials.

Carson Hocevar, the NASCAR Cup Series interloper tapped to replace recently-released Josh Williams in the Kaulig Racing No. 11 for Iowa, starts third alongside Zilisch – who still contended for a potential pole despite getting up in the marbles on his first lap and having to rally back during lap two for fourth.

Defending Iowa Xfinity winner Sam Mayer rolls off fifth, followed by Austin Dillon, practice leader Ryan Sieg, Carson Kvapil, Sammy Smith, and Daniel Dye.

Dillon is subbing in the Richard Childress Racing No. 21 this weekend for Austin Hill, who was suspended one race by NASCAR for intentionally wrecking rival Aric Almirola at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last time out.

Notables starting deeper in the field include Ross Chastain (11th), back with JR Motorsports in their part-time fifth car; defending series champion Justin Allgaier (15th); playoff bubble driver Harrison Burton (17th); and top rookie contenders Christian Eckes (25th) and Nick Sanchez (26th).

Another star rookie in Taylor Gray was unable to make a qualifying attempt due to brake rotor issues that developed during the second half of the 50-minute practice session that preceded time trials.

Gray starts 36th for the race and was one of three drivers – along with Tyler Tomassi and Dawson Cram – that did not make a lap in qualifying Saturday.

Despite that, with only 38 drivers entered for 38 starting spots, no one failed to make the field at Iowa.

Broadcast coverage of the Hy-Vee Perks 250 is slated for 4:30 p.m. ET, live on The CW, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.