Love’s Work Ethic Buoying Strong Rookie Stat Sheet

Jesse Love (Jacob Seelman/Race Face Digital photo)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – By most any indicator, Jesse Love’s rookie NASCAR Xfinity Series season has been a successful one by the numbers to this point.

Love is one of four drivers to have earned five or more poles in any of NASCAR’s three national series this year, joining Michael McDowell (six, Cup Series), Kyle Larson (five, Cup Series), and Ty Majeski (five, Truck Series) in that exclusive club with five races remaining on the calendar.

He became the first driver in Xfinity Series history to earn his first two poles in the first two starts of his career, and is one of eight drivers to earn five or more poles in their first full season, as well as the first true rookie (making no series starts prior to his rookie campaign) to do so since Ryan Newman in 2001.

In addition, he’s led the most laps on drafting-style superspeedways among any of the top three series, with 270 combined circuits out front between Daytona (Fla.) Int’l Speedway, Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway, and Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.

Love’s maiden Xfinity Series win in April at Talladega came in just his ninth career start and has him vying for Sunoco rookie-of-the-year honors in the playoffs with fellow first-year driver Shane van Gisbergen.

In short, there have been a host of bright spots to celebrate for the 19-year-old from Menlo Park, Calif.

That doesn’t mean Love is content to rest on his laurels, though. As he told Motorsports Hotspot this week ahead of the Round of 12 cutoff race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL, “We’re always trying to find ways to build and improve.”

“As I look on it, there have been moments that have been pretty incredible, from getting five poles and leading as many laps as we have this year to our win at Talladega in the spring,” said the driver of the No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro for Richard Childress Racing. “But in that same vein, there’s a lot we haven’t accomplished still from our checklist that we’re looking to accomplish before the end of the season. Winning multiple races and making it to the Championship 4 remains the end goal and going into Phoenix [Raceway] with a shot to win the championship.

“Not necessarily satisfied, for sure, but it’s still really cool to see what our team has accomplished so far this year.”

In reflecting on his Talladega victory, Love noted that it was “the moment we felt like we arrived” in the series and gave him a sense of belonging, where he was confident that he could compete on the national level every week.

But he hasn’t let off the gas since then, even if it hasn’t always shown in the results.

Guided by veteran crew chief Danny Stockman, Love has “been a sponge” and worked to absorb as much knowledge and as many tools for success as possible over the course of his first 28 races.

“There have definitely been times this year where maybe we weren’t the most impressive or didn’t have any speed, but we were working on something,” Love noted. “There were times that we didn’t look at all like championship contenders, but we were working on something. And I have a lot of confidence in our team because I feel like we have been working on something all year, and if we put all the pieces together, I truthfully believe that we are as capable as anybody of getting to Phoenix and winning the championship.

“Obviously, getting there is the hard part, no doubt. But I have the people around me that can do it; I don’t want to sound cocky or overconfident, but that comes from a belief that the right people are around me supporting me and guiding me to be the best that I can be.”

That steady confidence comes from something that Love’s father preached to him from the earliest days of his career, when he was racing Focus Midgets and Jr Late Models in his home state of California.

“My dad would always say, ‘They can outrace you on the track, but don’t let them outwork you and don’t let them outsmart you,’ and I’ve always felt like those are the things in my control that I can focus on,” Love explained. “Stockman and I have thought about some really high-level things this year together and we’ve put some really good people in place. I feel like also that I’ve tried to cultivate a culture around the [No.] 2 team where if we get into a spot where our backs are against the wall or if we’re not running well, that we can pull ourselves out of it and always go and do something and make something happen when we need to.

Jesse Love en route to victory in April at Talladega Superspeedway. (HHP/Chris Owens photo)

“I feel like that has always been a strength of mine, is to make things happen and not make mistakes,” he continued. “I’ve always prided myself on racing for a championship and when I do, in being successful at it. I have been my whole career. So I do feel like I have a lot of confidence in that sense, but at the same time, a lot of that confidence comes from knowing and understanding that I can admit to my faults and figure out where to get better.

“There have been a lot of learning opportunities this year on those days where we weren’t impressive. But I feel like those lessons learned are part of the reason that we’re going to be impressive down the stretch and have a shot to go race for a championship.”

One of those learning opportunities comes this weekend at the ROVAL, a 2.28-mile, 17-turn hybrid road course where Love has yet to compete in his NASCAR career.

It has meant a lot of preparation and simulator work for the teenager to try and make sure he’s up to speed quickly, as he looks to defend a 22-point buffer over the playoff cut line and advance to the Round of 8.

“The day after we got back from Watkins Glen (International), I started preparing myself for the ROVAL, and I’ve worked harder on this race than I have on any race the whole year. I’ve put my heart and soul into this one event, because I know the importance of it and what it means in terms of our season,” Love said. “I definitely find some peace of mind in that, because I feel like I’ve worked really hard so I can feel confident going into it. But at the same time, no matter how hard you work ahead of a race, the race doesn’t owe you anything because of that, so we still have to go do our jobs and execute.

“I fully intended from the end of Watkins Glen to go [to Charlotte] and have a shot to win and beat all the road course ringers, so I’ve put a lot of effort into this one and I think I’m very capable. Danny Stockman’s going to bring me a car that’s capable of going there and winning, or at minimum will be right there with the guys that are trying to gain points so that they can’t get to us.

“At the end of the day, uh, the only thing that I can do is go run my next best corner and go run my next best session, or my next best flying lap, my next best restart, and that’s all I can really do. I think that if I go and do that, not only do we have a shot to make it the next round, but we have a shot to win our way into the next round as well.”

Broadcast coverage of the Drive for the Cure 250 at the Charlotte ROVAL is slated for Saturday, Oct. 12 at 4 p.m. ET, live on The CW, the Performance Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.