Jesse Love is rapidly climbing the ranks as a promising NASCAR Cup contender thanks to his consistent performances and increasing speed during the 2024 Xfinity Series season. At just 20 years old, Love’s adaptability and diverse racing background, including dirt track and road course experience, have helped him maximize his car’s potential and deliver solid finishes.
Racing for Richard Childress Racing (RCR), Love has shown strong development during his sophomore year, positioning himself as a genuine threat in the NASCAR playoffs. His progress in qualifying speed and racecraft is making him more competitive at the front of the pack as the season progresses.
Building Speed and Consistency Through Varied Racing Experience
Growing up, Love competed on dirt tracks as well as in legends cars and late models on road courses, honing a skill set that translates well to diverse racing conditions. This varied background has contributed to his steady results in the Xfinity Series. Although his rookie season was not spectacular, he emphasized consistency, which has paid dividends in his follow-up season.
Reflecting on his growth, Love shared,
“I think of myself as a driver that is a pretty complete pie without humongous spikes,”
—Jesse Love, Driver.
“I’m trying to grow the pie gradually and get better as a whole pretty evenly. Feel like we’re making progress on the speed part, which helps showing up and being better, not just being consistently a contender.”
—Jesse Love, Driver
This drive for balanced improvement underpins his confidence that he is evolving into a consistent championship contender.
Consistent Performances Elevate Championship Prospects
During the current season, Love ranks third in average finishes through 23 races, a significant gain from his rookie year. His highlight came at Talladega Superspeedway, where he scored his maiden Xfinity Series win and demonstrated his potential on superspeedways. Despite describing his rookie year as consistency kept him in title contention and fueled his confidence to contend more aggressively this season.
Love noted,
“We’re definitely more of a championship contender this year than we were last year,”
—Jesse Love, Driver.
“I feel like we’re checking things off the list. Before Iowa, our biggest thing was we needed speed. We were racing well, but not qualifying or practicing well.”
—Jesse Love, Driver
At Iowa Speedway, he captured the pole, led the majority of laps, and finished second to Sam Mayer, highlighting his growth in speed and competitiveness. His 2024 tally includes six top-five finishes, nearly matching his total from the previous season, and he is closing in on his career-best 18 top-10 finishes.
Love also expressed pride in his team‘s consistent performance, acknowledging their ability to battle for wins late in races but recognizing the need to unlock more speed to secure victories. “We’re ridiculously consistent,” he added, saying,
“We’ve been close all year and have been battling for the wins up front late in the races. That is probably our strong point, our consistency and being able to build off it. Our weak point is having a little more potential.”
—Jesse Love, Driver
Veteran Crew Chief Danny Stockman Jr. Drives Development Forward
Under the guidance of experienced crew chief Danny Stockman Jr., Love’s raw talent is being sharpened to elevate his performance. Stockman, a two-time series champion with Austin Dillon, has a track record of helping young drivers like Daniel Hemric, Chandler Smith, and Nick Sanchez progress through NASCAR‘s developmental tiers.
Stockman believes his relationship with Love is deeper than with any previous driver, pushing the 20-year-old to confront his weaknesses honestly.
“
I told him from the beginning that if he doesn’t make it to the next level, I’ve failed,
”
I’m pretty honest with my kids when I get them, and I expect them to be honest with me. It’s almost like a husband and wife relationship: when you’re not honest, there’s going to be hard conversations and conversations that aren’t fun. But you have to talk about them to make each other stronger.
—Danny Stockman Jr., Crew Chief
This candid communication has helped the team address their need for improved speed and race execution. The open dialogue led to a string of strong finishes, including two runner-up placements over seven races.
Love also appreciates this frank approach, saying,
“Not everyone is willing to go through the same brutal honesty that I’m willing to go through to be better,”
—Jesse Love, Driver.
I feel like a lot of people get defensive in this world now, and I try not to be like that.
—Jesse Love, Driver
Positioning for a Deep Playoff Run with Focused Goals
With only three races left in the regular season, Love and his No. 2 Chevrolet team are confident they are well placed to make a deep run into the playoffs. Currently seeded fourth due to his victory in the season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway, Love is gaining momentum but remains aware of the competition’s strength.
Stockman remains realistic about the team‘s current position, emphasizing that to surpass dominant drivers like Justin Allgaier and Connor Zilisch, they need to transform from consistent finishers into race winners. He stated,
“I feel like we’re a third- or fourth-place team right now.”
—Danny Stockman Jr., Crew Chief.
To beat [Justin Allgaier and Connor Zilisch], that’s not going to just take consistency or good finishes, but you’re going to have to win races. Those guys are dominating and leading a lot of laps and they are definitely better than we are right now.
—Danny Stockman Jr., Crew Chief
He stressed the importance of leading laps and winning stages as necessary steps, adding,
“We’ve got to get to the point where we’re leading laps. Winning stages is important and we’re not doing that. I think our consistency can get us [to Phoenix], but I think we’re going to have to pick it up.”
—Danny Stockman Jr., Crew Chief
Preparing for a Future in the NASCAR Cup Series
Looking ahead, Love aspires to join the NASCAR Cup Series full-time, where he has already gained experience with five starts this season. His most recent race at Richmond Raceway resulted in a 33rd-place finish, underlining the difficulties of transitioning to the top tier.
Love prefers to gradually gain experience in Cup cars rather than being rushed:
“I know where I’m already up to speed and good at in the Cup car, and I know I need a lot of improvement,”
—Jesse Love, Driver.
I would like to have time on that and not get rushed to figure it out where – if I just went cold turkey into a Cup car – it would be coming at me so fast that I would be trying to improve on something while immediately going to another race.
—Jesse Love, Driver
Stockman agrees, emphasizing the need for patience and mental readiness before stepping up:
“I think the goal needs to be winning on a consistent basis,”
—Danny Stockman Jr., Crew Chief.
I do not think that these kids need to be rushed to Cup. Once you get to Cup, that’s it. There is nothing else to look forward to, there’s nothing else to work towards and when you get there, if you’re not mentally strong enough, they will chew you up and spit you out.
—Danny Stockman Jr., Crew Chief
Daytona and Superspeedway Success Fuel Confidence
As the team prepares for the upcoming Daytona race, Love feels confident in his ability on superspeedways, where he has earned two victories. His teammate Austin Hill holds the series record with nine superspeedway wins in recent seasons, setting a high standard within the team.
Love shared his mindset going into Daytona, saying,
“I feel like when I go there, I’m the favorite,”
—Jesse Love, Driver.
I feel like I’m the best speedway guy in the field right now. I know I haven’t won as much as Austin, but this year, I’ve dominated the most on speedway stuff and Austin comes in there at the last second and beats me. We’re going to have another rocket and I’ll have another shot to win. I just have to maximize it the best that I can and try to get some stage wins.
—Jesse Love, Driver
This optimism highlights Love’s determination to capitalize on his strengths and improve as he vies for a championship run and eventual promotion to NASCAR’s elite level.