Jesse Love to leap to NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2024
Reigning ARCA Menards Series champion Jesse Love will leap to the NASCAR Xfinity Series with Richard Childress Racing in 2024.
Love will replace Sheldon Creed in the No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet. Creed announced earlier this month he wouldn’t be back in that ride.
“We’ve been watching Jesse for a while now and his breakout performance in the ARCA Menards Series was impressive this season,” Richard Childress said. “We know that he has the talent and determination to win races and compete for championships. We feel confident that Jesse will be a strong ambassador for Whelen.”
In 2023, Love earned 10 wins, 17 top-5 finishes and 18 top-10s, plus seven poles, in 20 ARCA Menards Series races en route to the championship. He also led 1477 of 2471 laps he completed as a full-time driver in the series.
Love finished ninth and 13th in his two NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starts this year.
The move to RCR means Love will move away from the Toyota Racing Development pipeline, at least for now.
“I’ve been fortunate to gain a lot of racing experience at a young age. Nothing compares to the opportunity to race for a legendary team like Richard Childress Racing,” said Love. “I have so much respect for Richard Childress and am extremely grateful to be able to race and learn for him. I’ve dreamed of racing at the highest levels of the sport since I was a young kid, and the path to the NASCAR Cup Series seems more clear with this opportunity.”
Love also earned the 2020 and 2021 ARCA West titles, at ages 15 and 16.
Categories
Discover more from The Racing Experts
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com