Love wins second consecutive ARCA West title in a tiebreaker
AVONDALE, ARIZ. – The one who wins is the one who refuses to lose – or the one who does not slow down early in the case of Jesse Love.
Love won the ARCA Menards Series West in a thrilling tiebreaker Saturday. Love was 15th, 1 point behind Jake Drew, on the final lap. Love passed Trevor Huddleston, Drew’s teammate who slowed down one lap early, handing the championship from Drew to Love with one move.
Love finished 14th and clinched the title over Drew who finished 11th but the trek to the title was not easy as one final lap move. Love experienced fuel pressure issues, starting at Lap 10, causing him to fall back. He also made contact with Caleb Costner on the backstretch which knocked the toe out on his car.
“I know Caleb pretty well, I was not expecting him to do that,” Love said. “I thought there was gonna be a little more give-and-take situation but it knocked my toe out. That and the motor, I wasn’t sure how it was going to turn out.”
In the end, Love capitalized where others fell short, securing his second consecutive ARCA West title after becoming the youngest NASCAR-sanctioned champion, at age 15, in 2020.
Love won two races in 2021 and was the only driver in the series to win multiple races. His plans for 2021 are unconfirmed but he will not return to Bill McAnally Racing as BMR is switching to Chevrolet.
SOURCES:
ARCA
NASCAR
Racing-Reference.Info
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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