Each week, The Athletic asks the same 12 questions to a different race car driver. Up next: Xfinity Series driver Jesse Love, who has his Richard Childress Racing No. 2 car into the semifinal round of this year’s playoffs. This interview has been edited and condensed, but the full version is available on the 12 Questions Podcast.
1. What was one of the first autographs you got as a kid, and what do you remember about that moment?
I can’t remember a time I’ve ever gotten an autograph. I guess maybe in a middle school or elementary school yearbook or something, when it was the thing to go ask your friends to sign your yearbook.
Do you ask for selfies, or just not anything at all?
I’ve taken one selfie with somebody ever. It was the lead singer for Boston (Tommy DeCarlo). I was on a flight with him earlier this year, a couple months ago. I was like, “Can I get a picture with you?” And he was like, “Why?” I said, “Because you’re the lead singer of Boston.” He was like, “OK.” He took the picture with me, and I went on my way.
2. What is the most miserable you’ve ever been inside of a race car?
Nashville last year. It was super, super hot. My helmet fan quit working before the start of the race, and about halfway through, my cool shirt quit circulating because everything was getting so hot that all the fans were tripping. So nothing worked. I basically had boiling marks on my back — I still have a scar on my lower back from it. It killed me, cooked me from the inside out.
I took water and poured it on my shirt, and it steamed. It was terrible — it was 104 degrees with the “feels like” temperature that day.
3. Outside of racing, what’s your most recent memory of something you got way too competitive about?
My buddies and I started playing beach volleyball. Me, Brent Crews, Connor (Zilisch), Gavan Boschele, the Baldwin brothers (Jack and Luke), Parker Eatmon — some friends we hang out with.
Before that it was pickleball, but for whatever reason beach volleyball gets me really competitive. We’re obviously really bad at it. It’s a hard sport to get good at because it’s so niche.
4. What do people get wrong about you?
Toward the end of my ARCA tenure in 2023, I realized I wasn’t very well-liked, so I made a concerted effort in 2024 and into this year to engage more with fans on Twitter and stuff. I feel like I do that more than the average driver. People say, “Don’t care what others say and don’t let that have any impact on what you do.” But I still want to be genuine, and I also realize fans have opinions and shouldn’t just be written off. I want to listen to them.
When I look back at something like my ARCA interview after I lost Berlin in 2023 — I led 197 laps out of 200 and William (Sawalich) moved me with two to go — I was really pissed. At the time I didn’t see a problem with what I said, but now I look back and sound like a spoiled brat. So I’ve tried to come across in a more mature way.
5. What kind of Uber passenger are you, and how much do you care about your Uber rating?
I’m a 4.89. So we’ll round up — 4.9. Pretty good. I probably don’t tip well enough sometimes, because I forget it prompts you afterward.
But I like to talk. My favorite thing is meeting people from different places. If the driver has an accent, I ask where they’re from, how they got here. I just like hearing people’s stories.
6. I’m asking each person a “hot topic” question. Last year in the 12 Questions interview, you explained how you got to RCR from Toyota. A year later, what’s the state of Jesse Love? How do you see your career path?
There are a lot of moving pieces right now. When you’re doing well in Xfinity, the rumor mill spikes up. The fact I’m getting talked about a little on the Cup side is nice — both by rumor accounts and fans.
It’s been a dream forever, so to finally see that light is cool. I’ve progressed a lot over the last two years. Jumping straight to Xfinity from ARCA was a big jump, but I feel like I’ve started to turn the corner in terms of maximizing my car each week. I definitely want to win more races. My stats are really good all around — lots of second-place finishes, top-fives, the most top-10s in the series — but it’s hard to win at this level. I feel like we can accomplish that at RCR.
I feel like I’m well-prepared for a Cup seat. The biggest thing for me was proving I could make lap time in the Cup car, and I can definitely do that (Love has five Cup starts this season). With a couple more races, I can start to execute more and learn the flow of the weekend, and I’ll be really happy.
Jesse Love drives during the Cup Series race at Richmond in August. The 20-year-old has made five Cup Series starts this year. (Samuel Corum / Getty Images)
7. This is my 16th year doing these 12 Questions interviews, so I’m going back to an old question and re-using it: What’s your middle-finger policy on the racetrack?
I’ve probably used it too much. If somebody did it to me, I’d shrug it off. So I’m more prone to using it.
I always throw deuces out the window if I pass anybody — I don’t know why, it’s like Michael Jordan talking s— on the golf course. There’s an advantage to getting in someone’s head on the racetrack.
But I’m probably done (flipping people off) for good. Brandon Jones chewed me out at St. Louis (last month) after I flipped him off. He came and told me what he thought, and I heard him out and apologized.
8. Other than one of your teammates, name a driver you’d be one of the first to congratulate in victory lane if they won a race.
Obviously, Connor (Zilisch). He’s my friend, we work out together, we train together, and I love him like a brother. He’s probably the only person.
But actually, I also went up and congratulated Parker Kligerman after he won. It’s a tightrope to walk because we’re competitors and it’s how far into the killer mindset you want to go, but showing respect isn’t an act of weakness. There are guys I respect and would go congratulate after a win.
9. How much do you use AI technology, whether for your job or daily life? Are you into ChatGPT or anything?
I use it daily. It’s hard to catch up to someone who’s using it if you’re not, because AI is like compounding interest — you can get better at it and learn from it at an exponentially faster rate every day.
I try to stay up-to-date. I do think it might end the world one day, but at the same time, if you don’t use it, you’ll fall behind.
10. What is a time in your life that was really challenging, but you’re proud of how you responded to it?
The last five years, ever since I moved to the East Coast (Love grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area). When I started racing ARCA, I didn’t have immediate success. I struggled, then figured it out.
I don’t know what it is about me, but it takes me a second to figure things out. Once I do, I can lock in and create repeated success. I did that in ARCA, and even now in Xfinity, I have the understanding of my own ability to learn things, even if I struggle at first. I’m proud of how I’ve attacked the last five years — started in ARCA, had success, (transitioned to) Xfinity and have become a more well-rounded driver.
11. What needs to happen in NASCAR to take the sport to the next level of popularity?
For one, the drivers have to be superstars. If an NFL athlete walks in a room, you know it. If a stock car driver walks in, you don’t. I don’t know the exact formula of how you create that, but it starts off with drivers putting effort into it — and I’d say most drivers don’t. And I think our superstars right now don’t always put in the effort that’s needed.
Second, the culture has to change. It’s become trendy to talk s— about everything in motorsports, especially NASCAR. There’s a large group out there, and (social media) has enabled this, who will not be satisfied no matter what. I don’t know why that is, and that’s a problem I don’t have a solution for. …
The final thing is to be genuine to who we are as a sport. Stay the course, don’t try to copy other sports. NASCAR does a good job at that and doesn’t get enough credit for what they do. Yeah, they could listen more to (hardcore) fans and drivers than (casual fans).
At the end of the day, nobody watches RC (remote-controlled car) racing and everybody watches NASCAR racing because they tune in for the people driving them. It’s about the person behind the wheel. Making the drivers the superstars again is the best way to do that.
12. Each week, I ask a driver to give me a question for the next interview. The last one was with Carson Hocevar. His question for you: With your most recent dip into the Cup Series, what was the biggest shock? For example, when Joey Logano ships you into Turn 1 at Richmond, are you thinking, “Man, I’ve made it” or, “Damn, I can’t wait until I earn my wings?”
It definitely opened my eyes to why those guys are Cup drivers. I thought going from Xfinity to Cup was like going from college football to the NFL — but it’s more like high school football to the NFL. It’s not like you’re not racing double the amount of good guys as in Xfinity; you’re racing 35 great drivers. It’s harder than you even think it is. It’s so hard, dude. It’s unreal.
But once you understand what you’re up against and not expecting it’s going to be a little jump up, you start to get better and make headway. When Joey moved me, I just thought, “I’m gonna go into the next corner and hit him back.” I wasn’t going to chance crashing him, but I wanted to earn respect and also be classy about it.
It didn’t bother me because now I realize I’m up against 35 rabid lions on the racetrack. I have a lot of respect for Joey — he’s a killer. Honestly, it was kind of cool to be raced that hard. It showed he expected he could hit me that hard and not have me crash, so I’ve got that going for me.
Do you have a question I can ask the next person? It’s supposed to be A.J. Allmendinger.
(Love said he would think of a question.)