Jesse Love surprisingly insisted that his drive inside the Phoenix Raceway for Friday’s opening practice and NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series qualifying session did not evoke any special emotions – despite the fact that the last time the driver of the Richard Childress Racing No. 2 Chevrolet was at the track he was celebrating the series 2025 championship.
“It’s been a great race track for me and I love Phoenix for that reason, so I enjoy coming here, but the nostalgic feeling that you’d picture if I was in a movie walking in through the tunnel isn’t necessarily real for me,” said Love.
“I feel like I try to disassociate with that stuff when I come here,” he continued. “I think it’s really important to kind of reset yourself and start from kind of ground zero, right? The past might not work for me this weekend, right? So, I have to come in with a very serious and open mind to continue to have, you know, good results here.”
The 21-year-old Californian Love comes to the track boasting a phenomenal record even beyond his title work last November. He holds the longest top-10 streak (four) at Phoenix among the series regulars with an impressive average finish of 4.5. This season he is the only driver to earn top-10 finishes in the opening three races.