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Jesse Love, driver of the #2 Whelen Chevrolet, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway on November 01, 2025 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Getty Images<\/p>\n
Jesse Love is only 20 years old, and he is already a Nascar champion.<\/p>\n
The Richard Childress Racing sophomore captured the 2025 Xfinity Series championship on Saturday evening, bringing RCR back on top for the first time since 2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a big deal; I\u2019ve worked at this my whole life,\u201d Love said. \u201cTo get it how we did \u2013 winning the race and being dominant \u2013 feels really good.\u201d<\/p>\n
Love won Saturday\u2019s Xfinity Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway defeating championship favorite (and his best friend) Connor Zilisch in the process. Zilisch, who had a 10-win season, finished third. The other two Championship 4 competitors also came from the JR Motorsports shop, as the powerhouse organization had three of the four drivers for the second time in four seasons. <\/p>\n
Despite having past success at Phoenix, the odds weren\u2019t in Love\u2019s favor. However, he bookended the year with victories after winning the season opener at Daytona International Speedway. He also crossed the finish line first in Nascar\u2019s return to Rockingham Speedway in April, but was later disqualified.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s always special when you\u2019re driving for a historic team,\u201d Love said of winning with RCR. \u201cMe and Richard have started to get closer over the last six to eight months, and we\u2019re more like friends with each other. Winning for him is super special, and it\u2019s something I\u2019ll definitely never forget.\u201d<\/p>\n
Love had a solid, consistent 2025 campaign. He earned nine top fives and 22 top 10s, with an average finish of 11.1, with the latter two statistics ranking second in the series to Zilisch.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been on a journey of just trying to be better than yesterday,\u201d Love said in an honest reflection of his rapid growth. \u201cEvery day, I\u2019m waking up, putting in the work, and trying to push the needle to get better. There are a lot of days you don\u2019t feel like it\u2019s going to pay off, but I\u2019ve always believed in the process and the work ethic. There\u2019s a lot of relief to know it paid off.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ahead of the 2024 season, RCR signed Love to replace Sheldon Creed in the No. 2 Chevrolet, which has a full season sponsorship from Whelen. Creed ended his RCR tenure with a dispute between him and teammate Austin Hill at the end of the 2023 campaign at Martinsville Speedway, the same week that Love was announced to take over the ride.<\/p>\n
Love, who was 18 at the time, emerged as a candidate from the ride even though he was competing only in the ARCA Menards Series \u2013 Nascar\u2019s version of Single-A \u2013 with a Toyota-backed team, Venturini Motorsports. But team owner Richard Childress eyed the prospect, who won 10 races en route to the 2023 championship.<\/p>\n
Now, just two years later, Love\u2019s entire life has changed, he explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe phone starts ringing in different ways and people start looking at you differently,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s super important and super special. It can really set you up for life. I feel much more confident in myself and my job.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not getting too far ahead of myself, but I know my life has changed a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n