Newly crowned ARCA Menards Series champion Jesse Love will be graduating to the NASCAR Xfinity Series to pilot the No. 2 Chevrolet Camaro for Richard Childress Racing for the 2024 season, where he will be replacing the departing Sheldon Creed.
The news comes as the 18-year-old Love from Menlo Park, California, is coming off his first full-time campaign in the ARCA Menards Series, where he won the driver’s championship on the strength of 10 victories, seven poles, 17 top-five results, 18 top-10 results, 1,477 laps led and an average-finishing result of 4.1 through 20 starts, all while competing for Venturini Motorsports.
“I’ve been fortunate to gain a lot of racing experience at a young age, but nothing compares to the opportunity to race for a legendary team like Richard Childress Racing,” Love said. “I have so much respect for Richard Childress and am extremely grateful to be able to race and learn with one of the most successful teams in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. 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. It’s even more special to be able to represent a company like Whelen who has a long-standing involvement in motorsports and strong focus on building American-made products.”
Love, who grew up competing in Quarter Midgets, achieved two consecutive USAC Speed2 Western US Dirt Midget Series championships and the 2017 USAC Speed2 Western US Asphalt Midget Series title. He would win the 2018 Bay Cities Racing Association Midgets title before transitioning to the ARCA Menards Series West.
Driving for Bill McAnally Racing, Love won the 2020 ARCA West title by 25 points over Blaine Perkins and on the strength of three victories, four poles and top-10 results in all but one of 11-scheduled events. By then, the Californian became the youngest ARCA West champion in series’ history at age 15 years, nine months and 24 days. He would then capture his second consecutive ARCA West title a year later in a tie-breaker over rookie Jake Drew and based on winning two races throughout the season while Drew recorded none.
Amid his two consecutive ARCA West championship seasons, Love made a total of six starts in the ARCA Menards Series East and 14 in the ARCA Menards Series, which he achieved his first victory at Salem Speedway while driving for Venturini Motorsports. He would pilot Venturini’s No. 20 entry for 14 of 20 ARCA events in 2022, where he achieved his second career win at Illinois State Fairgrounds and racked up four poles, eight top-five results and 12 top-10 results.
This season and while competing for the ARCA title, Love made his inaugural presence within NASCAR’s top three national touring series when he made his Craftsman Truck Series debut at World Wide Technology Raceway in June. Driving the No. 11 Toyota for TRICON Garage while filling in for Corey Heim, who was ill prior to the event, Love earned a top-10 result in his debut by finishing ninth. He would compete in his second Truck event at Kansas Speedway with TRICON in September, where he finished 13th.
“We’ve been watching Jesse for a while now and his breakout performance in the ARCA Menards Series was impressive this season,” Richard Childress, Richard Childress Racing’s Chairman and CEO, said. “We know that he has the talent and determination to win races and compete for championships within RCR’s NASCAR Xfinity Series program. We are looking forward to welcoming Whelen back for another year on the No. 2 program and feel confident that Jesse will be a strong ambassador for Whelen.”
Love’s move to Richard Childress Racing completes the team’s two full-time driver lineup for the 2024 Xfinity season as Love, who will also contend for the Rookie-of-the-Year title, will compete alongside Austin Hill, who announced in mid-August that he will be returning for a third full-time season and continue to pilot RCR’s No. 21 Chevrolet Camaro. Sponsorship support for Love and the No. 2 team will come from Whelen Engineering, Inc., which will remain with the organization.
With his plans for next season set, Love’s first campaign both in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and with Richard Childress Racing is set to commence at Daytona International Speedway on February 17 for the 2024 series’ season opener. The event’s broadcast is slated to occur at 5 p.m. ET on FS1.
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