NASCAR Xfinity Series field shouldn't let Jesse Love fly under the radar

Jesse Love has seemingly been flying under the radars of his NASCAR Xfinity Series playoff peers in recent weeks, but that's not something that his competitors can allow to happen. 

That's because, Love, a 20-year-old second-year driver for Richard Childress Racing, has the opportunity to dominate a race on any given weekend. 

He only has one win to his credit so far in 2025 in the season-opener at Daytona (his win at Rockingham in April was taken away after he was DQ'd in post-race inspection), but the No. 2 team is back in the Round of 8 for a reason: Its driver is consistently fast. 

Jesse Love's consistency has paid off

In fact, Love has already bested his rookie season in regard to numbers. He already has a better average finish than he did a year ago by 0.8 positions, and with four races left in the season, he has one more top-five and top-10 than he did in all of 2024. 

That improvement is what makes him far from a championship dark horse as he prepares for the Round of 8 opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday. 

Love doesn't have much experience at LVMS, but in three starts, he's finished top-10 twice. That includes a strong third-place run in March. 

It's Talladega where Love has his best opportunity to win his way into the Championship 4. With his RCR teammate and fellow superspeedway ace in Austin Hill eliminated from the playoffs, Love should have a loyal pusher in the closing laps. 

Love and Hill have had a stranglehold on Xfinity Series superspeedway racing in recent years. Love has led 106 laps in three Talladega starts and scored his first career win at the track in April 2024. Other finishes of third and sixth at NASCAR's biggest and baddest track have the No. 2 team marked down as the favorite in the postseason's lone superspeedway race. 

Should Love not find victory lane at Talladega on Oct. 18, Martinsville Speedway will be his final opportunity to secure a Championship 4 bid. 

Love's best Martinsville finish (ninth) came in his first start at the half-mile track. Since then, he has finishes of 12th and 37th at the "Paperclip," neither of which would likely be enough to lift him to Phoenix. 

Should the No. 2 team put all of its Championship 4 eggs into the Talladega basket? Probably not. But it may not be a stretch to say that Love's championship hopes will come down to whether or not he can find a way back to victory lane at Talladega.