Jesse Love takes a respite during Friday’s practice session for the North Carolina Education Lottery 250 at Rockingham Speedway. (Photo: Phil Cavali | The Podium Finish)
ROCKINGHAM, N.C. — Jesse Love is in the midst of a stellar sophomore season in the NASCAR XFINITY Series with his No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet. With a win at Daytona paired with six top 10 finishes, the 20-year-old from Menlo Park, California, consistently showcases speed and remarkable maturity behind the wheel.
Entering Saturday’s North Carolina Education Lottery 250 at Rockingham Speedway ranked third in the points standings, Love has momentum on his side. Strong, frontrunner results have been the hallmark of this Richard Childress Racing driver with five top 10s in the past seven races.
Coming off a solid sixth place finish last Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway, Love is elated about racing at the 0.94-mile D-shaped track in the Sandhills Region of “The Tar Heel State.”
“Rockingham is a track that fits my driving style,” Love said in a team press release. “It’s right up my alley and fits how I like to drive a racetrack. It’s pretty similar to one of my favorite tracks in Dover, so I’m looking forward to going back there this weekend and having a shot at the win. It would be good to get up to second in points and hopefully leave with more Playoff points.”
So far, Love is making a compelling argument to jump up to second in the points standings. In Friday’s practice session, he posted the fifth fastest overall effort and fifth quickest 10-lap consecutive average run.
Jesse Love was fast in short and long runs ahead of Saturday’s North Carolina Education Lottery 250 at Rockingham Speedway. (Photo: Declan Wayman | The Podium Finish)
Despite the fresh pavement, Rockingham remains notoriously tough on drivers with its physically demanding loads in the cockpit, tire degradation, and the tendency for cars to oversteer or break loose off the corners. Like Darlington, it is a matter of balancing pace and handling along with the always unpredictable element of fuel mileage as seen in Friday’s NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Black’s Tire 200.
But Love, despite his age, has already proven he’s no slouch. and he has a proven leader atop his pit box in crew chief Danny Stockman Jr. Like a quarterback-head coach combination, it comes down to chemistry and communication, and both intangibles are in their corner as proven in the past year.
Along with Friday’s valuable practice session, Love was among several drivers who tested at Rockingham in late January. While the conditions were indelibly cooler, it was an opportunity to learn about this revived, almost forgotten stock car venue ahead of the season.
Most of all, Love learned something beyond how to take on Rockingham. The test session launched the No. 2 team’s swagger and confidence that was prevalent in the first quarter of 2025.
Jesse Love takes to the 0.94-mile Rockingham Speedway looking for a win. (Photo: Declan Wayman | The Podium Finish)
“We showed a lot of speed and were one of the best cars, if not the best, at the test,” he recalled. “That test in January set our No. 2 team up to have momentum heading into the start of this season, and we have carried that momentum pretty well through the first nine races.”
Based on Love’s start to the season and Friday’s practice session, it should be bad news for the competition knowing that a baseline from January is working ahead of the Rockingham revival race.
“We are taking a setup similar to what we had at the test,” Love said. “Just making a few small adjustments for the weather and the track taking rubber, but what we hit on at the test should work again this coming weekend.”
If it works, Love may be more than elated with moving up to second in points. Come Saturday afternoon, he may be hoisting his second trophy over his head in Victory Lane.
