Jesse Hammer Love Jr. (born January 14, 2005) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 2 Chevrolet Camaro for Richard Childress Racing.
Love currently holds two records: He is the youngest winner ever in the ARCA Menards Series West, and the youngest winner ever in any NASCAR sanctioned event, both at 15 years, 5 months, and 13 days. He is also the youngest driver to win a NASCAR sanctioned championship; at age 15.[citation needed] He was also the ARCA Menards Series West champion for 2020 and 2021 and the ARCA Menards Series champion for 2023.
Love began racing at age five. Early in his career, he drove in the Quarter Midgets of America Series, where he won multiple races and championships before turning ten years old. He then went on to win championships in three different divisions of USAC in the same year, becoming the first driver to accomplish that. At age 13, Love, competing for Naake-Klauer Motorsports, was granted an age waiver to compete in the RPM Pro Late Model Series by Madera Speedway track promoter Kenny Shepherd due to his talent in the 51Fifty Energy Drink Jr. Late Model Series the prior year (in which he won another championship). In 2018, Love drove full-time in the INEX Legend Car Racing Series, winning five of the eight races on the schedule en route to that series' championship. The other series he raced in that year were the BCRA Midget Series and the Hunt Magneto Sprint Car Series, both of whom Love had to apply for an age exception to participate in.[1] Love drove for Keith Kunz Motorsports in the SRL Southwest Tour, a late model racing series, in 2019.[2]
On January 14, 2020, it was announced that Love would run full-time and for rookie of the year in the ARCA Menards Series West in the No. 19 Toyota for Bill McAnally Racing.[3] He replaced Hailie Deegan in that car, who left the McAnally team and Toyota's driver development program to join Ford's driver development program, running full-time in the 20-race ARCA Menards Series for DGR-Crosley.[4]
After finishing second in the season-opener at Las Vegas Bullring, Love won his first West Series race in the first of the two races in the doubleheader at the Utah Motorsports Campus road course on June 27. It was just his second start in the series.[5]
In addition, Love and his BMR teammates would compete in the ten races of the 20-race ARCA Menards Series' Sioux Chief Showdown. He made his debut in the first Showdown race at Phoenix Raceway on March 6. A few weeks earlier, Love and his teammates also made their debut in the ARCA Menards Series East at New Smyrna; Love finished twelfth.
Love finished the 2020 ARCA West season with 3 wins and 9 top 5 finishes in 11 races en route to the championship, beating out season-long rival Blaine Perkins. He became the youngest West Series champion at just 15 years, 9 months, and 24 days old.[6][7]
In 2021, Love returned to BMR for his second season in the West Series, and moved from the No. 19 to the No. 16, replacing Gio Scelzi with the team condensing from four full-time cars to two and the No. 19 car being closed down. He also returned to Venturini Motorsports for a nine-race schedule in the main ARCA Menards Series (including all three combination races with the ARCA Menards Series East) as well as one non-combination race in the East Series (at Dover). In both series, he drove the No. 25.[8] He earned his first career win of the season at Salem Speedway, outdueling Ty Gibbs in a restart with 46 laps to go.[9]
On January 3, 2022, it was announced that Love would return to Venturini Motorsports for the majority of the 2022 season, running all of the races where he was eligible in.[10] During the season, he earned eight top fives twelve top tens. He would also earn his second career ARCA win at the Illinois State Fairgrounds Racetrack, leading every lap in a dominating fashion.[11]
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Love would be upgraded to a full-time schedule with Venturini Motorsports in the 2023 season.[12] That year, Love would have a breakout season, earning ten wins, eighteen top tens, and seventeen top fives. He would ultimately claim the 2023 ARCA Menards Series championship one race early at Salem, after simply taking the green flag.[13]
On February 9, 2023, it was announced that Love would run three NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races for Tricon Garage, driving their No. 1 truck.[14] At Gateway, Love made his debut in the No. 11 truck due to the original driver, Corey Heim, having an illness. Toni Breidinger would drive the 1 truck for that race. Love would end up finishing in the top ten in 9th. He made his second start of the season at Kansas, finishing 13th.
On October 25, 2023, it was revealed that Love would drive full-time for Richard Childress Racing in the No. 2 Chevrolet in 2024, replacing Sheldon Creed.[15][16]
Jesse Love is the son of Elizabeth and Jesshill Love. Jesshill raced midget cars in his youth[17] and is a real estate investor and lawyer. Jesshill is the CEO of three real estate portfolios in California, former president of the Silicon Valley Chapter of the Entrepreneurs' Organization, and the CEO of HomeSmiles, a property maintenance company that supports Jesse's racing endeavors.[18][19][20]
(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
| NASCAR Xfinity Series results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Driver | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | NXSC | Pts | Ref | ||
| 2024 | Richard Childress Racing | 2 | Chevy | DAY |
ATL | LVS | PHO | COA | RCH | MAR | TEX | TAL | DOV | DAR | CLT | PIR | SON | IOW | NHA | NSH | CSC | POC | IND | MCH | DAY | DAR | ATL | GLN | BRI | KAN | TAL | ROV | LVS | HOM | MAR | PHO | -* | -* | |||
| NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | NCTC | Pts | Ref |
| 2023 | Tricon Garage | 11 | Toyota | DAY | LVS | ATL | COA | TEX | BRD | MAR | KAN | DAR | NWS | CLT | GTW 9 |
NSH | MOH | POC | RCH | IRP | MLW | 37th | 85 | [21] | |||||
| 1 | KAN 13 |
BRI | TAL | HOM | PHO 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
| ARCA Menards Series results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | AMSC | Pts | Ref |
| 2020 | Bill McAnally Racing | 19 | Toyota | DAY | PHO 16 |
TAL | POC | IRP | KEN | IOW 12 |
KAN | TOL | TOL | MCH | DRC | GTW 5 |
L44 | TOL | BRI | 26th | 139 | [22] | ||||
| Venturini Motorsports | 20 | Toyota | WIN 4 |
MEM | ISF | KAN | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | Bill McAnally Racing | 16 | Toyota | DAY | PHO 6 |
TAL | KAN | 10th | 386 | [23] | ||||||||||||||||
| Venturini Motorsports | 15 | Toyota | TOL 4 |
CLT | MOH | POC | ELK 2 |
BLN 5 |
ISF 5 |
MLW 7 |
DSF 10 |
SLM 1 |
KAN | |||||||||||||
| 25 | IOW 7 |
WIN | GLN | MCH | BRI 7 |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | 20 | DAY | PHO 6 |
TAL | KAN | CLT | IOW 13 |
BLN 3 |
ELK 2 |
MOH 5 |
POC 13 |
IRP 6 |
MCH | GLN 3 |
ISF 1** |
MLW 7 |
DSF 2 |
KAN | BRI 10 |
SLM 2 |
TOL 2* |
11th | 603 | [24] | ||
| 2023 | DAY 7 |
PHO 27 |
TAL 1* |
KAN 1* |
CLT 1* |
BLN 2* |
ELK 1* |
MOH 4 |
IOW 3 |
POC 1* |
MCH 1 |
IRP 1* |
GLN 1 |
ISF 3 |
MLW 2 |
DSF 1 |
KAN 19 |
BRI 2* |
SLM 1** |
TOL 2 |
1st | 1057 | [25] | |||
| ARCA Menards Series East results | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | AMSEC | Pts | Ref |
| 2020 | Bill McAnally Racing | 19 | Toyota | NSM 12 |
TOL | DOV | TOL | BRI | 20th | 70 | [26] | |||
| Venturini Motorsports | 15 | Toyota | FIF 6 |
|||||||||||
| 2021 | 25 | NSM | FIF | NSV | DOV 18 |
SNM | IOW 7 |
BRI 7 |
11th | 132 | [27] | |||
| 15 | MLW 7 |
|||||||||||||
| 2022 | 20 | NSM | FIF | DOV 2 |
NSV | IOW 13 |
MLW 7 |
BRI 10 |
9th | 142 | [28] | |||
| 2023 | FIF | DOV | NSV | FRS | IOW 3 |
IRP 1* |
MLW 2 |
BRI 2* |
11th | 177 | [29] | |||
| ARCA Menards Series West results | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | AMSWC | Pts | Ref |
| 2020 | Bill McAnally Racing | 19 | Toyota | LVS 2 |
MMP 1* |
MMP 2 |
IRW 1* |
EVG 4 |
DCS 3 |
CNS 1* |
LVS 3 |
AAS 4 |
KCR 8 |
PHO 14 |
1st | 613 | [30] | |
| 2021 | 16 | PHO 6 |
SON 19 |
IRW 1 |
CNS 2* |
IRW 1 |
PIR 3 |
LVS 13 |
AAS 12 |
PHO 14 |
1st | 438 | [31] | |||||
| 2022 | Venturini Motorsports | 20 | Toyota | PHO 6 |
IRW | KCR | PIR | SON | IRW | EVG | PIR | AAS | LVS | PHO 2 |
26th | 130 | [32] | |
| 2023 | PHO 27 |
IRW | KCR | PIR | SON | IRW | SHA | EVG | AAS | LVS | MAD | PHO | 71st | 18 | [33] | |||
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