March 10, 2023. This was a surprise to the ARCA Menards Series driver’s schedule at Phoenix Raceway. For Jesse Love, this race set him on the path to becoming a champion.
Love could not finish this race. He was recovered from the crash and finished the day on the 27th. This followed the ARCA season opener at Daytona, where Love finished seventh after a lapped car caused a spin.
“I was like, ‘What could I do wrong again this year to not win so many races?'” Love said of his early-season frustrations in a conversation with NBC Sports. “Because I won about three races last year, and the year before that I probably won four or five races.
“I knew I needed a breakout year, but I don’t think I quite knew how.”
Love understood that after the crash in Phoenix. He won eight of the next 11 races. Love finished the season with 10 trips to Victory Lane and an ARCA title, matching Ty Gibbs’ record for the 2021 season.I also secured love Full-time entry into the Xfinity Series with Richard Childress Racing.
This development was sudden, but how did Love make it happen? The speed of the Venturini Motorsports cars did not change. What changed was the driver.
“I feel like I’ve let go of the idea of not wanting to fail,” Love said. “I just started focusing on being successful.”
Love pushed aside everything that it could not control. He turned his attention to how he could perform throughout the race week.
A change in mindset led to success on the track. It also affected Love’s reaction to the incident with the other driver.
“Probably about two months ago, I really noticed his growth,” FOX Sports’ Jamie Little told NBC Sports. “It was a race between him and William Sawalich. Things didn’t work out the way he wanted, but his interview afterward was very good.
“He didn’t deny that they didn’t get along or that they had a bad relationship, but he didn’t say anything negative like, ‘I’m going to beat him this time,’ or ‘I’m going to tie the score.’ He’s just grown up about it. ”
maintain individuality
Little, who heads up FOX’s broadcast booth during the ARCA season, doesn’t believe Love has lost his personality, as he’s learned to tap into his emotions better. She’s seen it on display away from the track and throughout a 20-race schedule.
Love’s personality is evident when he talks about his love of golf and his favorite courses to play across the country. Love frequently travels to Pinehurst Resort and Country Club, where the 2024 U.S. Open will be held, for matches with Daniel Dye.
This personality comes through when Love talks about his love of classic rock and his enjoyment of playing drums, ukulele, saxophone, and guitar.
Love has been a huge Rush fan since childhood. It was an appreciation he gained from traveling with his father to races in California, Idaho, Oklahoma and several other states.
They listened to classic rock, and Love’s father learned that Black Sabbath recorded their first album, that members of Yes discussed chords, and that Neil Peart wrote the lyrics to every Rush song. He entertained the team members by telling stories.
That personality is also on display as Love recounts a special moment behind the wheel, the first time he took on an iconic NASCAR course.
“There’s always little moments of realization in the car that I’m in, like in the middle of a race,” Love said. “I’m like, ‘I’m in Bristol right now and I have a chance to win this race.’ It’s pretty crazy.”
“When we were doing it at Talladega, I thought, ‘This is really, really, really wild.'”
positive role model
Love won 10 races during ARCA’s dominant season. This statistic is the product of a change in his mindset, but this wasn’t a switch he flipped overnight before starting his first three-game winning streak.
Love changed his approach during the ARCA season, but it was just the latest step in a process that started with his parents and continued with non-family members who chose to support him.
“When I was little, John Bickford and Jeff Gordon were the guys that my dad would talk to, that I would talk to, and try to make sense of everything and pass through the ranks correctly,” Love said. Ta. “Alex Bowman was someone I talked to a lot growing up.
“Some of the USAC players are like Justin Grant. Some of the Cup guys you don’t talk to very often. Even just one small conversation with them can be a great way to end the day. has great significance.”
Gordon and Love’s relationship in particular goes back to Love’s childhood. His father, Jessel “Duke” Love, was friends with Gordon. They traveled together and did midget races together on the West Coast.
Love, who was five years old at the time, also joined these trips. He rode around on his ATV and spent time with famous racers like Gordon and Grant.
Love won multiple quarter midget championships before he was 10 years old and started working at Toyota at 12 years old. He signed his contract at the age of 15. Still, Gordon remained an important figure in his racing career. As Love gained experience, he was able to call Hall of Famers and ask for advice.
A case in point is Love’s first race at Phoenix. This marked Love’s first experience with aerodynamics and its effects on cars. Neither he nor Duke knew what was going to happen.
Love was able to call Gordon.
“If you’re a driver, call Jeff Gordon, Jeff Gordon will take your call and we’ll talk to you on the phone for an hour about aerodynamics and how it affects your car and how you can use that to your advantage. If you can get that, and it’s a disadvantage for another driver, the confidence it brings to that driver is immeasurable, immeasurable,” Duke told NBC Sports.
bickford Gordon’s father-in-law, a person both Love and his father point to as the catalyst for this growth. Bickford had many discussions with Duke early on, making him aware of the steps needed to prepare Love for the spotlight.
“John was a huge influence,” Duke said. “He said, ‘Hey, when he shows up, he has to show up ready to be on TV. So we need to bring him in and sit him down and have him work with people who know TV. . He needs to sit down and work.
“‘You need to come up with the top 20 interview questions, and Jesse needs to write the answers to them and basically be ready, so that when someone puts a microphone in his face, He’s ready.’”
Bickford’s advice also focused on external influences. He told the Duke to keep his son away from people who were not of high moral character.
This was a point worth emphasizing, considering Love had to move from California to North Carolina at the age of 15 after signing a contract with Toyota. His family was unable to pick him up or travel across the country with him. Nor could he be sent alone.
Introducing Dustin Edge, Toyota Racing’s grassroots dirt analyst. Edge started working as Love’s driver relations manager when this young racer was still only 10 years old.
Edge moved to North Carolina with Love and served as a guide until Love turned 18 this year. He helped prepare Love for adulthood and the important parts of getting through the week, such as laundry, cleaning the house, and preparing lunch.
“Honestly,[Dustin]was a God-send to be Jesse’s driver relations manager. Dustin was a big brother to Jesse. Jesse has an older sister, but he never had an older brother. Dustin was Jesse’s older brother,” Duke said. older brother. “
My living environment has changed. Edge moved to Toyota. Love is now a full-time adult with his Xfinity contract and tremendous success at ARCA.
The move to the Xfinity Series and Richard Childress Racing is recent. Sheldon Creed announces his departure from the band From the organization in early October. Two weeks later, RCR announces that Love will take over Number 2.
Andy Petrie, RCR’s vice president of competition, acknowledged the organization is taking an opportunity by signing Love on such short notice. It was something he gladly accepted after his first meeting with the young racer.
“My wife asked me when I said I was interviewing a new driver,” Petrie told NBC Sports in Martinsville. “…she said, ‘What did you think of him?'” I said, “He’s young. He’s confident in himself, but he’s humble.” He looks confident, which is pretty much everything you want in someone like that.” I can’t wait to see what happens next. ”