Jesse Love made his third NASCAR Cup Series start on Sunday, but despite the opportunity extended by Richard Childress Racing, he struggled to leave a mark. After debuting at Bristol with a P31 finish and piloting the #62 Chevrolet for Beard Motorsports at Texas, Love returned to the grid at Kansas behind the wheel of the #33 RCR Chevrolet.
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Meanwhile, Love’s been making headway in the Xfinity Series. After claiming a win at Daytona, two additional top-fives, and five more top-10s, he sits fourth in the driver standings. However, his Cup Series performances haven’t yet mirrored that upward trajectory.
At Kansas, he topped the practice sheets among RCR drivers, clocking in at P15 and ahead of Austin Dillon (20th) and Kyle Busch (22nd). But that early promise didn’t carry over into race day.
Starting deep in the field from 32nd, he slipped to P35 by the end of Stage 1 and managed only a slight recovery to P33 by the close of Stage 2, eventually finishing 29th.
Breaking down the run after the race, Love said, “Our weekend started out strong with a solid practice in the C4 Ultimate Energy Chevrolet. The car had top-15 pace, and I thought we could have a really good race.
“Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out that way for our No. 33 team. The balance fired off on the loose side, and during our first scheduled green flag stop, I drove through too many boxes on exit, which forced us to do a pass through under green. From there, it was a battle.”
He explained that once the right rear tire wore out, the car lacked rear security. Still, crew chief Andy Street and the team kept working to adjust during each stop. At one point, Love took the wave-around and caught a lap back thanks to a well-timed caution.
While the end result fell short of expectations, he expressed gratitude toward the RCR team for the Cup opportunity and noted that the experience gave him valuable insight into the nuances of the Next Gen car. His teammates, Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon, closed out the race in P21 and P22, respectively.
Love still has one more shot to turn heads in the Cup Series, with a scheduled start in the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway on August 16. He’ll need to make that outing count, as it could serve as a springboard for future opportunities, either with RCR or another team looking to bring him back for additional races down the line.
