When Jesse Love won in Rockingham in the Xfinity Series, he turned heads, and those heads even belonged to a Toyota team in the NASCAR Cup Series. The Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet driver has left a trail of excellence in his young years, picking up three Xfinity Series wins already. But his third win seemed to matter the most because of his break from a superspeedway jinx. Although he lost that victory because of a post-race disqualification, Love caught the attention of NASCAR icon Jimmie Johnson.

The owner of Legacy Motor Club, a Toyota team, has had a steady vision from the start of 2025. Despite a disastrous 2024 season, Jimmie Johnson not only persevered but also brought new changes to the team. Now, LMC’s expansion plans are on the table – and so are Jesse Love’s plans.

Jimmie Johnson has his eyes on a young prodigy

Well, if anything, the 7-time Cup Series champion has sharp eyes. Jimmie Johnson spent over two decades in the NASCAR Cup Series, carving a legendary name for himself. So he knows when he spots a young prodigy and intends to incorporate them with his Cup Series endeavor. After 2024, LMC replaced Erik Jones’ crew chief, recruited Brian Campe as the competition director, and saw Johnson assume a majority stake.

All these changes were not out of the blue, as they echoed Johnson’s intentions to expand into a three-car team. Although the negotiations with Rick Ware Racing collapsed into a lawsuit, the efforts are ongoing nonetheless. In light of his recent three-car ambitions, Jimmie Johnson recently name-dropped his favorite drivers for a third car in LMC on his Never Settle podcast with Marty Smith. They included Harrison Burton, Corey LaJoie, and Todd Gilliland. But his absolute favorites were: “When you look through the Xfinity Series, Connor Zilisch, Jesse Love.” NASCAR expert Eric Estepp also keenly spotted that Love’s name has been mentioned before as well.

Estepp said, “That is the second time in the past month that Jesse Love has been linked in some way, shape, or form to Legacy Motor Club. Back in June, Bob Pockrass wrote that Jesse Love could be a dark horse candidate for a third Legacy seat should Legacy acquire a third charter… Now Jimmie has mentioned Jesse by name.” That indicates that the interest is certainly there, but would Love be ready to switch from Chevrolet to Toyota? Well, it’s not like he hasn;t raced in a Toyota before!

While Love’s best friend and fierce competitor, Connor Zilisch, may have a better outlook, the 19-year-old prodigy seems poised to take up Trackhouse Racing’s No. 99 seat, which Daniel Suarez will soon vacate. Hence, Jimmie Johnson and Toyota’s eyes naturally may fall on Jesse Love. Estepp continued with the positive signs: “Jesse Love, 20 years old, very young – two years ago, he was a Toyota driver, winning the ARCA Menards Series championship in a Venturini Toyota, won half the races that season. So it wasn’t long ago that Love was in the TRD pipeline…He has improved in year 1 to year 2 in Xfinity…He is still yet to win a non-superspeedway race since his Rockingham victory got DQ’d. But when you look at the numbers, Jesse Love is clearly taking a step forward this season.” 

So with this prior Toyota experience under his belt, Jesse Love could be the next LMC signing. And if Connor Zilisch also makes the move up to Cup, this best friend rivalry could take a new shape in NASCAR’s top tier. What is more? Jesse Love’s rumored move from Richard Childress Racing to Jimmie Johnson’s fold would not be surprising, as a similar move has happened in the past.

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Following in a predecessor’s footsteps

Well, Chevrolet losing a driver to Toyota is nothing new. What is more? Richard Childress losing his driver to another team owner is also not new. Jesse Love may be on the cards to defect to Jimmie Johnson’s fold, but he is not the first. Until 2022, Tyler Reddick raced for Richard Childress Racing. He spent three years under the RCR banner, capturing two career victories at Road America and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Reddick had even clinched the 2019 Xfinity Series championship for Childress. However, his mind lingered away from the Chevrolet team as a rapidly growing Toyota team lured him. That was Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan-owned 23XI Racing, which was steadily growing with Bubba Wallace and Kurt Busch at the time.

Denny Hamlin confessed in 2022 how ready he was to induct Tyler Reddick. Hamlin said, “I raced against him. I wanted him. And I got him. And I didn’t know anything else that goes along with that. … We do not know who the sponsor will be. We do not know what car it is.” He added, “All we know is we wanted him, and we made sure we planted our feet deep in the ground to make sure Tyler had an opportunity with this race team, and we made it happen.” And Reddick was also ready to move: “Just talking to Denny and getting to watch and see the direction the team was going, where Toyota is to their commitment to this sport … I really wanted to be a part of it. And that heavily influenced my decision.”

Who knows, maybe Jimmie Johnson will also ‘heavily influence’ Jesse Love’s decision soon. What do you think will happen with Jesse Love in 2026? Ley us know in the comments!