After a handful of average finishes and stellar pole-clinching qualifiers, Richard Childress Racing rookie Jesse Love has broken through his shell in Phoenix, coming across the line second only to race-winner Chandler Smith. The former trucker and ARCA sensation is slowly yet steadily climbing the ladder, proving to be a real menace to Xfinity Series regulars.

The #2 RCR driver then reflected on his P2 finish, detailing the events that unfolded in the final minutes of the race and how it gave him the advantage—a chance to compete for the lead against the #81 JGR Toyota.

What helped Jesse Love get a stellar finish in Phoenix?

“We were like a 5th to 7th place car and felt like most of the day,” said the young gun about his #2 RCR Chevy after a stellar run at the one-mile track in Phoenix, Arizona. While the race winner, Chandler Smith, had a dramatic day, overcoming an incident with a teammate and later taking advantage of Justin Allgaier’s late lap misfortune to win the race, Love had a similar day, except for the fact that the driver’s day was drama-free. 

But much like Smith, who drove to the front after race leader Justin Allgaier crashed into the wall in a terrible turn of events following a tire blowout, the 19-year-old also said, “Obviously, that wreck helped us for sure. I think we did get our car a decent bit better you know, obviously the seven was pretty sound there. I think, we’re just going to get our front end of this, just a skosh better in some areas, but I just needed a drama-free day today. I’ve had a really fast car.” 

Furthermore, the former ARCA phenom detailed his day, as he said, “For me today, it was just about having a drama-free day. And I think we’re able to do that. I try to describe it 90% kind of and not overdo anything, you know, I picked up some more spots on pit road maybe I also got a loss a lot, but I bit more aggressive in certain areas and maybe, taking some moves earlier on and getting some track position, but I just needed to…Take it easy today.” 

When asked about Allgaier’s late lap mishap, Love relayed what he did to maneuver through the wreck and get past without piling up.

Love explains what he did to get through the ‘Big One’ in Phoenix

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In an eventful afternoon, Jesse Love, after becoming the first rookie to rack back-to-back pole awards, got his first top-5 finish. Everything was going well up until the final five laps when a multi-car wreck broke out after the JRM #7 Chevy of Justin Allgaier blew a tire and got into the barrier. This incident sent the race to overtime, extending the event by five laps.

Detailing what he did when the accident happened, Jesse Love said, “I just came right down and tried to just drive through the mess, that’s like. I don’t know. I mean, there’s a lot of guys that are racing really hard right now up there and I kind of figured something was gonna happen.” He further revealed what his strategy was on the final restart. 

Speaking to Bob Pockrass, he said, “Win the race, I mean, that was like by the only time of the day where I went 100%.” Further, he added, “I thought that I just had to be really smart and then that last restart, I was like, all right, I’m gonna go get me one here and I, we picked up a spot, but I just showed him’s really good at putting him in tough spots and makes me and that obviously, you know, hurt me getting back up to the #81 there so if I could have restarted out on the front row.” 

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