Jesse Love has been a force of nature in the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series. Constantly challenging the points leader and his best friend, Connor Zilisch. And so the Charlotte Roval finale race was important. Love started the race from eighth place after securing his spot with a qualifying time of 86.390 seconds, averaging a speed of 95.011 mph. But what followed was an extremely difficult race. Now, as the 20-year-old navigates his way in the playoffs, he sounds off on his strength in the next round.

Jesse Love kept his Xfinity Series playoff hopes alive with a strong showing at the unforgiving Charlotte ROVAL. Love captured stage two, marking his second stage victory of the season, and came out of the pit road in the race lead on lap 42 and holding that lead for 4 laps, though he restarted 18th. Despite the shuffle through the field, he finished the race in 12th place. Speaking to Bob Pockrass, the 20-year-old talked about keeping his chin up as they head to Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

“I think winning your way in before Martinsville, I think we have a great shot of that next week, and then I think we have a better shot of that the following week. So, and then Martinsville, we’re back basically in the same situation we are here, where it’s just either fun or stressful, there’s no in between.”

Jesse Love has found momentum in Las Vegas this year. Starting from 17th position, Love maintained a competitive base throughout the race, ultimately finishing third. Despite mid-race challenges, Love’s resilience and strategic drive enable him to secure a top-five finish, reinforcing his position as a strong contender in the 2025 Xfinity Series season. Jesse plans to bag a win before the last race of the Round of 8 so that he can snatch a spot in the Championship 4. The following race is set to be in Martinville.

Jesse Love’s performances at Martinsville Speedway have been challenging. In the 2020 5US Marine Corps 250, he started 37th and was involved in an incident, ultimately finishing in 37th place. Last year in the fall race, he started 12th, completed five laps, and finished 32nd. His best result at Martinsville came in the 2024 spring race, where he started at ninth and finished seventh.

Despite his short track racing background, Love has expressed frustration with Martinsville’s raising culture. He described the event as a Mickey Mouse show, highlighting the lack of respect among drivers and the desperation to qualify for the Championship 4. Hence, making it important for him to win at Las Vegas.

But Love’s performance this year shows us that he can battle it out when needed. Love’s consistent performance allowed him to maintain a crucial position in the playoff standings. After Charlotte, he sits fifth in the points, just two points above the cut line, keeping his championship bid within reach. The spotlight now turns to Las Vegas, where Love must deliver again to preserve both his own and Richard Childress Racing’s postseason aspirations.

Reflecting on the difficult race, he said, “We had a really good car and obviously you weren’t, you know, we were step off 88, but you know, we were still pretty close at times. And, overall, I was really proud of our guys for, you know, bringing a good car here today and getting points like we executed that for the most part, with the exception of stage 1. As good as they possibly could have today. So yeah, I’m just proud of the group. You know, again, work with Scott Speed and Josh Wise, you know, every day this week and last week and week before and all year, but especially on the Roval. A lot of stress goes into this race, and they help me manage that.”

While RCR’s No. 21 driver, Austin Hill’s playoff run ended in disappointment, RCR still has a reason for hope. Their attention immediately shifted to Jesse Love’s performance at Charlotte and the chance to salvage the season. However, Austin Hill’s exit was painful to watch.

Jesse Love’s teammates’ NASCAR Playoffs hope gets dashed by points drama

Heading into the round of 12 finale at Charlotte, the No. 21 driver sat 10th in the standings, seven points below the playoff cut line. Charlotte proved challenging early, but he made an aggressive start.  From executing a daring three-wide pass through turn 7 and marching forward, snatching fourth place from JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier, Austin Hill showcased strong pace.

Reflecting on his race, he said, “Things that I could do better as a driver. I’ve made a lot of mistakes throughout the middle portion of the season and later on. And I thought we were turning it around there at Kansas, having a strong showing. And we were showing it here today and just came up short… ”

Unfortunately, a mechanical issue slowed him in the latter stages. Amid pit cycles and being a cylinder down, he ultimately slipped to 15, ending his title hopes despite a strong showing in the early and middle stages of the race. However, if he had his bonus points from not losing them at Indianapolis for right-rear hooking Aric Almirola on track, Hill could have saved his playoff hopes.

He added, “We should have never even been that far back in the first place. So, without the issue, we would have been probably plus 12 points or something like that. So, we probably were gonna make it in with the points that I would have had. But you can’t go back on that. I mean, NASCAR already took it from us.”

However, with one less RCR in the playoff grid, Jesse Love is going to have to pull off a miracle to be able to win amid JR Motorsports’ dominance.