History was made at Rockingham. The track returned to the NASCAR Xfinity Series after 21 years, and boy, did it live up to all the hype and expectations. With the absence of a Cup Series race this weekend, all eyes were on the North Carolina Education Lottery 250 as Jesse Love went on to survive late race shakeups to snatch his second win of the year. It was also his first triumph at a non-superspeedway track in his short career so far.

With this win, Love has already doubled his wins in comparison to last season, after prevailing at Daytona International Speedway earlier this year. Could the Xfinity Series sophomore go on to win the championship later at Phoenix? Time will tell.

Jesse Love enjoyed racing at Rockingham

To say that the race was chaotic would be an understatement. Featuring 14 cautions and two red flags, Jesse Love knew he had his work cut out for him as the race progressed at Rockingham Speedway. Starting the race in seventh place, the No. 2 Chevy driver didn’t manage to get any points at the end of the first stage, but climbed up the ladder as the race went on, finishing second by the end of Stage 2.

He went from third to first on the overtime restart, leading 53 laps in the process and stretching his fuel over the final 96 laps to secure the victory in front of a sellout crowd at Rockingham. Visibly ecstatic at the outcome, Jesse Love said in the post-race interview, “Oh my gosh, these fans are amazing. It’s an incredible racetrack. It’s right up my alley. You probably can’t even hear me right now. Man, this racetrack is right up my alley. It’s hammer down, and you got to be in the gas today.”

Everything changed in overtime when Jesse Love eased into the right bumper of Sammy Smith, moving the JR Motorsports racer up the track to take the lead. The move gave the 20-year-old a significant advantage, taking him away from the chaotic field behind him. While the rest of the pack were running two or three wide at Rockingham in the final two laps, Love managed to extend his lead to 0.691 seconds to take home the triumph.

After the race, Love was seen hopping out of the roof hatch of his No. 2 Chevy and grabbing the checkered flag to celebrate his win. However, just when he took off his helmet to soak in the atmosphere, his car rolled down the slope of the straightaway and went into the infield grass. The 20-year-old looked embarrassed as his car went on the loose and said in front of the camera, “That’s not good.” However, all’s well that ends well, and no damage was incurred to his Richard Childress Racing vehicle, even though the racer forgot to use the parking brake.

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Jesse Love adds more Cup Series to his 2025 schedule

After making his Cup Series debut at Bristol Motor Speedway, Jesse Love is already hungry for more opportunities at NASCAR’s highest level. The 20-year-old recently revealed that he will be piloting the No. 62 Chevrolet for Beard Motorsports at Texas Motor Speedway, followed by an appearance at the Brickyard 400 at the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway. After impressive performances in the Xfinity Series, will the youngster be able to recreate his form against the sport’s heavyweights?

In a statement released by Love, he said, “Thanks to the Beard family, I’ll have a chance to at least do it a couple more times this season. The goals are to keep collecting experience and learning the Cup car. Both races at Texas and Indy will allow me to gain knowledge of how this car races at different tracks, which will hopefully set me up to pounce on future opportunities.”

Jesse Love’s performance at the 2025 Food City 500 left much to be desired. Piloting Richard Childress Racing’s third entry, the No. 33 Chevy, the California native finished in 31st place, five laps down. However, wins at Daytona International Speedway and Rockingham will give him plenty of confidence going into Texas and Indianapolis, where he will hope to hit the ground running and make his mark.