At first glance, there’s not much to liken Jesse Love to Chase Elliott. However, after barely squeezing through at the Charlotte ROVAL, the Richard Childress wheelman is the only Rookie of the Year (ROTY) contender to have made it to the Round of 8. This means Love could replicate a feat set in motion ten years ago by a former Nationwide Series champion-turned-6-time Most Popular Driver in the Cup Series.

If he makes it to the final 4 at Phoenix avoiding elimination, the #2 driver will have a fighting chance to lift the coveted championship trophy at the end of the 2024 season. But if he wins it, he will become only the 4th driver in NASCAR history to become Xfinity champ in their first full-time season. For that matter, Chase Elliott was the first driver ever to reel in the accolade of being a rookie champion in the second tier. And although those are tough shoes to fill for Jesse Love, he seems more ready than ever to take over for NASCAR’s next generation.

Jesse Love eyes rookie title shot after ROVAL rollercoaster

In 2014, it was Chase Elliott. 2017 belonged to William Byron. And the following year in 2018, Tyler Reddick became the third Rookie of the Year to take home the Xfinity Series championship trophy. To find yourself in such stellar company as a 19-year-old is a privilege few can claim; Love would be exceptional in that regard, but only if he does go on to win the title. But to make that a reality, he needs to be exceptionally resilient in the next three races of the Round of 8 eliminators.

Sure, that 19th-place finish edged out fellow rookie Shane van Gisbergen by two points for that last transfer spot. But results like that might make it hard for him to advance past the next cutoff race at Martinsville. However, it is important to note that he did score consecutive top-10s in the last two Playoff races at Kansas and Talladega. Besides, Jesse Love’s drive for the championship resonates through his weekly hard-charging advances, which signals exactly how badly he wants the whole thing.

In his own words to Bob Pockrass after the race, “I mean, I knew that I was in a spot where I had to be really aggressive and used both sides of my car except the back bumper… Yeah, it’s not really my style to be that aggressive, like kinda be dirty. Like, really hit people hard and bounce off people right? But at the same time I can’t go look my guys in the eye and tell ‘em I didn’t give my all out there. So I gotta be loyal to them.”

Love locked himself into the post-season, thanks to his first-ever Xfinity win, which came at Talladega in April. Since then, the #2 team has scored three top-5s and seven top-10s to get wherever they are. So can he win the championship, although he’s riding somewhat of a barren spell? Well, for the youngster, there isn’t any mountain that’s too difficult to move. “I think that I’ve got so much confidence in like the ‘when-your-backs up-against-the-wall’ moments. That’s kind of where I feel like I do my best work. So I’m looking forward to the pressure. Pressure is a privilege.”

“And this one that I’m grateful to have,” beamed the Menlo Park, California native. “So looking forward to going to work with Danny Stockman (crew chief) and the boys for the next few weeks and race for a championship. I feel like if we can get to Phoenix. We’ve got as good of a shot as anybody.” For all the talk about his ‘tender age’ and ‘inexperience’, even Love knows that “getting there is the hard part.” And although it might be ‘hard,’ the rookie is in excellent hands with Danny Stockman, the same crew chief who helped Austin Dillon win the Nationwide Series championship, not once but twice (2011 & 2013).

On top of that, Love will require all the help he can get. After all, the 2024 Driver for the Cure 250, Round of 12 cutoff race, showed us exactly how relentless the NASCAR Playoffs could truly get.

Playoff hopes diminish with a few heartburns

Trending

Kyle Larson Aware of the Threat Despite the Flip at Martinsville After Rick Hendrick Rejuvenated His Career

“I Thought I Was Gone”- Ross Chastain Publicly Confesses Intentional Kevin Harvick Crash That Left Him Fearing for His Well-Being

Ross Chastain Unravels Getting an Earful After Making a Laughing Stock of Himself By Changing His Look

Jeff Gordon Remains Grateful to Dale Earnhardt for Teaching to Live Life Beyond Racing Recalling Their Outing in Japan

Tyler Reddick’s Championship Run Becomes the Catalyst for Bootie Barker’s Removal From Bubba Wallace’s Camp

Sheldon Creed (35), Riley Herbst (32), Shane van Gisbergen (P3), and Parker Kligerman (P6). All of those guys got knocked out of the Playoffs, courtesy of how their respective days transpired after navigating the 17 turns of the Charlotte ROVAL on Saturday. Creed and Herbst were involved in a multi-car wreck in the middle of Stage 2, that handed both their cars varying levels of damage. Although Creed’s race ended swiftly following this incident, Riley Herbst stayed on for a little longer and retired at the end of Lap 57 because of driveshaft issues.

Ironically, running in front of the #98, when it made contact with Anthony Alfredo’s #5, Jesse Love should consider himself lucky to have avoided the wreck. And even more interestingly, the #2 car was involved in another incident early on, when it spun out Sheldon Creed’s #18 from behind battling for track position with teammate Austin Hill. It sure is a contentious situation knowing Sheldon Creed’s history with Richard Childress Racing. But it would make no sense to create inferences out of thin air. Honestly, their little tussle is nothing more than a regular racing incident.

But what happened to Parker Kligerman was not a racing incident at all. Moments away from his first win of the season when it mattered the most, the retiring driver was 16 points below the elimination cutline. But just when it looked like he would cause an upset with one lap to go, NASCAR called a caution after Leland Honeyman lost a left-side tire and lodged his car into the barriers off Turn 3. On the ensuing restart, a desperate Sam Mayer, also below the cutline coming into the race, took the lead and kept it as the race ended in overtime. When the dust settled, Kligerman finished 6th and was out of the Playoffs after not making up for points.

As for Shane van Gisbergen? He finished in third, starting from pole. But the biggest threat to the Kiwi’s Playoff hopes was, you guessed it, a hard-charging Jesse Love. After failing to make the pass on P2-finishing Kaulig teammate AJ Allmendinger in the last stretch, he fell in points to the #2 driver who was determined to make up track position and harvest those all-important numbers on the leaderboard.

Regardless, Love is now -12 from the new cutline heading to Vegas. But can he become one of the youngest Xfinity champions ever at just 19 years old? He surely cannot be the youngest, since that record also belongs to Chase Elliott, who won the title in 2014 as a mere 18-year-old.

And in a twist of fate, Jesse Love is coincidentally the youngest ARCA champion ever in the Series seven-decade-long rich history. Hence, you could say that the pedigree is definitely there.