Jesse Love will aim to make his inaugural presence as a NASCAR Cup Series competitor at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 13.
Love, a 20-year-old native of Menlo Park, California, will be piloting the No. 33 Chevrolet entry for Richard Childress Racing (RCR). The organization Love competes in the Xfinity Series on a full-time basis. C4 Ultimate Energy will be serving as his sponsor for the event at Bristol.
The news comes as Love is currently campaigning in his second full-time season in the Xfinity circuit with RCR. The Californian commenced the 2025 campaign by winning the February season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway. He finished in the top nine in his next five starts and is currently ranked third in the driver standings.
“Racing in the Cup Series has always been my main goal and dream,” Love said in a released statement. “Everything that I have done up to this point in my career has been building to this moment. To make my Cup Series debut at this age is very special, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to make it with RCR. Everyone has welcomed me with open arms over the last year and the organization feels like family.”
Love is a champion of the ARCA Menards Series (2023) and a two-time champion of the ARCA Menards Series West division (2020 & 2021). He made his first appearance across NASCAR’s top three national touring series in 2023, where he campaigned in his first three Craftsman Truck Series events with TRICON Garage.
During the three-race stint, he finished as high as fourth and no lower than 13th. Beginning in 2024, Love moved up to the Xfinity circuit with RCR. This past season, he notched his first career victory at Talladega Superspeedway, qualified for the Playoffs and finished in eighth place in the driver’s standings. He also captured the 2024 Xfinity Rookie-of-the-Year title.
Through 39 career starts in the Xfinity Series, Love has notched two victories, six poles, nine top-five results, 23 top-10 results, 394 laps led and an average finishing result of 11.2. As Love continues his season-long pursuit of the 2025 Xfinity championship, he will also attempt to become the fifth competitor over the previous four years to compete in at least a single Cup Series event behind the wheel of RCR’s No. 33 Chevrolet entry.
“I’m excited to have Jesse make his Cup Series debut in the No. 33 Chevrolet,” Richard Childress, chairman and chief executive officer of RCR, added. “From the moment I started watching Jesse race, I knew that he had the talent. He has a passion for wanting to win and doing the best possible for his team.
“To be a great driver, you have to have passion behind the wheel and Jesse has that. We’ve seen him develop over the last year since he joined RCR, and I look forward to helping him compete at the highest level of our sport.”
Love is currently the second competitor to be confirmed to pilot RCR’s No. 33 Chevrolet entry for at least a single event throughout the 2025 Cup Series season. Austin Hill, Love’s Xfinity teammate at RCR, is scheduled to pilot the No. 33 entry in five events, beginning at Darlington Raceway on April 6.
Future driver plans for RCR’s No. 33 Chevrolet entry and Love’s Cup Series schedule for the remainder of the 2025 season remain to be determined.
Jesse Love’s NASCAR Cup Series debut attempt is scheduled at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 13 for the Food City 500. The event’s start is slated to commence at 3 p.m. ET on FS1.
