NASCAR CUP SERIES
BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES
APRIL 12, 2025
Jesse Love, driver of the No. 33 C4 Energy Chevrolet and No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, met with the media onsite at Bristol Motor Speedway to preview his doubleheader race weekend and his first career NASCAR Cup Series start in Sunday’s Food City 500.
Media Availability Quotes:
What are the personal goals you hope to get out of making your debut this weekend?
“Yeah, I’m not a big goal person, really. I try to focus more — like when I was younger, running like ARCA and stuff, I think I prioritized winning a lot… always the end result, in a sense. I’ve kind of gotten away from that over the last probably two to three years now and kind of focus more on the execution part of it and the job that I do. So I always feel confident that if I, you know, do my very best job, I will leave the racetrack with a good result, with a chance to win, and that could be completely different this weekend.
You know, if I do a phenomenal job — realistically I’m probably not going to have a chance to win the Cup race, right? So for me, my goals, if I was only focused on winning, winning, winning, I feel like I’d be doing myself a bad doing, wrong doing… blanking on the word there. But you know, I think that I’m just focused on leaving the racetrack, having run all the laps and feeling like I did a good job and I think if I do that, then I can have a result that will really satisfy me and the team.”
And then secondly, why Bristol? Why a place like Bristol to make your debut?
“Yeah, it’s one of the better racetracks for me… kind of more my wheelhouse. I don’t really enjoy the flat track stuff a whole lot. I really enjoy the tracks with a lot of banking, a lot of grip, moving around, running the wall, getting on the top, bottom, the middle… kind of wherever there’s grip and a clean racetrack. I like to search around and I can do that here.
I’m comfortable with the racetrack and have enough laps here. I took enough detailed notes over the years. When I come here, I’m having to learn a whole new race car. I didn’t really get do any testing, right? So I can eliminate one of the factors of learning, which is learning the racetrack, right? Still picking up, you know, things here and there throughout the weekend, but because I’ve been here enough, I can come here for the Cup race and not have to learn a racetrack and a car at the same time.”
What did you do to prepare for this moment?
“I ran a lot of laps in the simulator. I think I probably ran about probably 2,000 laps this week on the simulator, whether it be the DiL at the GM Tech Center or whether it be even iRacing with Scott Speed. So just ran a lot of laps… trying different things. You know, one thing I did this week was I ran a couple 500 lap races by myself on iRacing, just to kind of condition myself to the mental drain it’s going to take to run 500 laps. Obviously, it’ll be the longest race in my life. Never ran a 24-hour race before, right? So this is going to be different for me in a lot of ways.
The fitness level I actually feel pretty confident about. I’ll go to the care center after the race and get an IV. Have a bus for the first time this weekend, so I don’t have to travel back and forth to the hotel and can kind of go right to bed. And, you know, I feel like the fitness side of it is going to be fine. Obviously, I had to step up my game kind of leading up to this race a little bit. But more importantly, I feel like getting the mental side of it, you know, squared away, and I think the biggest part of that for me is, again, running 500 laps. Like in Xfinity races in the beginning of last year, I remember getting out of the car and being like, there’s no way I can run a Cup race right now. And honestly, every race this year I’ve been able to get out and be like — man, I wish this race a little bit longer. And if I had to go, you know, another double after this, that I could do it. So I’m in a much better fitness space now, and it’s going to be a challenge for sure on the mental side of it with how draining that’ll be. But I feel like I’ve put the processes in place to be okay.”
Have you leaned on Kyle Busch at all? Certainly, you have the best underneath your roof, so I’m kind of curious if you asked him at all.
“Yeah, absolutely. I mean, it’d be dumb of me to not go ask some questions and pick his brain when I can. And he’s been helpful, for sure. I always feel like Kyle (Busch) has been open book. I will say, you know, Kyle’s probably the toughest competitor in the garage, and I do notice a little bit of a difference when I’m asking him questions when I’m not racing against him versus when I am racing against him, right?
So, again, it’s really cool to pick a guy’s brain like that. And I’ve been able to ask a lot of people questions, you know. I’m really close with all the Cup drivers on the Front Row side of things, like Todd, Zane, and Noah. And even asking questions like — what’s your procedure like getting in the pit box, right? Again, I just go in the neutral when I come out of pit stall because we’re an H-pattern, right? Never had to deal with a sequential shifter, so that was interesting. Kind of a few different people had a few different answers for me, and then I kind of figured out what I would enjoy and like the most in the car. And then I got to wrap that in the simulator, too. So, yeah, a bunch of questions asked to a lot of different people.
Justin Allgaier has been a huge help for me, as well. He does all the wheel force testing and he’s in the simulator doing a lot of stuff for GM, too, so he’s been open book for me, as well. Obviously, he loves to talk too, so I’m able to get a lot out of him. And just a lot of people, even about, you know, what throttle pedal should I run? Asking guys like Denny Hamlin and people that have a lot of experience, right? What they like and what they found works best for them. So I’ve kind of honestly feel like I’ve kind of crossed all my T’s and dot all my I’s coming in here, and obviously asking all the people in the garage has helped me do that.”
First, you told me in advance of this week that you don’t want to come in too high on the excitement level, so how do you manage that? Keep a level head, but you only make your Cup debut once, so still let yourself appreciate the emotions and how special this weekend is…
“Yeah, I was driving up here and I kind of got all my emotion out on the way up here. Driving up here is like very mountainous and it was like driving to Baylands, which is where I grew up racing quarter midgets. It was kind of a similar, I guess, like terrain and route. So that was a pretty cool emotional experience for me.
I remember when I was, you know, five, six, eight years old running quarter midgets with my dad, you know, driving up this windy path one way or one lane road up to the go-kart track and then now doing the same thing going to a Cup race. That was a really cool full circle moment for me.
And I feel like the best way to go about it, for me at least, is try to keep the emotions at a minimum; not be overly excited, not be overly emotional about anything, and then after the race I can kind of soak it all in, right?
But, you know, there’s definitely nerves and things like that, but I’ve worked my whole life so that I can be nervous on a Sunday. So I feel like I’m really grateful that I get to feel this way about a Sunday race for the first time and I feel like I’m trying to embrace it. So at the same time, try to go into the race somewhat neutral in a head space.. not let too many things distract me and just try to do a good job. And then after the race, I feel like I can kind of soak it all in. So that’s kind of my mindset.
I feel like in the Xfinity stuff, I can kind of be a little more outgoing and a little more excited about this weekend because I really feel we have a good shot to win the Xfinity race this weekend. But on the Cup side of things, just try to be level-headed and execute the best that I can.”
It’s not racing full-time on Sundays yet, but does this at least in some ways feel a little bit like a culmination of all the blood, sweat, and tears that it took to get to this point?
“Yeah, that was part of the reason I got to get my emotions out on the car ride up here, and I feel like once I got all that out, now I have a little more of a clear head. But yeah, I mean there’s been so many sacrifices from my friends and my family and, you know, even myself throughout my whole career to have the chance to race on a Sunday. And obviously now that day has come, so that’s a really cool moment for me. But, you know, I feel like I’m just kind of embracing all the emotions as they come. I feel like all the emotions are real, they’re valid and still a really cool thing. But I feel like because I’m kind of present in the moment and understanding of, you know, trying to keep those emotions in check and not get too wrapped up in the moment, that I feel like I’m kind of pretty calm going into this weekend.
Again, I don’t have a lot of expectations. The only expectation I have is that I execute what the car is capable of and what I’m capable of. And I think if we do that, we can have a good showing.”
What’s the allure of Bristol Motor Speedway? You’ve been able to race here four times already between ARCA and Xfinity, but the history of this place and the feel of racing in what is this arena, what’s that like as someone who is still fairly new to the sport and this place particularly?
“Yeah, I think that like the biggest bummer is that it’s not a night race for the Xfinity stuff this year.
Do we come here twice in the Xfinity car? We do? Okay, well at least the second one’s a night race, so scratch that. But no, I feel like the night race here last year was probably the favorite race, the coolest race of my life, just getting a race against Dale Earnhardt Jr.; getting a race at Bristol under the lights and obviously a bunch of fans in the stands.
I just love the Xfinity package here. It’s obviously really fun to drive. You really get to move around and have to be present and see how the racetrack changes. But I just love coming here for obviously the fact that the track is fun to drive. A lot of times we go to places that have a lot of, you know, aura or a lot of allure, and it’s cool, but the racetrack isn’t necessarily fun to drive, right? So what makes this place cool is that it has all of those things, but it’s also is a really cool technical, fun racetrack. I think that it just kind of checks all the boxes and it’s a lot of fun to come here. And obviously there’s a lot of history about the place, too.”
What are you curious to experience on Sunday?
What am I curious about? That’s a good word…
You know, I feel like — so I kind of got to do this in trucks. I ran three truck races when I was 18, and it was cool for me because at that time when I was running those truck races, I thought I was going truck racing the following year, so it was a cool thing for me because I was like — okay, I’m going to write down all these notes and try to be detailed about it in the off season or throughout the rest of the year before the next truck race. Like write down a bunch of things I got to get better at, right? Which at the time for me was that I had to get better at restarts. Got to figure out how to drive a looser truck faster and not only be going on the tight side. A couple other things, too, like pit stops.
So, same thing for the Cup race, right? I’m going to go into it and probably leave here with a bunch of notes in my notebook going — okay, I got to get a lot better at X, Y, and Z, and then try to, you know, bridge the gap. If there is another one this year, or next year if I’m doing it full-time or whatever it may be, try to just bridge those gaps, right? I also think it’s going to make you better on the Xfinity side for sure, too.
You know, I was talking to Noah about it on the phone the other day and he was like — I mean, you’re racing against all these guys, right, that can come down to your level and be a Xfinity champion or win a Xfinity race, right? The whole Xfinity field can’t win Xfinity races, but primarily the whole Cup field can win Xfinity races.
I’m just looking forward to like seeing the depth of the field and how hard you run for 30th, you know? It’s super easy for me to run inside the top-10 of a Xfinity race, right? It’s like climbing Mount Everest for me to go run top-10 this weekend. So, I’m looking forward to seeing like the, I guess, the depth of the field. And then obviously, I don’t know what I don’t know, as well. So, there’s a lot of things that I don’t know what I’m going to be curious about, but I’ll figure that out pretty quickly in the race. It will probably be a couple of things like pit road and restarts and then aggression level, right? Those are three things that I’m going to try to figure out when I leave the racetrack, you know, how to bridge that gap.
And obviously there’s been a little bit of like due diligence on my end, too, of kind of trying to be self-aware on what my shortfalls are right now so that when I get in the Cup race, I can kind of hopefully step up to that level hopefully before I have to leave the racetrack. So, yeah, there’s a lot of things I’m curious about and a lot of things that I know that I’m going to have to figure out in the moment.”
I know you talk about leaving the motions behind you on the trip up. What is this like for your family and how is it hard not to get too excited because I’m guessing they’re probably wound up and they kind of get fed into that? What’s it like for the family?
“Yeah, obviously everyone that knows me knows I’m really close to my family and really care deeply about them. For me, like I said, I had that emotional roller coaster on the way up here. So, thankfully, I feel like I had that so now I can kind of put it aside, in a sense, now that I have to go and perform.
But, you know, it’s been tough for me because I have to do what’s best for, like, what’s going to make me run the best on Sunday. Some people will ask me, like, how excited are you… blah, blah, blah, blah. I almost have to try to put on a face in a sense because it’s hard for my family, my sponsors and friends to understand what I’m having to go through, which is like I can’t be over the moon excited, emotional and things like that, even though they may be, because I have to go perform on Sunday, right? And if I’m in that headspace, then I probably won’t perform as well. But they understand that. They understand the game and how the game’s played. First rule of playing the game is knowing that you’re playing a game. So, I feel like I have to do what’s best to help me run better on Sunday, and after the fact, then I feel like I can give in and give those people what I want to give them and what they want, as well.”
What are your future plans, like, in terms of what is your timeline to wanting to move to Cup? Is it a year or two? Are you in a rush to get there?
“Beats the hell out of me (laughs). I don’t really know…
I mean, yeah, the sooner the better for obvious reasons, but I don’t really know. I feel like, you know, I have opportunities and all that, which is great. But quite honestly, I won’t have those opportunities if I don’t perform, right? So, I feel like I’ve found a good headspace right now, which is like — yeah, you know, be really grateful that I have those opportunities, but I also will lose them quickly if I don’t perform. So, just try to stay in the same headspace that I’ve been in, which is, you know, try not to care about that too much and if I do a good enough job, then those things will happen naturally.
And I feel like the last week, and then kind of Homestead, too, Darlington to Homestead, right? I feel like it’s not quite up to par to where I need to be, so I feel like I’ve tried to make a little bit of a mental shift over the week to get ready for this weekend and try to just start being like a top two to three car every week and not just like a top five to six car.”
You said you did a lot of laps on iRacing, a lot of laps on the sim. How do you think that will compare to when you get in the car today and how do you think that feel that you either had or you think you’re going to have will compare to the feel you know in your Xfinity car?
“I don’t know. I think it’s important not to, you know, get married to one thing, right? Yeah, the Cup car on iRacing does not feel like the Cup car in the actual DiL simulator at GM, and I’m sure the DiL simulator at GM isn’t going to feel 100% like real life, right? But there’s still certain small things that you kind of pick up on, right? I mean, physics is physics and that’s kind of how we look at it with Josh Wise and Scott Speed. Typically the fastest guy is the one that messes up the physics the least, so trying to just kind of have an open mind. You try to prepare really hard for this stuff but you don’t want to get married to one thing. So I feel like, you know, I’ve gotten comfortable with that… gotten used to that, in a sense.
It’s more so like your only job out there is to go out there and put it on the limit tire and then, you know, you’re trying to exploit that the best that you can, right? So depending on your balance and certain things, you’re going to move shapes around. You’re going to move how you apply the brake and let off the gas and things around like that too. So honestly, like I’ve done all this prep, right? But I’m not going into the car for practice and being like — okay, I’m going to drive it just like I drove on the simulator, right? Kind of going out there and you have your first prediction, which is basically where you lift and turn off the wall. And then everything after that is pretty much a reaction to what you’re feeling. And then you use all those, you know, 2,000 laps or so this week to help you react in an optimal manner.”
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