JESSE LOVE
Würth 400 at Texas Motor Speedway
No. 62 C4 Ultimate Energy Chevrolet Camaro
Event Overview
● Event: Würth 400 (Round 11 of 36)
● Time/Date: 3:30 p.m. EDT on Sunday, May 4
● Location: Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth
● Layout: 1.5 mile oval
● Laps/Miles: 267 laps/400.5 miles
● State Lengths: Stage 1: 80 laps / Stage 2: 85 laps / Final Stage: 102 laps
● TV/Radio: FOX / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Notes of Interest
●Back to Back. Following Sunday’s Jack Links 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, Beard Motorsports is set appear in a second consecutive NASCAR Cup Series race when it hits the Texas Motor Speedway oval in Fort Worth for this Sunday’s Würth 400. It marks the first time Beard Motorsports is taking its racing program to the Lone Star State. Throughout the team’s nine-year history, it has been a fixture at NASCAR’s big tracks of Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway and Talladega. On occasion, the team has participated in races outside of the superspeedway category. This will mark the first time Beard has competed at an intermediate style track since fielding the No. 62 Chevrolet for driver Austin Hill in the 2023 Firekeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, where Hill finished 28th.
●A Fresh New Face for a Fresh New Track. The 1.5-mile Texas oval isn’t the only thing that will be new to Beard Motorsports this weekend as the team will have a new face behind the wheel of the No. 62 Chevrolet in driver Jesse Love. The native of Menlo Park, California, is in the midst of his second Xfinity series season as a fulltime driver of the No. 2 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing (RCR). He made his NASCAR Cup Series debut just three weeks prior to the Texas race when he strapped into RCR’s No. 33 C4 Ultimate Energy Chevrolet for the April 13 Food City 500 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. He’s a two-time winner and seven-time pole qualifier during his young Xfinity Series career, the wins coming last April at Talladega and at this year’s season opener at Daytona. He’s also logged one Xfinity Series start on the 1.5-mile Texas oval.
●Beard Motorsports and C4. Riding along with Love and the No. 62 Beard Chevrolet at Texas will be C4 Energy, America’s fastest-growing energy drink brand. Nutrabolt, owner of C4®, is the No. 1-selling global pre-workout brand and one of the fastest-growing energy drink companies in the country. Making its C4 Ultimate Energy product lineup more delicious and even cooler, Nutrabolt recently introduced the Frost collection – a product extension available in three flavors that will also unveil a unique can technology that transitions from silver to blue when the can is cold and ready to drink.
●Different Tracks by the Numbers. The superspeedway program at Beard Motorsports has been well-documented and, in its nine seasons, superspeedways have been the team’s bread and butter. The first time the No. 62 Beard-owned Chevrolet made the starting field at a non-superspeedway race dates back to 2020, when the team participated in the Go Bowling 235 NASCAR Cup Series race on the Daytona road course. The team’s original driver, Brendan Gaughan, was behind the wheel of the No. 62 Chevrolet that season in what was his final year of racing in the Cup Series. A transmission issue resulted in the team finishing the race 39th.
● In Case You Didn’t Know. Entering a new race market is always a good time to highlight the Beard Motorsports story – a boutique race team, borne out of a passion for racing and sustained by love for the family patriarch. The late Mark Beard Sr., brought his dream to life when he fielded the No. 62 Chevrolet in the season-opening Daytona 500 in 2017. Upon his passing in 2021, his wife, daughter and son carried pursued the racing dream in remembrance of Beard. Owned by Linda Beard and managed by daughter Amie Beard-Deja and son Mark Beard Jr., the No. 62 NASCAR Cup Series team continues to participate in select events on an annual basis.
● A Powered Partnership. As it has been since 2017, the No. 62 Beard Motorsports team has been powered by an ECR-built engine and the team has leveraged the power of those engines to post solid finishes. During its previous eight seasons of racing, Beard Motorsports has participated in 30 Cup Series events, scoring two top-five finishes and seven top-10s.
● Next Up. Beard Motorsports will be on hiatus for the next two months before making its return to the NASCAR Cup Series at the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the July 27 Brickyard 400.
Jesse Love, Driver of the No. 62 C4 Ultimate Energy Chevrolet Camaro:
You made your Cup Series debut at Bristol. What was that like, and how does that prepare you for this weekend?
“Making my Cup Series debut at Bristol was a moment that I had been working toward my entire life. I learned a ton and was really grateful to have that opportunity. Going into Bristol, I was a little worried about being overwhelmed and what it would be like to get in the car with my emotions. I feel like I did a good job of managing that and was able to execute in the car. As excited as I was to get that first start, it’s also now out of the way so I feel like I’m even more ready for Texas now that I have that first start.”
Was there anything you learned that was surprising and that will help you?
“This wasn’t really a surprise, but something I looked forward to at Bristol was racing against the competition in the Cup Series. I knew the depth of the competition would be so much more than what we see in the Xfinity Series. I am racing against guys that I think are really good. They’re good at what they do and they don’t make a lot of mistakes. It was a big deal for me to get in the Cup car and get that experience of racing against that level of talent. I felt really comfortable in the car and really can’t wait to get back behind the wheel and do more.”
How are you preparing for this weekend’s race at Texas?
“I’m doing a lot of the same things I did to get ready for Bristol. I will be logging laps on the simulator and doing some iRacing – just spending some time getting familiar with the track. I feel pretty confident about the fitness part of it and will be ready for the longer distance, so I should be fine. Texas may not be as physically demanding because it’s not a short track, but the heat will be more demanding and that will make it a bigger challenge compared to Bristol. And Texas is a tough track. It’s really fast.”
What are your goals for this weekend at Texas?
“The goal will be to keep collecting experience and learning the Cup car. I am at a point where I focus more on the execution part, running all of the laps and feeling confident that if I do my very best job, then I can leave the racetrack with a good result that will satisfy me and the team. Racing in the Cup Series fulltime is the dream, so to get this opportunity with Beard Motorsports is great. But these opportunities won’t be here if I don’t perform. Both of the races I am racing for Beard at Texas and Indy will allow me to gain knowledge of how this car races at different tracks and hopefully set me up to pounce on future opportunities.”
No. 62 Beard Motorsports Team Roster
Primary Team Members
Driver: Jesse Love
Hometown: Menlo Park, California
Crew Chief: Darren Shaw
Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina
Car Chief: Travis Owens
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Spotter: Rick Carelli
Hometown: Arvada, Colorado
President: Linda Beard
Hometown: Mt. Pleasant, Michigan
Over-The-Wall Members
Front Tire Changer: Caison Dillon
Hometown: Welcome, North Carolina
Rear Tire Changer: Matthew Ketchie
Hometown: Mt. Ulla, North Carolina
Tire Carrier: Tanner Wells
Hometown: Goldsboro, North Carolina
Jack Man: Brandon Derby
Hometown: Pennsylvania
Fuel Man: Doug Warrick
Hometown: Hamilton, New Jersey
Road Crew Members
Mechanic: Jack Gagnon
Hometown: Quebec, Canada
Front End Mechanic: Mark Sanders
Hometown: Springfield, Ohio
Tire Technician: Mike Harrold
Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina
Engine Tuner: Jason Watkins
Hometown: Ridgeway, Virginia
Interior Specialist: Nic Hill
Hometown: Fort Myers, Florida
Transporter Driver: Roger Lankford
Hometown: Lexington, North Carolina
