Current Championship Contender Love to Pilot the No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet for 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series
WELCOME, N.C. (October 24, 2025) – Whelen Engineering, a global leader in the emergency warning industry for over 70 years, will continue their partnership with Richard Childress Racing in 2026 as anchor sponsor on the No. 2 Chevrolet in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. Jesse Love will return to the organization to pilot the race-winning entry.
“Richard Childress Racing has been an excellent ambassador for Whelen Engineering over the years,” said Peter Tiezzi, general manager of motorsports for Whelen Engineering. “We’re excited to extend our partnership and continue to impact the communities we serve through our race team partnership in 2026. We both remain focused on providing industry-leading solutions. Jesse Love has done a phenomenal job representing our brand. We wish him the best in his NASCAR Playoffs run this season and look forward to competing alongside him and RCR for a championship in 2026.”
Since first partnering with RCR in 2022, Whelen has grown to become one of the most recognizable brands in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, building upon their overall success in motorsports. Whelen has utilized their partnership with RCR and Love to raise awareness for a variety of programs important to the core values of the company, such as the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund and the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, while also highlighting key segments of the company, such as Whelen Aerospace Technologies.
Driven by a mission to protect those who protect others, Whelen provides the high-quality, reliable products and technology needed to aid them in their critical missions. From warning lights to white illumination, sirens, controllers, and software, every product that bears the Whelen name has been thoughtfully designed, manufactured, and tested right here in America to perform at the highest level in any condition.
“Whelen’s unwavering commitment to motorsports and their focus on providing unsurpassed safety solutions to the communities they serve makes them a leader in their industry and everyone at RCR is proud to continue our partnership,” said Mike Verlander, president of RCR. “Jesse is a talented young racer that aligns with Whelen’s core mission and values. He has been a great ambassador for Whelen both on and off the track and we look forward to achieving more together in 2026.”
Love, the 2024 Xfinity Series Rookie of the Year, has found notable success in NASCAR’s second tier division while driving the No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet. The Menlo Park, Calif., native qualified for the NASCAR Playoffs back-to-back years. Both of Love’s Xfinity Series wins have come while driving the familiar white and red No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet. Love enters this weekend’s race in Martinsville, Va., the final race in the Round of Eight, 40 points ahead of the cutoff to advance into the Final Four and compete for a championship in Phoenix.
“I’m proud to continue my relationship with Richard Childress Racing and Whelen Engineering and look forward to building upon our already strong foundation,” said Love. “Whelen’s strong commitment to motorsports is unmatched. Thank you to Sonny, Geoff, Peter, and everyone at Whelen for their faith in me. My goal is to go out and win races and championships for RCR and Whelen.”
For more information, please visit rcrracing.com.
Whelen Engineering is a family-owned company with a pioneering spirit and a passion to protect the lives of those who protect and serve others. The company mission is to provide industry-defining safety solutions around the world, while creating a community of problem-solvers who are inspired to push boundaries and continue our legacy of delivering ground-breaking innovation. As a global leader in the emergency warning industry, Whelen has been trusted to perform since 1952, when George Whelen III invented the first rotating aviation beacon. Whelen now encompasses two state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Connecticut and New Hampshire with nearly 1,000,000 square feet of engineering and manufacturing space and the largest design staff in the industry. Every part of every Whelen product is proudly designed and manufactured in America. We embrace quality as our foundation, we celebrate innovative engineering in every product we produce.
Richard Childress Racing is a renowned, performance-driven racing, marketing and manufacturing organization. Incorporated in 1969, RCR has celebrated over 50 years of racing and earned more than 200 victories and 16 championships, including six in the NASCAR Cup Series with the legendary Dale Earnhardt. RCR was the first organization to win championships in the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Truck Series and is a three-time winner of the Daytona 500 (1998, 2007, 2018). Its 2025 NASCAR Cup Series lineup includes two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch (No. 8 Chevrolet) and 2017 Coca-Cola 600 winner and 2018 Daytona 500 champion Austin Dillon (No. 3 Chevrolet). RCR fields a full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series program with Jesse Love (No. 2 Chevrolet) and Austin Hill (No. 21 Chevrolet).
