Richard Childress saw shades of Jeff Gordon-like potential in Jesse Love from day one

Jesse Love has proved his worth this season. He won the first and last race of the Xfinity Series this season and took home the series title in his second full-time season.

During the first episode of NASCAR's new docuseries, Rising, team owner Richard Childress explained why he believed in Love's potential from the start. He said:

"He was the right guy. I said, 'Look, you have the Jeff Gordon, the William Byron. Look, now can you drive like him?' I think you can. Let's go out and show him." (09:40 onwards)

Love first sat in a race car at age five and ran quarter midgets and late models through his teens. Team owners and crew chiefs took note as he piled up wins and titles in regional series. Richard Childress Racing tapped that talent when they signed the California native to run the Xfinity Series full-time in the No. 2 Chevy after he won the 2023 ARCA Menards Series championship.

"Jess is young and he's got a lot to learn like every driver his age, but he has the mentality to handle the ups and downs and that's what it takes to be a good champion," Childress added.

Love won at Talladega in his rookie Xfinity season and took home Rookie of the Year honors. He took his second win at the 2025 opening race at Daytona and third at Phoenix.

Love's championship win earlier this month was all the more impressive because he outdid three JR Motorsports Championship 4 drivers, Connor Zilisch, Justin Allgaier, and Carson Kvapil. Late in the race, the 20-year-old passed Zilisch, his best friend who had been dominant all season, with 24 laps to go.

Meanwhile, Allgaier, who led 83 laps, struggled after a slower pit stop, and Kvapil also finished well down the order.

"Just never really got to be a kid" - Jesse Love on deciding to be a professional race car driver at 10

Jesse Love's father raced midget cars with Jeff Gordon, and he met the four-time Cup champion when he was 10. During the same episode of the five-part docuseries, Love said that he subconsciously decided to be a professional driver when he met Gordon.

Love also talked about the sacrifices he made racing every weekend.

"But subconsciously, I kind of made the decision I was going to be a professional race car driver from here on out, and this is what I wanted to do. And my dad realized you kind of have to be the whole piece of the pie," Jesse Love said (23:00 onwards).

"I didn't really have a lot of friends. I ate lunch alone a lot. Like you could probably count on half of a hand how many birthday parties I went to. Just never really got to be a fully, you know, a kid, I guess," he added.

Jesse Love's father pushed him to work on every side of being a racer, and he met weekly with a publicity coach to learn how to look confident on camera when he was a pre-teen.