It’s a “weekly science experiment,” Brad Keselowski quipped on Saturday. NASCAR embarked on another Goodyear project for the 2025 Bristol race, using the PJ1 Trackbite compound on the lower lanes of the short track. The results were thrilling for drivers during practice, as the tires barely ran for 35 laps before coming apart. So Jesse Love rolled up his sleeves for a feisty tire management race like last spring – but was disappointed.
The Richard Childress Racing young phenom has picked up a victory along with 6 top-tens in the Xfinity Series this year. Despite his soaring success, Jesse Love wanted his Cup Series debut to be extra special. However, hours of preparation were undone because his and other peers’ predictions were wrong.
Jesse Love underlines the disappointing highlight
Well, the 20-year-old ground it out in preparation for the Food City 500 race. Jesse Love quadrupled the 500-lap race on the simulator leading up to the Thunder Valley trek. He harnessed advice and inspiration from his RCR peer, two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch. After finishing 6th in the Xfinity Series race, Love took note when Cup Series drivers faced high tire wear during practice. He prepared accordingly and qualified in a solid 19th-place finish. Unfortunately, the weather came in his way. Contrary to the colder temperatures that drivers faced on Saturday afternoon, there was a lack of cloud cover on Sunday. That led to higher track surface temperatures, which allowed the track to take tire rubber, which led to less tire wear.
Consequently, this situation fumbled up Jesse Love‘s plans somewhat. He already suffered an ill-handling No. 33 C4 Ultimate Energy Chevrolet. Besides that, Love also incorrectly presumed there would be a tire disaster early in the race. That assumption bit his plans, as he confessed in a post-race interview with Frontstretch: “That’s what screwed me, I thought it was going to be a tire race, and then I went a lap down trying not to blow a right front, and it was pretty much fine. We lost a lot of positions when I cornered that right front there on that one long green flag run there…which is a bummer. I think if it wouldn’t have happened we could have run a lot better.”
.@jesselovejr1 talks his Cup Series debut.
: @tanner_marlar pic.twitter.com/4NAoQtSEhC
— Frontstretch (@Frontstretch) April 13, 2025
As we know, Kyle Larson again put up a dominant performance, leading for 411 of 500 laps. The final 235 laps ran without a single caution flag due to the Goodyear tires acting differently. This meant that drivers found it hard to pass each other – and they included Jesse Love. He confessed what other issues resulted in a 36th-place finish. “It was really hard to pass – obviously, I couldn’t do that coming in…The aero package was so hard, but the guys were so good too. I was happy that I was racing against guys that I think are really good. I felt like I had good speed and I was really comfortable in the car. Obviously, the finish wasn’t there. Do I know why yet? No, I gotta go back and see where we lost spots and how we lost them. It was kind of too much for me to take in at one time.”
Nevertheless, Jesse Love acknowledged the factors that he got right. After all, Bristol is a racetrack that holds a special place in his heart.
Love counts his blessings
The long hours of prep that Jesse Love put in may not have seen the best result. But they testify to the driver’s strong efforts nonetheless. The 20-year-old Californian challenged himself physically and mentally to take on the 500-lap race, the longest race he has attempted as of yet. So he was able to do the two things that a young driver hopes to do in their transition to the Cup Series. Love logged all laps except for the last five and found comfort in the Next-Gen car. That is what the RCR driver proudly declared, “I thought our pace was decent…Around other cars, I feel like I could run quick lap times and all of that stuff. It was a lot of fun, and I feel I was comfortable in it, and I think that was what was most important for me to feel today.”
Love was willing to put in this effort because of the sentimental feelings he had for Bristol Motor Speedway. He confessed that the climb through the Tennessee Valley Divide reminded him of home. “I was driving up here and kind of got all my emotion out on the way up here. Driving up here is very mountainous and it was like driving to Baylands [northern California], which is where I grew up racing quarter midgets. So that was a pretty cool emotional experience for me. When I was five, six, eight years old, running quarter midgets with my dad driving up this windy path, one-lane road up to the go-kart track, and then now doing the same kind of thing for a Cup race. That was a really cool full-circle moment for me.”
Evidently, Jesse Love had some positives and negatives to glean from his Cup Series debut. Overall, it was a superb start – and we hope to see the youngster fetch laurels soon!
The post “That’s What Screwed Me” – Jesse Love Conflicted by Goodyear Ruins His Golden Chance to Impress at Bristol appeared first on EssentiallySports.
