RCR star Jesse Love sends a message after swiping Atlanta pole from teammate Austin Hill

Richard Childress Racing driver Jesse Love sent a confident message after claiming pole position ahead of Saturday’s Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The 20-year-old outpaced his teammate Austin Hill to achieve his sixth career Xfinity Series pole and maintained a perfect qualifying record at the track. In all three of his starts at Atlanta, he has taken the No. 1 starting spot.

His impressive lap time of 31.730 seconds at a top speed of 174.724 mph ensured another front-row lockout for RCR, with Hill trailing by just 0.063 seconds in second place. RCR has a history of dominating qualifying sessions at superspeedways, and the front-row lockout confirmed their dominance.

Love, who already kicked off his 2025 NXS campaign with a victory at Daytona International Speedway, is now looking for another top finish in Atlanta. He was asked in the post-qualifying interview if he had the confidence in his second run to put his car on the front row. While confident, Love was cautious of getting his expectations too high.

"Yeah, I'd probably be lying if I told you no. Our No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet was just fast and obviously, I feel like whenever we come to these places... I don't want to say it to give in because when you start expecting things then you start to get your feelings hurt. But these guys just do such a great job; ECR, everybody back at Welcome they always make these Chevrolets fast... just proud of this whole day's job with the No.2 led crew," Love shared.

After a strong start to the season, Love is ready to overcome the heartbreak from last season at Atlanta, where he led the majority of the race but fell short in the final laps.

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Jesse Love knows Saturday's race will be a challenge

NASCAR Xfinity: Jesse Love leading the United Rentals 300 at Daytona International Speedway - Source: Imagn

Despite his pole position, Jesse Love understands that starting up front does not guarantee victory. His painful experience from last year’s race is a reminder of how unpredictable superspeedway racing can be.

In the 2024 Raptor King of Tough 250, Jesse Love was in control for most of the event, leading 157 of the 169 laps. However, as the race entered a two-lap overtime, his car ran out of fuel, crushing his hopes of winning. This miscalculation allowed his RCR teammate Austin Hill to take the lead for the first time and hold off Chandler Smith to claim the victory.

Reflecting on the bitter loss, Love described the situation as laughable. "It’s almost comical. Man, I’m just so damn proud of everybody on this Whelen car. It just wasn’t meant to be," he was quoted as saying by Jayski. Heading into Saturday’s 250-mile race, he knows that his job is far from easy.

"Yeah, I drive fast race cars, and that obviously helps. We have big power, and my crew chief Danny Stockman is really good at his job as well. Qualifying time, my job is pretty easy, and my job is tough tomorrow night," Jesse Love said in the post-qualifying conference.

The 250-mile Xfinity Series race is scheduled for Saturday, February 22, and the first green flag will drop at 5:00 pm ET.