Jesse Love, recently crowned as the Jesse Love Xfinity Series Champion, overcame a season spent mostly out of the limelight to seize a dramatic win at Phoenix and claim the title. The remarkable turnaround, achieved at the final race of the 2025 season, was shaped as much by personal rivalry as racing strategy, with Love openly crediting his internal drive to outshine his best friend and competitor, Connor Zilisch.
Personal Motivation Behind Jesse Love’s Championship Run
Throughout most of the 2025 Xfinity Series season, Love’s teammate and childhood friend, Connor Zilisch, was regarded as the consistent frontrunner. Entering the Xfinity Series as a favorite and running a high-profile one-off campaign, Zilisch captured much of the attention that had previously fallen on Love. However, Love’s late surge to clinch the championship, driving for RCR, surprised both fans and analysts, many of whom debated whether the playoff system had assisted his breakthrough.
After securing the title in the high-stakes Phoenix race, Love publicly dismissed criticism surrounding his path to victory and addressed the emotional impact of playing “second fiddle” to Zilisch, an issue further amplified on social media following the win.
The Emotional Toll and Drive to Succeed
During a discussion with Eric Estepp on his podcast, Love spoke candidly about the psychological challenges he faced as Zilisch began to overshadow him in their shared circle of friends and the NASCAR paddock.
“It was definitely really hard for me this year because we’re in the same friend group. We’re around the same people, we go the same places a lot of time, and I was just like, I don’t know, a part of me again it was it’s all an ego hit. But a part of me was just like so frustrated.”
– Jesse Love, Driver
For much of their careers leading up to the Xfinity Series, Love had held the upper hand, having secured notable successes in the ARCA and Midget series while Zilisch was still finding his footing. The spotlight seemed set on Love, but as the Xfinity season unfolded, the balance shifted and Zilisch drew increased admiration for his drive and achievements, causing an undeniable strain.
“I was the man. And now, you know, then Connor kind of, you know, took that away from me in a sense, through his hard work and his goals and aspirations. And I don’t know, it was just hard for me because sometimes I could do something about it. And a lot of times I couldn’t do much about it.”
– Jesse Love, Driver
The mounting frustration became a double-edged sword, motivating Love to elevate his performance yet building internal pressure each week he failed to seize the top spot. When he finally won the Xfinity Series title, the victory served as much for personal redemption as for professional acclaim, providing a way to vent the bottled-up emotions accumulated throughout the challenging campaign.
What Lies Ahead for Love and Zilisch
Looking toward the 2026 NASCAR season, Love will remain in the Xfinity Series, now as the reigning champion and focal point of attention. Connor Zilisch, meanwhile, will move up to the Cup Series with Trackhouse Racing, a development that both removes a primary source of pressure from Love’s immediate environment and also offers new motivation to further elevate his own career.
While Love prepares to defend his status, Zilisch has wasted no time adjusting to his Cup Series future, already testing at Daytona International Speedway. In recent days, Zilisch completed 33 laps in the No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac V-Series at Daytona, an opportunity that could determine his place in one of Cadillac’s four available driving seats for the 24 Hours of Daytona, with the team expanding to two cars for the upcoming January event.
The Jesse Love Xfinity Series Champion now stands as a figure both challenged and strengthened by rivalry, with the potential to carry redoubled confidence into next year. Meanwhile, Zilisch’s rise highlights the ongoing interconnection of their careers and sets the stage for both to shape headlines across the NASCAR ladder in the seasons ahead.
