Why Jesse Love’s move to Richard Childress Racing is major for NASCAR

Jesse Love’s move to Richard Childress Racing is major for NASCAR in several big ways. What does Love’s signing mean for the sport now?

It was announced on Wednesday afternoon that Jesse Love will drive the No. 2 Xfinity car for Richard Childress Racing on a full-time basis starting in 2024. This was a shocking move as Love has been under the Toyota banner and only has two starts in NASCAR’s top-3 levels, with both coming in the Truck Series during the 2023 season.

Quite frankly, there are some serious takeaways from Love’s move to Richard Childress Racing. First, it starts with the idea of moving young drivers to the Xfinity Series instead of the Truck Series. There have been several examples, such as Ty Gibbs and Sammy Smith, but some people would say the Truck Series prepares drivers more for the NextGen car than the Xfinity Series.

Each situation is different but the Truck Series used to be a stepping stone for young drivers looking to make it to the Cup Series. Now, it is way more common for these competitors to skip a level. It goes back to the idea that the natural progression from Truck to Xfinity to Cup is not what it used to be due to the new cars.

The Truck Series is very aero-dependent while the Xfinity Series is a different beast. Meanwhile, the NextGen car is significantly different and has its own qualities that make it good and bad. So, Love’s move to the Xfinity Series could be described as an effort to avoid the mayhem of the Truck Series while setting himself up for a better opportunity.

This leads to the next takeaway as Toyota Racing loses another prospect. At Chevrolet and Richard Childress Racing, the 2023 ARCA Menards Series champion likely has a better shot at making it to the Cup Series sooner rather than later. The 18-year-old driver’s new organization has Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon in the Cup Series with Austin Hill ready to make the jump as well.

Obviously, Love will be in the Xfinity Series for multiple years but there is a bit of a logjam as three drivers can’t be used for two charters if all of them are full-time. There will be time for it to sort itself out but this opportunity wasn’t truly present at Toyota. Joe Gibbs Racing is expected to sign Chandler Smith and Sheldon Creed while Ryan Truex continues his hunt for sponsorship.

If Truex finds himself successful, there could be four full-time cars at Joe Gibbs Racing with the fourth entry being used as the All-Star car. The 31-year-old driver has already secured a part-time schedule for the 2024 NASCAR season. Therefore, there very likely wasn’t room at Joe Gibbs Racing for Love in 2024 and maybe even beyond if Smith and Creed stick around.

The best option in the Toyota camp would have been TRICON Garage in the Truck Series but it’s hard to pass up an opportunity for a full-time Xfinity Series ride with a championship-level team. It all boils down to Love’s desire to make the Cup Series and Richard Childress Racing’s opportunity in the No. 2 car has likely sped up the process.

There will be a continued debate on whether the natural progression from Truck to Xfinity is needed but for Love, this situation appears to lie in his future opportunities. For now, we can add Love to the list with Gibbs and Smith as drivers to skip the Truck Series. Is the natural progression truly needed anymore though? Honestly, it continues to feel like that is the case.

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