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Defending O’Reilly Auto Parts Series champion Jesse Love thanked Richard Childress Racing ahead of his last race with the team, saying the people there changed him for the better.
Love, 21, will move to the Cup Series full time in 2027 with Wood Brothers Racing, replacing Josh Berry in the No. 21 Ford.
Love: ‘It takes a village’
When Steven Taranto referred to “your Chase run,” Love corrected him.
“It’s not fair to say my Chase run; it’s our Chase run as a whole,” Love said. “We have 400 men and women at RCR that work on our cars, whether they’re in the fab shop, the engine shop, or CT Springs upstairs with a suit and tie, or downstairs in overalls. It takes a village to do what we do, and we go up against a Titan, multiple Titans every week. Whether it’s JGR, HMS, JRM, Haas, they’re all amazing teams.”
“I’m very proud of them. I’m proud of myself, but I’m more proud of the group at RCR that has been through so much.”
https://x.com/STaranto92/status/2118394963071238425
‘I’m going to bleed RCR blood’
“Honestly, I don’t know if there’s anything I won’t take away from my time at RCR,” Love said. “They’re the reason that I am who I am now, and my soul, and my thoughts, and the person that I am has changed over the last three years for much better.”
“There’s probably not going to be anything that I will not miss. I’m going to miss it all, and I’m grateful for it all, and I’m going to, for the rest of my life, bleed RCR blood and feel that the racetrack, the race team, and the company and the people have changed me.”
Three seasons at RCR
Love joined RCR’s O’Reilly Series program full time in 2024, won at Talladega and was the series’ Rookie of the Year. He won the championship in 2025 with crew chief Danny Stockman.
RCR said in a statement that it is “proud to have played a role in his development into a NASCAR champion.”
One more title shot
Love is second in the standings, 22 points behind Justin Allgaier. He lost the lead at Martinsville after a cut water line and brake failure, as Pit This Time reported.
The O’Reilly Series championship race is Saturday at 5 p.m. ET on The CW from Homestead-Miami Speedway.
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