CONCORD, N.C. — Jesse Love drove his way to victory lane at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway to collect his third consecutive win in the ARCA Menards Series.
Though the end result was the same as his previous two starts in the No. 20 Toyota, it’s been a different story each time. Â
Love’s first win of the season came at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway just over a month ago, as he successfully held off challenges from teammate Gus Dean in the final laps. The second scene was the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway, where Love emerged victorious over Joe Gibbs Racing’s Taylor Gray after battling for a majority of the race.
On Friday night, the battle came down to Love and teammate Dean Thompson during a two-lap dash to the checkered flag. Thompson held nothing back, giving it his all against the No. 20 as he chased down his first career ARCA win.
But it was Love who prevailed in the overtime finish, keeping Thompson at bay as the two completed their 103-lap run at the 1.5-mile track. The No. 20 driver brought Venturini Motorsports its first win at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
“I kind of underdrove turns one and two. Dean (Thompson) got a run on me and then I had to send it off the bottom in turn three, right over the bumps, and hope it stuck,” Love said. “We were able to get it by about two car lengths or so.”
Love admitted that his preparation for the General Tire 150 wasn’t as thorough as it could’ve been, as he’s been on the road and wheeling other cars in-between his ARCA starts. In the last nine days, the 18-year-old has competed in eight races in two different states at four different tracks to contest three varying disciplines of motorsports.
As he wasn’t able to secure a win during the recent stretch, his ARCA victory served as a relief.Â
“I just couldn’t rattle off a win, so it was cool to get one here,” Love said. “Trying to win as much as I can. My wallpaper says ‘I’m Tired Of Losing,’ and I still am, even though we’re on a hot streak right now. I don’t want to go back to that place of not winning races.”Â
Gray finished third, while Grant Enfinger and Andy Jankowiak completed the top five.
Frankie Muniz, Andres Perez de Lara, Christian Rose, Connor Mosack and Jack Wood rounded out the top 10.