“I’m just disappointed, disappointed, disappointed. That’s all I can say.” These words came from Richard Childress after NASCAR’s penalty at Richmond Raceway. Cup Series driver Austin Dillon’s victory was stripped for dumping two rivals aggressively to grab the win. That tradition of catching fire with NASCAR has continued into 2025 and into the Xfinity Series. Along with Childress’ curse, Jesse Love also continued his own stereotype.

The No. 2 Chevrolet driver is just in his sophomore season and is already making waves. Jesse Love stunned everyone with a superb race at Rockingham Speedway, fighting on his way to the victory. However, all of that came to naught, and Love was just stuck with his superspeedway wins.

Jesse Love fails to shake off his label

Well, Richard Childress’ young star looked extraordinary in just his rookie year. Jesse Love picked up his first Xfinity Series win at Talladega Superspeedway in 2024, overcoming the tough challenges that NASCAR’s biggest oval throws at drivers. Then he continued his superspeedway streak into Daytona this year. After winning his second superspeedway race, Love got a cheeky label from Connor Zilisch. In an online exchange of competitive bashes, Zilisch called him the “Superspeedway merchant”. But Love looked finally ready to break that unintended stereotype about him. He led for 53 laps during the North Carolina Education Lottery 250 race, dodging all 14 cautions fabulously. He toppled Ryan Seig’s 77-lap lead with 15 laps to go and fended off a hard-charging Sammy Smith to win. However, all of that was undone.

In a recent YouTube video, NASCAR expert Eric Estepp reflected on how Jesse Love initially won his first non-superspeedway race. “Jesse Love was the show all day, making huge three-wide moves on restarts. There was a moment in the first half where he just shipped it around the outside through Turns 1 and 2. Had guys like Eckes…Retzloff – they both had to correct it. Love is skimming the outside wall, hanging it out…It was exciting…He moved Sammy Smith on the final overtime restart to get the win…Love crossed the line first. Good for him, best car all day…looked like his first non-superspeedway win of his Xfinity Series career.” But Love ran out of luck as Zilisch’s label stuck. “But sadly, as we found out hours later, Jesse is still not beating the superspeedway merchant allegations.”

In a post-race technical inspection, NASCAR found trouble with the rear suspension of the No. 2. Apparently, the “mating surfaces between the truck trailing arms and the U-bolt saddle” were not in contact. So Jesse Love lost his win, and Sammy Smith was handed the trophy. Estepp continued, “It’s not clear what RCR allegedly did here to get disqualified. They have the right to appeal…The team was trying to play with the backend, trying to get a little bit of skew, a little bit of sway, and did a little side force on the car to get the car to turn a little bit better. A couple of years ago, NASCAR changed the rules to get some of that skew out of the car. RCR was trying to play in that grey area – maybe they strayed too far.” But, this does not help get rid of the superspeedway stereotypes associated with the RCR driver. Hold up! Why are these stereotypes there in the first place?

Well, Connor Zilisch was the mastermind behind the stereotype. His annoying jibes continued after the Rockingham race as well, but Jesse Love does not mind.

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All is good in a friendly banter

We all know who concocted the ‘superspeedway merchant’ label. That cheeky driver came back for round two of getting on Jesse Love’s nerves at Rockingham Speedway. The No. 2 Chevrolet driver just had a heartbreak, yet Zilisch did not hold back. The No. 88 JR Motorsports driver also had a difficult day. Despite holding the pole, Zilisch fell prey to the carnage that Rockingham witnessed. That involved a nudge from fellow Xfinity driver Jeb Burton. In the end, Zilisch could piece together a 13th-place finish. He decided to uplift his mood by posting a picture of himself and Love with the caption, “P13 and P38.” In response to this jab, Love responded in a friendly way, “I hate you.”

Well, if it had been Sammy Smith, Jesse Love probably would not have been okay with it. However, the situation with Connor Zilisch is different. Back in February, Love revealed the brotherly camaraderie that the two drivers share. “He’s my best friend in the whole world. I know him better than anybody and he knows me better than anybody…Because we both have so much experience with each other, we both know how to, I guess, jab the right parts. We can kind of take jabs and make them hurt a little bit. He hits me where it hurts, and I kind of give it back to him.”

Evidently, Jesse Love will have to deal with a lot of jabs from his close friend. At the same time, that means he would prepare more determinedly for his next chance at breaking the stereotype. But, something looks familiar….

Are they going to be the next Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Rusty Wallace? Well, time will tell. Until then, let us know what you think in the comments below.