Jesse Love to make NASCAR Cup debut at Bristol

Jesse Love will make his NASCAR Cup debut April 13 at Bristol Motor Speedway for Richard Childress Racing, the team announced Friday.

The 20-year-old Love is in his second full-time season in the Xfinity Series. He scored his first career Xfinity win last year at Talladega. He opened this season by winning at Daytona.

Love enters Saturday's Xfinity race at Martinsville Speedway third in the points. He was the Xfinity rookie of the year last season. He won ARCA Menards Series West titles in 2020 and '21 and the ARCA Menards Series championship in 2023.

"Racing in the Cup Series has always been my main goal and dream," Love said in a statement from the team. "Everything that I have done up to this point in my career has been building to this moment. To make my Cup Series debut at this age is very special, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to make it with RCR. Everyone has welcomed me with open arms over the last year and the organization feels like family."

Love's No. 33 car at Bristol will be sponsored by C4 Ultimate Energy.

"I'm excited to have Jesse make his Cup Series debut in the No. 33 Chevrolet," said Richard Childress, chairman and chief executive officer of RCR, in a statement from the team. "From the moment I started watching Jesse race, I knew that he had the talent. He has the passion for wanting to win and doing the best possible for his team.

"To be a great driver, you have to have passion behind the wheel and Jesse has that. We've seen him develop over the last year since he joined RCR, and I look forward to helping him compete at the highest level of our sport."