TULSA, Okla. — In racing, like in most forms of sport, confidence can be a game changer.
Confidence could be the difference between settling for second or risking it all to make the race-winning pass in Turn 3 on the final lap.
In the case of Jesse Love, confidence is the one thing he isn’t lacking after he captured the 2025 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series championship in November at Phoenix Raceway aboard Richard Childress Racing’s No. 2 Chevrolet.
Love, who recently turned 21, is riding that wave of confidence this week into the SageNet Center for the 40th running of the Chili Bowl Nationals.
WATCH: 2026 Chili Bowl Nationals
“I definitely understand how to deal with the pressure and the mindset that you need to have to be successful in a race car. That helps me when I go dirt racing,” said Love, who hits the track Friday evening for his Chili Bowl Nationals qualifying night. “At the same time, it is crazy. I remember walking in the building a couple years ago, especially my first time here when I wasn’t racing, you think it’s bigger than life.
“It’s like the mecca, and it really is. But it’s true that it is all based off your perspective. As you start to gain your own confidence and get your own swagger, which I have been lucky enough to do over the last 12 months, you feel less intimated by the (SageNet Center) and people you’re racing.
“But you still have to respect it; otherwise you’re going to end up in the dumpster.”
Love is no stranger to the Chili Bowl having previously competed in the mecca of Midget car racing three times between 2021-24. He sat out the 2025 edition of the event but still attended the race as a fan.
He said it was that experience, when he watched his friend Daison Pursley nearly win the Chili Bowl, that drove him to seek an opportunity to return to the event as a driver in 2026.
“Coming here last year and hanging out with two of my best friends, Daison Pursley and Chad Boat, I had a lot of fun watching them and supporting them,” Love said. “It was tough not being in the driver’s seat. I wanted to make that a reality, and we were able to do that this year.
“It’s tough to put a deal together when you’re not a full-time guy, but obviously being known in the pavement world helps a little bit and being a champion helps a little bit.”
To make his 2026 Chili Bowl opportunity a reality, Love got a bit of help from NASCAR Cup Series driver Alex Bowman. The pilot of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, who competes at the Chili Bowl as a car owner each January, connected him with Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Blake Harris.
Together, Harris and Love worked out a deal that brought Love back to the SageNet Center for his fourth Chili Bowl Nationals attempt.
“I work out with Alex Bowman sometimes, and we’re part of the same driver development program with Josh Wise,” Love explained. “We always talk about the Chili Bowl and dirt racing in general because there really isn’t anybody else to talk to about it.
“Basically, this is an Alex Bowman car that Blake Harris bought. Because I have that connection with Alex, Alex was able to throw my name in the hat with Blake, who gave me a call a couple of months ago and asked if I wanted to do something.”
Love’s return to the Chili Bowl also marks a return to dirt racing for the driver from Menlo Park, California who spent many of his formative years racing Micros and Midgets across the United States.
He competed in three Micro events last year at North Carolina’s Millbridge Speedway, but the Chili Bowl is a different animal. Love has done his best to prepare, but he won’t know just how competitive he is until he hits the track Friday night.
“I haven’t been in the car in two years, and I really haven’t raced dirt in two years,” Love said. “I feel like I’m as confident or maybe as understanding and feeling like I’m going to run good just because I can manage the stress a little bit better and I can think about things a little bit smarter and be a little more intentional about what I’m doing on the race track.
“Part of it is like riding a bike. Part of it is rebuilding your perspective about dirt racing. Watching video and staying up to date with what is going on. I’ve had to watch more intently this week and walk the track afterwards. Again, it’s about rebuilding my understanding of dirt racing again.”
The car Love will drive is the same car that Kevin Thomas Jr. raced last year at the Chili Bowl for Bowman. Thomas piloted the car to a B Main finish in the 2025 Chili Bowl Nationals finale, so the car has plenty of potential.
The question: Can Love get all the potential out of the car and race his way into his first Chili Bowl Nationals championship feature?
There’s only one way to find out.
“I feel really comfortable inside the car. It suits my driving style. Hopefully all that stuff translates to a good result tonight,” Love said. “It doesn’t always mean it’s going to happen, but I definitely think we’re set up pretty good to run respectable.
“For me, my mind knows what to do probably better than ever, but my hands and my feet need to catch up a little bit to what my brain is telling them to do.”