HAMPTON, Ga. – Sophomore NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Jesse Love is hoping a year of wisdom makes all the difference in his return to Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend.

Love, who dominated at the 1.54-mile quad-oval by leading all but 12 laps from the pole last February before running out of fuel in overtime, aims to get the end result on paper this time around in Saturday’s Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250.

If he can do so, Love will also become just the second driver since 2008 to sweep the first two races of an Xfinity Series season – fittingly, the other was his Richard Childress Racing teammate Austin Hill last year.

It would be a strong statement for the 20-year-old from Menlo Park, Calif., who wants to stamp himself as an early favorite to capture the Xfinity Series championship after already winning the season opener at Daytona (Fla.) Int’l Speedway.

That victory – where Love assumed control of the race late after Hill dominated the early stages but was bitten by a mechanical failure – was one that Love said “lifted the entire shop” in a big way.

“It’s a huge morale boost for everyone on the No. 2 Whelen team. Getting them a win – what they deserve – is the number one goal each week,” he noted. “I’m very proud to be a part of a winning organization. Winning at Daytona was probably the most surreal moment of my life and probably will be for a little bit. Last season when I won my first race at Talladega (Superspeedway), I was so elated that maybe I took the next few months off per se … and got complacent with thinking it was easier [to win] than it was. We struggled after that win last year and I feel like I know now that even after what is the biggest win of my career, it’s still just as hard to win the next one.

“Danny Stockman (crew chief) gave me some advice before we left the racetrack on Saturday night. He told me to ‘go soak it up these next few days and celebrate, but you still have to work just as hard to keep up the intensity level,’” Love added. “I appreciate that advice [as a reminder] to stay in the game [and] stay in the hunt if you will.”

Though Love already has Xfinity Series wins at both Daytona and Talladega, he was quick to point out that the skills necessary to win at Atlanta – even if it uses a similar superspeedway aerodynamic package – are very different than the other two facilities.

“While Atlanta is a drafting track, it’s so different than Daytona or Talladega. They’re not the same beast and you have a much different style at each place,” said Love. “Even the package we bring is somewhat different. I’ve been studying film and watching races from last season to see what I could do better. Atlanta is a huge plus for our No. 2 team, because Danny (Stockman) has found a way to make our car even better than everyone else.

“Last year was probably the most dominant car I’ve ever had in my career. It drove really well and did all the things right that we needed it to,” he continued. “Hopefully, we will get to qualify on Friday, start up front, control the race, and save more fuel than I did last year. I’ve got a little unfinished business there.”

Saving fuel is a skill that Love knows will be critical to success, given that it was the only thing that denied him an Atlanta trophy a year ago.

“We put in a lot of effort this offseason to figure out how I can save fuel efficiently and not do it as sporadically,” he said. “At some point during the race, we are going to lose track position and will have to make it up. We have been looking at stuff to think outside the box, as far as how to pass cars and not having to [use] the cookie cutter slide job route.

“Eventually people are going to catch on to it, so I’m working on a notebook of different passes that I can get through the field with if needed.”

All in all, the big picture is simple right now for Love: keep having fun while performing at a high level.

“We’re ready to go,” Love affirmed. “I don’t know that I’ve been more excited about our program than I am right now, and it’s time to keep backing that energy up on the racetrack.”

Coverage of Saturday’s Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250 from Atlanta Motor Speedway is slated for 5 p.m. ET, live on The CW, the Performance Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.