SPEEDWAY, Ind. – A nondescript Saturday at historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway still resulted in a NASCAR Xfinity Series-leading 14th top-10 finish of the year for Richard Childress Racing’s Jesse Love.

The 20-year-old from Menlo Park, Calif., was never a true factor in the Pennzoil 250 at the Brickyard, qualifying fourth but never managing to get higher than that throughout the 100-lap race at the iconic 2.5-mile oval.

Though he did earn points in both 30-lap stages – totaling six on the afternoon – Love faded back to ninth by the halfway point and became mired in heavy traffic after a pit-stop miscue dropped him to 17th for the start of the final segment.

However, Love was able to avoid two late-race incidents ahead of him and manage several restarts to work his way back up to ninth place at the checkered flag.

It marked his best finish in two Xfinity Series appearances at the Racing Capital of the World.

“Our Whelen Chevrolet had speed throughout the day,” noted Love. “During the first run, our car fired off free, got better in the middle, and ended tight. Danny (Stockman, crew chief) made adjustments to stay ahead of the track, but our car’s balance shifted to the loose side for the rest of the race and we also had some trouble on pit road during the last stop which cost us some track position. Our No. 2 team kept our heads down, though, and rebounded the best we could.

“It was pretty hard to make passes with the low horsepower package, but I felt like we had a car to contend with,” he added. “I can’t wait for Iowa next week; it’s going to be a lot of fun to get back on a short track. Appreciate the hard work and support from everyone at RCR and Whelen.”

Love did spend all but four laps Saturday inside the top 10, posting the sixth-best Driver Rating in the field at 95.7. He also regained fourth place in the regular season standings, 96 points behind leader and defending series champion Justin Allgaier.

The Xfinity Series field returns to action Saturday, Aug. 2 at Iowa Speedway, where Haas Factory Team’s Sam Mayer won last year’s event at the seven-eighths-mile, D-shaped oval.

Love started ninth in 2024 before cutting a tire and crashing out in his Iowa debut, ending up 31st.

Broadcast coverage of the Hy-Vee Perks 250 from Iowa is slated for 4:30 p.m. ET next Saturday, live on The CW, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.