NASCAR
Jesse Love Wins Back 2 Back at Phoenix, Takes O’Reilly Chase Lead
AVONDALE, Ariz. – New season, new format, new place on the calendar, but it was the same result at Phoenix. Jesse Love backed up his career-defining drive from last fall, taking the checkers once again at Phoenix Raceway. While 2025’s win gave him the O’Reilly Series title, this one puts Love atop the points once again. With three races left in 2026, the No. 2 is now the man being chased once again.
On paper it may look like polesitter Jesse Love had an easy drive to a stage sweep. In reality, Chevrolet No. 2 had to battle by Sheldon Creed in the first segment and then Justin Allgaier in Stage 2.
The first stage break saw a catastrophic issue for Creed, losing power under caution. The No. 00 who came in as the championship leader would only rejoin the race laps behind and eventually finish 32nd. Creed lost his narrow Chase gap, and leaves Phoenix 59 points in the hole.
Setback for The Chase leader entering the race as @sheldoncreed loses power. pic.twitter.com/tdAokyBlKQ
— The CW Sports (@TheCW_Sports) October 18, 2026
The second half of this race was anything but simple again for Love. Having to battle off Corey Day and then play defense over Sam Mayer, the 2 had his hands full. Mayer grew ever-so-larger in the 2’s rearview mirror, giving him a bump coming to the checkers. Love had just enough drive off to beat Mayer to the line, taking a huge second win on the year.
ALL LOVE!@jesselovejr1 holds off Sam Mayer to claim victory at Phoenix and become the new @NASCAROReillyAP Championship points leader. pic.twitter.com/4mid62ajX3
— The CW Sports (@TheCW_Sports) October 18, 2026
“Yeah, a lot of hats off today, man,” Love said. “41 team did a great job coming up from the back there, making their car better. And honestly, it felt like they were a little better than we were at the end. I was having to just drive a lot over the tire to make any sort of lap time. So, I’ll yell at Danny [Stockman, crew chief] for not freeing me up more later. But it’s okay. I’m grateful to the Good Lord above for putting great people behind me. And grateful to get another one for RCR and ECR. It’s been a tough year for us. So I’m grateful to be in this situation and win races. I got a great pit crew who just maul everybody on pit road every week, makes my job a lot easier. But just proud of this whole group.”
“Well, I’d say it’s the days that we prepare for and I’m just dreaming of. So, I got a great group of just men and women around me. Just preparing me to be in these situations and be calm, cool, and collected. And I’ve learned from a lot of mistakes that allow me to execute at a high level and a track like this. I’ve been here it feels like a billion times. So I’m trying to learn something new every lap and kind learn to win every weekend. Grateful to the fans for coming out to one of my favorite racetracks, Love coming to Arizona, being a west coast kid. I’m just grateful for the opportunities that I’ve had. I know last year I got a lot of boos, but I appreciate the cheers this time.”
The O’Reilly Series championship rages on from the greatest unknown – Talladega Superspeedway. The Progress Group 250 goes green Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on The CW, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Love tamed Talladega two years ago, but April saw Corey Day cash in here. The title fight will be shaken up again after its turn on the terrifying superspeedway.
