Jesse Love Gains New Respect for Austin Hill After Kansas Speedway Incident

Jesse Love says he has gained new respect for his Richard Childress Racing teammate Austin Hill after a productive conversation following their on-track incident at Kansas Speedway last weekend.

The incident occurred during the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Kansas Speedway, where Love, the reigning series champion, placed Hill in a difficult aerodynamic position, causing Hill’s No. 21 to spin and crash out of the race before the 40-lap mark. Love went on to finish fourth in the event.

Hill expressed frustration after the crash, stating outside the infield care center that Love “just turned left and put it right on my door” and questioned whether anyone could save a car without air on the right rear. Hill added that he was “kind of dumbfounded” by how the situation unfolded.

In the days following the race, the two teammates met to discuss the incident. Love said they talked on Monday and that Hill approached the conversation with an open mind, offering advice not born of frustration but of a desire to help Love learn and improve.

“I have a whole new respect for Austin after our conversation,” Love said. “He could have responded in a lot of different ways and he came to me with a really open mind. We started, and he almost big brothered me in a sense. He gave me some really good advice that wasn’t coming from a sense of frustration or anger. It came from a sense of — I feel like he wants me to learn from this and be better. I learned so much, and there’s a lot of merit to the things that he told me.”

The conversation took place ahead of the team’s arrival at Talladega Superspeedway for the next O’Reilly Auto Parts Series event. Love noted that the advice he received from Hill helped him show up better prepared at Talladega than he had been after the Kansas race.

Both Love and Hill drive for Richard Childress Racing in the O’Reilly Series, where Love entered the Talladega event as the pole position qualifier following his strong performance in practice and qualifying sessions.

The reconciliation between the teammates comes as both look to build on their early-season form in a series where RCR has been a frequent contender for victories and strong finishes.