The unlikely mentor guiding NASCAR champ's Super2 debut

Jesse Love isn't doing a half-hearted job of his maiden foray into Australian motorsport.

The 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion is set to make a one-off start in the Dunlop Super2 Series, driving a Commodore ZB for Erebus Motorsport-aligned Image Racing.

Love's first Super2 start comes on a weekend where Supercars embarks on it's first ever Grand Final weekend at the bp Adelaide Grand Final, with four title contenders (Broc Feeney, Chaz Mostert, Will Brown, and Kai Allen) duelling to be crowned 2025 Repco Supercars Champion.

Love knows what it takes to rise to the occasion when it matters most, winning the Xfinity Series at the beginning of the month by virtue of winning the championship race at Phoenix

Whilst the Supercars format does reward consistency more than NASCAR, by virtue of the championship event being three races instead of one, there is still a huge importance on performing in Adelaide.

Having lived, and excelled, through the experience of a championship week, Love is arguably the best placed of anyone in Adelaide to offer their two cents' worth on what to expect.

"I think when you have a winner takes all format, there can be a level of stress that can in a way eat at you a little bit, if you're not going about it and managing your emotions in the right way," Love told media.

"Me and Broc have become decent friends over the last couple of months leading up to this, so it's been cool to see how he's managed his mindset, and he looks really calm and cool and collected.

"I'm definitely pulling for Broc this weekend, hopefully he can get it done."

The relationship with Feeney spawned when the Red Bull Ampol Racing star reached out to the Californian to offer any advice he could ahead of his Super2 debut.

Whilst Feeney only drove one season in the Gen2 specification of car, he knows what it takes to win in Adelaide in a ZB Commodore, winning the final race of the era at the 2022 Adelaide 500.

Feeney has also given the American some pointers on ergonomics within the cockpit, as he takes on the arduous task of learning an unfamiliar car at one of the toughest circuits in the country.

Love's learning process was accelerated by a test day at the historic Mallala circuit just an hour north of Adelaide on Monday, however he noted that sitting on the wrong side of the car compared to what he's used to will take further getting used to.

"It was definitely very productive," Love reflected in Adelaide.

"I had really good coach there in [former Image drives and Super2 race winner] Jordan Boys, he was a huge help for me as well, and a good marker to see where I'm at.

"I felt like my pace was great, probably the biggest issue for me was just the error count. On the brakes, sometimes I would lose awareness of where the left side of my car was.

"When you're at the limit you're really not thinking about it, so it's real easy to dip a wheel off at entry or hit a kerb in the wrong way than what you wanted to.

Love's maiden Super2 outing begins with two practice sessions tomorrow at 11:10am local time/11:40am AEDT, and 2:00pm local time/2:30pm AEDT.

International fans can watch all the action via SuperView.