{"id":48648,"date":"2026-10-08T05:54:13","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T10:54:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/?p=48648"},"modified":"2026-10-08T05:54:50","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T10:54:50","slug":"nascars-jesse-love-to-pay-tribute-to-fallen-firefighters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/sports\/more-sports\/48648-nascars-jesse-love-to-pay-tribute-to-fallen-firefighters\/","title":{"rendered":"NASCAR&#8217;s Jesse Love To Pay Tribute To Fallen Firefighters"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"pdfprnt-buttons pdfprnt-buttons-post pdfprnt-top-right\"><a href=\"javascript: window.print()\" class=\"pdfprnt-button pdfprnt-button-print\" target=\"_self\" ><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-content\/plugins\/pdf-print\/images\/print.png\" alt=\"image_print\" title=\"Print Content\" \/><span class=\"pdfprnt-button-title pdfprnt-button-print-title\">Print<\/span><\/a><\/div><p>CHARLOTTE, NC \u2014 Reigning NASCAR O&#8217;Reilly Auto Parts Series Champion Jesse Love will be paying tribute to America\u2019s fallen firefighters when he takes on the Blue Cross NC 300 in Charlotte, North Carolina.<\/p>\n<p>On Saturday, October 10, Love will drive Richard Childress Racing\u2019s No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet adorned with names of 204 firefighters who died in the line of duty.<\/p>\n<p>The special paint scheme, featuring the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) logo, honors <a href=\"https:\/\/www.firehero.org\/2026-roll-of-honor\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.firehero.org\/2026-roll-of-honor\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1791542231134000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2oSP9NzJbIvSv0xHDumiWZ\"><u>the Fire Heroes officially added<\/u><\/a>\u00a0to the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Emmitsburg, Maryland, earlier this year.<\/p>\n<p>The car will be on display at Charlotte Fire Department Station No. 1 prior to the race. Love also plans to meet with families of the fallen firefighters attending the Blue Cross NC 300.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is an absolute honor to once again partner with the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation through Whelen to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice,\u201d <b>Jesse Love<\/b>\u00a0said. \u201cI have been fortunate to meet with these families the last few years and their stories are incredibly moving, giving me a newfound perspective. I can only hope that I will do them proud on race weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Whelen and Richard Childress Racing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/share\/r\/19ersNW9dR\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/share\/r\/19ersNW9dR\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1791542231134000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2-ns3sOaJ8KvyZvP13mqYy\"><u>revealed this year&#8217;s design in April<\/u><\/a>\u00a0at the annual FDIC International fire-service conference in Indianapolis. The unveiling coincided with the Whelen Challenge, in which Whelen pledged to match donations to the NFFF up to $50,000.<\/p>\n<p>This marks the fifth consecutive season the NFFF has partnered with Whelen Engineering, Whelen Motorsports and Richard Childress Racing to honor the sacrifices of firefighters and their families. The 2026 No. 2 tribute car will also be produced as a die-cast benefiting the NFFF.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEach name represents a firefighter who answered the call, a family carrying unimaginable loss, and a department grieving one of their own,\u201d said Victor Stagnaro, CEO of the National Fallen Firefighters<b> Foundation<\/b>. \u201cIt means the world for Jesse Love to ensure fans across the country see those names on one of racing\u2019s great stages. We are grateful to Jesse, Whelen Engineering and Richard Childress Racing for standing with our Fire Hero Families for a fifth year, once again showing why they\u2019re champions on and off the track.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur connection to the fire service has been part of who Whelen is for nearly 75 years, and honoring those who have made the ultimate sacrifice is a responsibility we take to heart,\u201d said Geoff Marsh, CEO of Whelen Engineering. \u201cFor five years, we\u2019ve been proud to join the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation and Richard Childress Racing in bringing these heroes\u2019 names to the racetrack. This car is a tribute to their service, their sacrifice, and the families and departments who continue to carry their legacies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Created by Congress, the NFFF leads the effort to remember America\u2019s fallen firefighters, support their families and colleagues, and work to reduce line-of-duty deaths and injuries.<\/p>\n<p>Each year in early May, flags across the country are lowered to half-staff as the Foundation holds a nationwide remembrance and adds the names of firefighters who died in the line of duty to the National Memorial.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CHARLOTTE, NC \u2014 Reigning NASCAR O&#8217;Reilly Auto Parts Series Champion Jesse Love will be paying tribute to America\u2019s fallen firefighters when he takes on the Blue Cross NC 300 in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[49],"class_list":["post-48648","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-more-sports","tag-sports-featured"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.6 - 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