Getty Jesse Love poses with the ARCA Menards West Series championship trophy.
Two championship contenders have set their schedules for the 2022 ARCA Menards Series season. Jesse Love and Corey Heim will co-pilot the No. 20 entry for Venturini Motorsports while running all 20 races.
The ARCA Menards Series team issued a press release on Monday, January 3, and announced the news. Venturini Motorsports revealed that Love, the West Series champion, will handle the majority of the schedule. He will run 14 of the 20 races in the No. 20 Toyota.
Love’s schedule will include Phoenix, Iowa, Berlin, Elko, Mid-Ohio, Pocono, Lucas Oil, Watkins-Glen, Springfield, Milwaukee, DuQuoin, Bristol, Salem, and Toledo. He will also start the East Series race at Dover and the West Series race at Phoenix for Venturini Motorsports.
“This is a great opportunity and very exciting time in my life,” Love said in a statement. “I’ve been really fortunate to have a lot of great support over the years and it continues this year again with Toyota and Venturini Motorsports.
Last year we made some huge gains at the end of the season but I’m still learning and making the transition to the ARCA Menards Series. I feel like I’m in a great position working with crew chief Shannon Rursch and getting to lean on Corey [Heim] and my spotter for more help. Winning at Salem last year was a huge confidence booster – we will build off that momentum and hopefully start the 2022 season the same way we finished last year, with a win.”
Heim Will Split Time Between Multiple Series
GettyCorey Heim will return to Kyle Busch Motorsports in the Truck Series.
With Love starting 14 of the races on the schedule, Heim will only have a limited run in the ARCA Menards Series after he won six times in 2021 and finished second in the championship standings. Instead, he will focus on moving up the ranks by running an expanded schedule with Kyle Busch Motorsports.
The Camping World Truck Series organization announced on December 21 that Heim will run 15 races on the schedule while working with JBL as his primary sponsor for 10 of the races. He will work with crew chief Mardy Lindley and continue to expand his schedule after making three starts and posting a season-best finish of 11th at Martinsville Speedway.
Heim’s ARCA Menards Series schedule includes races at Daytona, Talladega, Kansas (Spring), Charlotte, Michigan, and Kansas (Fall). Two of Heim’s trips to Victory Lane in 2021 took place at tracks where he will compete in 2022. He kicked off the year with a win at Daytona and then returned two weeks later at Talladega Superspeedway.
“I’m excited to be back with Venturini Motorsports,” Heim said in a statement. “We won a lot of races last season and had a great year overall. Although the goal of winning remains the same, I’m looking forward to taking on more of a leadership role with some of the other young drivers on the team. Sharing the twenty-car with Jesse (Love) is going to be a lot of fun.”
Love & Heim Recreated a Memorable Sitcom Theme
The partnership between Love and Heim will not be the first time that they have worked together under the Toyota Racing Development and Venturini Motorsports banners. They both reached Victory Lane for the team in 2021, and they also combined for their own sitcom title sequence.
Love posted a video on his Instagram account in August 2021 that celebrated a race at the Milwaukee Mile. He and Heim recreated the “Laverne & Shirley” title sequence, complete with the era-appropriate font and music. They even raced to the time clock in order to punch in at the right time.
Three days later, the duo headed to the Milwaukee Mile for the Sprecher 150. Ty Gibbs won while Heim and Love finished sixth and seventh, respectively, for Venturini Motorsports.
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Jesse Love & Corey Heim Combine for Packed Schedule