NASCAR
First-Time Winners Across 2024 NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series Seasons
Between NASCAR’s top two National Series, 2024 was a very kind year to new winners. Four different drivers earned a maiden triumph in the Cup and Xfinity Series. This list includes generational upsets, young phenoms, and road course clinics. Here’s a flashback to these drivers’ first moments in the spotlight, and their chances at repeating in 2025.
Harrison Burton
Perhaps the biggest upset winner of the decade so far in Cup happened on its grandest stage. In the penultimate regular season race from Daytona, Harrison Burton rocketed around Kyle Busch in overtime. Entering the night 34th in points, a mammoth push from Parker Retzlaff sent Burton to the Playoffs. Not only was this the first win for Burton, it was Cup victory number 100 for the storied Wood Brothers Racing team. Burton showed glimpses of postseason promise, but was a Round of 16 exit.
Burton, 24, was jobless when he earned this triumph at The World Center of Racing. It was announced a few weeks later that he would take over the AM Racing No. 15 Ford Mustang in the Xfinity Series. While Burton is no longer in Cup for the immediate future, he has found past success in Xfinity. Two past seasons running on Saturdays netted the second-generation star four wins and 44 top-10s.
AM Racing may be a step down in equipment from Burton’s past rides, but he has every chance ahead at pulling off another Playoff-upending win. Do not be surprised to see the 15 be a threat on superspeedways in 2025.
Jesse Love
The eventual Rookie of the Year winning season for Jesse Love started off with a few high points. Love went 2-2 in earning poles across his first two career starts from Daytona and Atlanta, but was shut out of victory lane. The Richard Childress Racing No. 2 Chevrolet had just enough fuel to survive overtime at Talladega.
While Love did not win again in 2024, his consistency remained high enough for eighth in points. With this championship result came Rookie of the Year honors, beating a very stacked Xfinity newcomer field. Both Love and Austin Hill are returning to the famed RCR Xfinity team in 2025. Each driver will be seen as a regular winning threat and a championship contender.
Shane van Gisbergen
From one Xfinity rookie to another, Shane van Gisbergen was nothing short of a fun weekly story to follow in 2024. The three-time Supercars champion made his first full-time foray into American stock cars, after stunning everyone with 2023’s inaugural Chicago Street Race win.
SVG was lights out on every road course race in 2024, but had a steep learning curve on ovals. The New Zealander’s maiden win came at Portland in June, followed up by Sonoma and another Chicago Streets victory. These three triumphs had SVG’s Kaulig Racing team firmly in the Playoffs, where a Talladega crash was their ultimate undoing. SVG would finish 2024 12th in points, but tied for second-most wins across Xfinity.
SVG will move onto a full-time Cup Series rookie campaign in 2025. He will take on a Trackhouse Racing expansion car numbered 88. SVG will surely be a top-tier threat at many road courses, but his oval progression is still a big hurdle to clear. Van Gisbergen showed great adaptability at learning every new track on the fly and throughout a race in 2024; it will be fun to see this continue in Cup.
Connor Zilisch
The final new Xfinity Series 2024 winner saw a phenom turn many heads in his debut. Connor Zilisch was the undisputed king of Watkins Glen at his maiden start in September. The JR Motorsports No. 88 led half the laps with the 18-year-old behind the wheel. Across three other starts, Zilisch recorded two more top-fives and a worst result of 12th.
The Trackhouse Racing development driver will pilot this car full-time in 2025. Zilisch’s championship pursuit mirrors what SVG did in 2024. The road racing prodigy will be a treat to watch weekly in the new season, trying to bring JRM a second straight title.
2024’s first win club across Cup and Xfinity Series competition was an eclectic group to say the least. This list included young upsets, phenoms overcoming ultimate pressure, and a road course savant further proving his talents.
Nowhere is more prime position for a new winner in any series than Daytona Speedweeks. It will be intriguing to see which drivers join the club of NASCAR National Series winners next in 2025.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credits to James Gilbert, Chris Graythen, and Logan Riely/Getty Images
