NASCAR
Examining the Xfinity Series Championship 4 at Phoenix Raceway
Entering the swan song race for their title partnership, the NASCAR Xfinity Series gears up to crown a 10th different champion. Phoenix Raceway serves as the backdrop for this final call in a decade-plus long era for NASCAR’s Saturday division. Four contenders representing two of the sport’s most storied and successful teams will race it out for the big hardware. Youth versus experience defines this year’s Xfinity Series Championship 4, with very distinct title paths already drawn. Here are the four men who hope to turn championship aspirations into a Saturday night date with destiny.
Connor Zilisch
Very akin to Corey Heim in Trucks, Connor Zilisch has largely written 2025’s Xfinity Series story singlehandedly. JR Motorsports’ 19-year-old driver has put together a very impressive 10-win campaign to date. This includes four consecutive victories over the summer, and a series-record 18-straight top-fives. Two wrecks at both Talladega races are the 88’s only finishes worse than ninth since April. The record-setting rookie season appears to show no signs of slowing down, with Zilisch already owning a Phoenix Raceway top-five. Previously a Rolex 24 and Sebring 12 Hours winner, Zilisch now turns his attention to putting a NASCAR championship on his résumé.
“We’ve kind of been able to work on [Phoenix] for the last three or four weeks,” Zilisch said. “Just assuming we were going to make it. We’ve been doing a lot to make sure that we go back better than we were in the spring, that we just execute the day and make the most of it. But we haven’t been outdoing ourselves in the sim, just pounding hours out for no reason. We’ve been making sure that everything we do is calculated and that we’re making changes for the better and not just to do it. So it’s been really really good so far and I feel like we’ve gotten to a good spot and especially for me just preparing myself for it.”
“To walk in here today with 10 wins, winning the regular season championship, already locked into the final four, I certainly have outdone my expectations. It’s been really really cool to just experience it, be a part of it, have my team with me the whole season. And you know we’ve had bad days. I’ve broken my collar bone. I hurt my back at Talladega. It hasn’t been perfect by any means, but I certainly have learned through all of it. I’ve become a better driver, and more importantly, I’ve become a better human at JRM and just learning how to treat people, how to build a team, how to be a leader. I’m certainly grateful for my time I’ve had at JRM. I’ve grown a lot, and I’m really excited to carry all the things that I’ve learned into the Cup Series and hopefully make my mark there.”
As Zilisch mentioned above, he’s already on the fast track to Sundays next season with Trackhouse Racing. Can a final Xfinity Series showing as a contender go in Zilisch’s favor? Speed and execution have been of little concern for the 88 on a wide array of tracks this season. While the Round of 8 did not yield any wins for the Charlotte native, he was never far from victory lane. A history-making year has the chance to end on the brightest stage. Zilisch merely needs to find the winning magic one more time to be called NASCAR champion.
Connor Zilisch’s No. 88 WeatherTech Chevrolet on the grid at Martinsville Speedway before the IAA Ritchie Bros 250 on Saturday, October 25, 2025. Photo Credit: Peter Stratta/TSJSports
Justin Allgaier
In order to be top dog for 2025, Zilisch and the other contenders will need to find a way to beat reigning Xfinity Series champion Justin Allgaier. The veteran in the JR Motorsports No. 7 saw a season’s worth of drama in the title finale a season ago. Despite these highs and lows, Allgaier left celebrating from his favorite racetrack. A year and three more wins removed from that point, Allgaier has high aspirations heading back to the site of this career-defining accomplishment.
Justin Allgaier’s No. 7 Jarrett Logistics Chevrolet on the grid at Martinsville Speedway before the IAA Ritchie Bros 250 on Saturday, October 25, 2025. Photo Credit: Peter Stratta/TSJSports
Jesse Love
The lone Championship 4 driver not from JR Motorsports, Jesse Love has Richard Childress Racing alive in the title fight. RCR’s famed Xfinity Series program is far from a stranger to the big prize. Love’s No. 2 team eyes title number six for this organization. Love’s year started off in perfect fashion, taking the season opener from Daytona, but he’s winless in 31 starts since then. Thanks to a wide points buffer entering Martinsville last week, a lackluster night did not keep Love from a maiden Championship 4 bid. Now with a one-in-four shot at one of NASCAR’s highest titles, Love knows his team can get the job done.
“Just go home, get a good night of rest and start going to focus on Phoenix,” Love said. “So yeah, obviously wasn’t our best moment tonight. We were missing something obviously, but I just want to get focused on Phoenix. We’re obviously racing for a championship next week. So that was the goal coming into tonight and that’s what we’re focused on now.”
“[Racing for championships] is definitely something that you get used to, right? The pressure of the situation, even if it’s not the pressure cooker format of the Playoffs, right? But still racing for championships. Most of my life, I have the, I guess, the knack for it now. So there’s some confidence in that. But yeah, Xfinity, it’s been tough, right? To get some wins was important. Obviously, we got that. So that’s checklist number one. But after that, it’s been hard to win on a consistent basis, for sure. We’ve gotten our stuff good to where we can run up front. And I’ve gotten better to where I can almost always race for the win on any weekend.”
“Unfortunately, I feel like two guys here have almost all the races. So it scoops up a lot of, I guess, what’s available. And we’ve kind of been right there. So yeah, I feel like there’s been good, there’s been bad. But I think what I’m happiest with is I’ve definitely progressed as a driver.”
As Love alluded to, Zilisch and Allgaier have both taken the lion’s share of wins and attention this season. Despite this, the 2 crew has not been far off from regular contention. Love owns 21 top-10s and an 11.4 average finish this year, both second only to Zilisch. At Phoenix Raceway, Love boasts a high point of second and no result worse than ninth in three starts. The rightful spotlight is on JR Motorsports this weekend. Love and the RCR bunch, however, hope to play ultimate spoiler with the pressure off of them.
Jesse Love’s No. 2 Whelen Engineering Chevrolet on the grid at Martinsville Speedway before the IAA Ritchie Bros 250 on Saturday, October 25, 2025. Photo Credit: Peter Stratta/TSJSports
Carson Kvapil
Making it into the Championship 4 by the skin of his teeth is rookie Carson Kvapil. The pavement short track ace rounds out a JR Motorsports trifecta going to Phoenix, and hopes to be an underdog upset. The three-time CARS Tour champion aspires to add another prestigious title to his trophy case.
“Trust me, I’m going to be be trying my hardest to win a championship next week,” Kvapil said. “To make it in, I’m super ecstatic. I feel like we haven’t had the most flashy season. We haven’t won, we haven’t won five races, and haven’t sat on the pole, and led all the laps, right? But we’ve been very consistent and we’ve only DNFed once on an engine failure. It was my fault. I mean we’ve just kept it clean and put ourselves in a great spot going to each race the next week. And there’s [been] a lot of weeks where I feel like we’re a little bit behind on speed and we could be better on that. There’s some stuff I can do better. But consistently we just finish the races and we don’t make big mistakes and we don’t put ourselves in bad spots.”
“Obviously this Round of 12 to Round of 8 Playoff run has been really good for us. The two mile-and-a-halves that we were just at, Kansas and Las Vegas, were probably our worst races. Just really struggled and put ourselves kind of in a bad spot. But we were able to make up for it with a with a good finish at Talladega and a good run at the Roval. So, really clawed at it to get to this point and I’m super relieved now that it’s over. Now that we just got to focus on going to win the championship.”
Breaking news as of the day this is being written, Kvapil will compete full-time in the 2026 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. Hoping to build off an already successful 2025 campaign, a lot is looking up for Kvapil. A possible Kvapil title would upset many, though. He would also take Rookie of the Year honors over teammate Zilisch. Recent memory has seen a first career Xfinity win and championship happen at the same time. Kvapil will try and repeat this exact feat on Saturday and deliver JRM a fifth series title.
Carson Kvapil’s No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Club/Clarience Chevrolet on the grid at Martinsville Speedway before the IAA Ritchie Bros 250 on Saturday, October 25, 2025. Photo Credit: Peter Stratta/TSJSports
Allgaier’s wealth of Xfinity Series experience is offset and complimented by two rookies and a sophomore driver in contention. One of them will be leading the bowtie brigade to another NASCAR title in the Xfinity Series’ sendoff race. The desert green flag flies Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET on The CW, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Either JR Motorsports or Richard Childress Racing will add another chapter onto their respective legacies with another championship.
Written by Peter Stratta
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