2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series
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The 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series was the 44th season of the NASCAR Xfinity Series, a stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. The season started on February 15 with the United Rentals 300 at Daytona International Speedway and ended with the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race on November 1 at Phoenix Raceway.
The 2025 season was the second season, and the first as the exclusive broadcaster, in which The CW will be televising the NASCAR Xfinity Series under NASCAR's new TV deal that will take place until 2031. This season marked the final season with Xfinity as the title sponsor of the series, as O'Reilly Auto Parts replaced the title sponsor starting next season.[1][2]
Justin Allgaier of JR Motorsports entered the season as the defending series champion. Rookie Connor Zilisch won the regular season championship. At season's end, Jesse Love of Richard Childress Racing won the championship.
Full-time teams
Schedule
The 2025 schedule was released on August 29, 2024, and consists of 26 oval races, 6 road course races, one street track race.[153] Dash 4 Cash races are bolded.
Schedule changes
- The series will return to Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez for the first time since the 2008 Corona Mexico 200.[159]
- Rockingham Speedway will return to the series for the first time since 2004.[160]
- Gateway will return to the series after a 14-year absence.[161]
- Bristol earns a second date, while Michigan, New Hampshire and Richmond are removed from the Xfinity series' schedule, and Darlington loses its second date, albeit in a one-year only situation.[162]
Season summary
Regular season
Round 1: United Rentals 300
Justin Allgaier scored the pole for the race. Austin Hill dominated most of the race, sweeping the stages and leading the most laps however, Hill would finish 33rd after an early incident. After Connor Zilisch hit the wall, the race went into an overtime finish. In the end, Jesse Love would hold on and earn his second career win and his first of the season.[163]
Round 2: Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250
Jesse Love scored the pole for the race. Austin Hill swept the stages for the second straight week and led the most laps, securing his 11th career Xfinity victory and his first of the season. This win also marked Hill's third consecutive victory in the spring Atlanta race and tied him with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart for the most superspeedway wins in series history, each with eight.[164]
Round 3: Focused Health 250
Connor Zilisch started on the pole. William Byron would win the first stage and Harrison Burton won the second stage. Zilisch would navigate through late-race adversity, and continued his road course dominance by winning and earning his second career Xfinity win and his first of the season.[165]
Round 4: GOVX 200
Alex Bowman scored the pole for the race. Bowman won the first stage and Justin Allgaier won the second stage. With four laps to go, Nick Leitz hit the wall which sent the race into overtime. On the restart, Bowman had the lead but Aric Almirola edged Bowman at the line at 0.045 seconds, the 26th closest finish in NASCAR Xfinity Series history.[166]
Round 5: The LiUNA!
Sammy Smith scored the pole for the race. Justin Allgaier won the first stage and Aric Almirola won the second stage. In the end, Allgaier would edge out Almirola to earn his 26th career Xfinity Series victory and first of the season.[167]
Round 6: Hard Rock Bet 300
Taylor Gray won the pole. Sammy Smith won the first stage and Kyle Larson won the second stage. In overtime, Justin Allgaier would hold off Sam Mayer to earn his 27th career Xfinity Series victory and second in a row. In addition, Allgaier would earn $100,000 in part of the Dash 4 Cash event.[168]
Round 7: US Marine Corps 250
Connor Zilisch won the pole. Zilisch swept the stages for the first time in his career. With a highly controversial overtime finish, Austin Hill would steal the win on the final lap after Sammy Smith spun the leader Taylor Gray in the final turn. Hill snuck his way through to earn his 12th career Xfinity Series victory, and his second of the season. In addition, Hill would earn $100,000 in part of the Dash 4 Cash event.[169]
Round 8: Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200
Christopher Bell won the pole. Harrison Burton won the first stage and Justin Allgaier won the second stage. In the end, Brandon Jones would snap an 98-race winless streak to earn his 6th Xfinity Series victory and his first of the season.[170]
Round 9: SciAps 300
Kyle Larson won the pole. Sam Mayer won the first stage after a wreck occurred, involving Brennan Poole and Sheldon Creed, Dash 4 Cash drivers, sending the red flag out for 14 minutes. Larson won the second stage and won the race for his 16th Xfinity Series win and first of the season. Justin Allgaier would earn $100,000 in part of the Dash 4 Cash event.[171]
Round 10: North Carolina Education Lottery 250
Connor Zilisch won the pole. Nick Sanchez won the first stage, his first career Xfinity stage and Dean Thompson won the second stage, his and his team's first stage win. In the end, Jesse Love initially won, but was disqualified after failing post race inspection; as a result, Sammy Smith was declared the winner, Smith's third career Xfinity Series win, and his first of the season.[172]
Round 11: Ag-Pro 300
Jesse Love won the pole and the first stage, while his teammate Austin Hill won the second stage. On lap 100, Aric Almirola moved to the top lane on the backstretch but wasn't clear, causing contact with Katherine Legge and also collecting Jeffrey Earnhardt and Brandon Jones. On the final lap, Connor Zilisch made a late block on Love, resulting in Zilisch hitting the inside wall hard. After a lengthy review involving Love, Hill, and Jeb Burton, Hill was declared the winner.[173]
Round 12: Andy's Frozen Custard 300
Austin Hill scored the provisional pole for the race after practice and qualifying was cancelled. Justin Allgaier won the first stage and Hill won the second stage. Kyle Larson, substituting for Connor Zilisch, would take over the lead in the final stages, and held off the field in two-overtime restarts to earn his 17th career Xfinity Series win, and second of the season.[174]
Round 13: BetMGM 300
Taylor Gray won the pole. William Byron swept the stages and won after an overtime attempt over Justin Allgaier.[175]
Round 14: Tennessee Lottery 250
William Sawalich won the pole. Justin Allgaier swept the stages and held off teammate Connor Zilisch for the win.[176]
Round 15: The Chilango 150
Connor Zilisch won the pole. Carson Kvapil won stage one and Sammy Smith won stage two. Daniel Suárez led the final 19 laps and held off a hard-charging Taylor Gray to earn his fourth career NASCAR Xfinity Series win—and his first of the season. Gray finished second, with Austin Hill rounding out the podium in third.[177]
Round 16: Explore the Pocono Mountains 250
Chase Elliott won the pole. Brandon Jones won stage one, and Connor Zilisch won stage two and the race.[178] Dale Earnhardt Jr., filling in for the suspended Mardy Lindley, earned his first win as a crew chief.[179]
Round 17: Focused Health 250 (Atlanta)
Sheldon Creed won the pole. Taylor Gray won stage one and Brandon Jones won stage two on Friday. In a wreck-filled race, Nick Sanchez took the lead on the final restart and held off the field to earn his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series win on Saturday.[180]
Round 18: The Loop 110
Shane van Gisbergen won the pole. van Gisbergen won stage one while Sheldon Creed won stage two. van Gisbergen won the race, but with setbacks.[181] During the race, van Gisbergen experienced a cool suit malfunction, and his car also had a balky carburetor.[182]
Round 19: Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250
Shane van Gisbergen won the pole. Sam Mayer won stage one while Brandon Jones won stage two. While battling a hard-charging van Gisbergen, Connor Zilisch managed to defend his position and win the race.[183]
Round 20: BetRivers 200
Taylor Gray won the pole and stage one. Connor Zilisch won stage two and won the race after it was shortened with 66 laps to go due to rain.[184] This was also the final Xfinity Series event for Our Motorsports, after they announced that they would cease operations following this race.[185]
Round 21: Pennzoil 250
Sam Mayer won the pole and stage one. Justin Allgaier won stage two. Stage three had many rain cautions that could have ended the race with either Allgaier or Kyle Larson winning, but during the second-to-final restart, Allgaier and Larson were involved in an accident. With five laps remaining, coming out of Turn three, Aric Almirola made contact with the back of Austin Hill’s car, causing Hill to get loose and drift up the track. As Hill regained control, he came back down and hooked Almirola in the right-rear quarter panel, sending him head-on into the outside wall. Almirola was evaluated and released from the infield care center, while Hill received a five-lap penalty for reckless driving. On Tuesday following the race, Hill received a one-race suspension for the incident.[186][56] Connor Zilisch won his fifth of the season, and his third consecutive win, and this was also the 100th victory for JR Motorsports in the Xfinity Series.[187]
Round 22: Hy-Vee PERKS 250
Jesse Love won the pole. Connor Zilisch won stage one while Ross Chastain won stage two. Sam Mayer would go on to win the race, his first with Haas Factory Team and Ford's first of the season.[188]
Round 23: Mission 200 at The Glen
Connor Zilisch won the pole. Justin Allgaier won stage one while Zilisch won stage two. With eight laps to go, Austin Hill tagged Michael McDowell from behind through turns 5 and 6, causing McDowell to hit two different sides and creating a 16-car pileup. A red flag waved to stop the race for 45 minutes for debris pickup and track repairs. Following the resumption of the race, Zilisch would clinch his sixth race win of the season. However, while in Victory Lane celebrating the win, Zilisch slipped off his car and fell head first to the ground. Zilisch was taken to a local hospital where it was revealed he suffered only a broken collarbone.[189]
Round 24: Wawa 250
Connor Zilisch won the pole. After running the first 14 laps of the race, Zilisch was substituted by Parker Kligerman during the first caution for the rest of the race. Sammy Smith won stage one while Justin Allgaier won stage two. After surviving late-race chaos, Kligerman miraculously was leading the race when the final caution came on the final lap, giving him the victory. However, as Zilisch started the race, he was credited with his seventh race win of the season.
Round 25: Pacific Office Automation 147
Connor Zilisch won the pole. Zilisch swept the stages and would lead 70 of 78 laps to win the race, his third straight win and eighth overall of the season.
Round 26: Nu Way 200
Connor Zilisch won the pole. Zilisch won stage one while Justin Allgaier won stage two. Zilisch would lead 121 of 160 laps and win the race, his fourth straight victory and ninth overall of the season. Zilisch's victory made him only the third driver in Xfinity Series history to win four straight races, joining Sam Ard (1983) and Noah Gragson (2022). Zilisch also became the highest winning rookie driver in series history. Zilisch would secure the Regular Season championship.
Playoffs
Round 27: Food City 300
Justin Allgaier won the pole. Allgaier won stage one while Connor Zilisch won stage two. Despite Allgaier, Zilisch and Sam Mayer leading large chunks of the race, Aric Almirola would lead the final 34 laps to win the race.
Round 28: Kansas Lottery 300
Brandon Jones won the pole. Justin Allgaier swept the stages. Jones would lead the final 37 laps to win his second race of the season and seventh of his career. This marked Jones' first multi-race win season since 2020.
Round 29: Blue Cross NC 250
Connor Zilisch won the pole. Zilisch won stage one while Jesse Love won stage two. Zilisch would lead 61 of 68 laps to win his 10th race of the season. Following the race, Taylor Gray, Nick Sanchez, Austin Hill, and Harrison Burton were eliminated from playoff contention.
Round 30: Focused Health 302
Justin Allgaier won the pole. Aric Almirola would sweep the stages, lead the most laps and win the race, advancing Joe Gibbs Racing's No. 19 into the Owner's Championship.
Round 31: United Rentals 250
Jesse Love won the pole. Austin Hill would sweep the stages, lead the most laps and win the race. Despite being eliminated from playoff contention, Hill was able to qualify Richard Childress Racing's No. 21 into the Owner's Championship.
Round 32: IAA and Ritchie Bros. 250
Harrison Burton won the pole. Justin Allgaier won stage one, advancing to the Championship 4 along with Connor Zilisch. Carson Kvapil won stage two, aiding his drive to advance to the Championship 4. Overcoming a wreck-filled race, Taylor Gray would hold off Playoff driver Sammy Smith to win his first career Xfinity Series race. Kvapil and Jesse Love would advance to the Championship 4 while Smith, Brandon Jones, Sam Mayer and Sheldon Creed were eliminated.
Round 33: NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race
Brandon Jones won the pole. Taylor Gray won stage one while Justin Allgaier won stage two. After surviving early-race struggles, Jesse Love would pass Connor Zilisch for the lead with 24 laps to go, holding on to win the race and the Xfinity Series Championship. Aric Almirola would overtake Zilisch for second place, giving Joe Gibbs Racing's No. 19 the Owner's Championship.
Love's championship victory rekindled controversy and heavy criticism against the current Playoff points format, mainly questioning the legitimacy of how the format crowns a champion. This is in reference to Zilisch's historic 10-win season, where in any past points systems Zilisch would have been crowned the champion by a wide margin.