Jesse Love wins 2025 Xfinity Series championship: Jesse Love turned in the ultimate season bookends winning the opening race of the NASCAR Xfinity Series 2025 schedule at Daytona then closing it out with the biggest win of his young career to claim the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Saturday night at Phoenix Raceway.(Read more)(NASCAR)

#2-Jesse Love won the Xfinity Series Championship race at Phoenix Raceway by winning the race. Love bookends the 2025 season with race victories en route to the 2025 championship.
#19-Aric Almirola finished second, enough for Joe Gibbs Racing to win the 2025 owner’s title. #88-Connor Zilisch lost the lead with 24 laps remaining and dropped to third in the finishing order. #20-Brandon Jones and #7-Justin Allgaier round out the top five.
#8-Sammy Smith, #54-Taylor Gray, #00-Sheldon Creed, #21-Austin Hill and #18-Justin Bonsignore complete the top 10. #1-Carson Kvapil placed 13th, lowest of the Championship 4 drivers.
There were 15 lead changes among six drivers and four cautions for 31 yellow flag laps.
The average speed of the race was: 98.509 mph.
See race details at: Race Results, Driver Points Standings, Owner Points Standings, Cumulative Report, Penalty Report.

Phoenix Paint Schemes

Race Fast Facts – Phoenix Raceway:
Jesse Love (P) won the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race, his third victory in 66 Xfinity Series races.
This is his second victory and 22nd top-10 finish in 2025.
This is his first victory and fourth top-10 finish in four races at Phoenix Raceway.
Aric Almirola (P) (second) posted his fifth top-10 finish in 11 races at Phoenix Raceway. It is his 11th top-10 finish in 2025. Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 19 Toyota team wins the Owners Championship.
Connor Zilisch # (P) (third) posted his second top-10 finish in three races at Phoenix Raceway.
Connor Zilisch (P) (third) was the highest finishing rookie. Zilisch wins the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series Rookie of the Year honors.
Jesse Love (P) wins the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship. – the 35th different driver to win a
Xfinity Series Championship in the series’ 44th season.
Love is the fifth youngest Xfinity Series Champion – 20 years, 9 months, 18 days.
Chevrolet wins the 2025 Manufacturers Championship in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

2025 Championship Fast Facts:
Driver Champion: Jesse Love
Team: No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

• Jesse Love has won his first NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship, becoming the 35th different driver to win an
  Xfinity Series title.
• Love won the season finale at Phoenix Raceway to claim the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship.
• Love made 33 starts this season, posting two wins, nine top fives, 22 top 10s and four poles.
• In the Playoffs this season, Love has put up one win, one top five, four top 10s and one pole in seven starts.
• Jesse Love, from Menlo Park, California, become the fourth NASCAR Xfinity Series champion from the state of California; joining Kevin Harvick (Bakersfield, 2001, 2006), Tyler Reddick (Corning, 2018, 2019) and Cole Custer (Ladera Ranch, 2023).

Crew Chief Champion: Danny Stockman Jr.

• Danny Stockman Jr. has won his second career NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship (Austin Dillon, 2013; Jesse
  Love, 2025).
• Stockman Jr. is the third crew chief in NASCAR history to win Championships in both the Xfinity and the Truck Series.
• Stockman Jr. has won 10 NASCAR Xfinity Series race – Austin Dillon (five), Ty Dillon (one), Paul Menard (one) and Jesse Love (three).

Owner of Driver Champion: Richard Childress, Richard Childress Racing

• This is Richard Childress Racing’s series leading sixth NASCAR Xfinity Series Driver Championship – Kevin Harvick (2001 and 2006), Clint Bowyer (2008), Austin Dillon (2013), Tyler Reddick (2019) and Jesse Love (2025) – breaking the tie for the series-most with RFK Racing (five).
• Owner Richard Childress fielded his first car in the series with driver Mike Dillon, the father of Austin and Ty Dillon, at Hickory Motor Speedway on April 15, 1995.
• Richard Childress Racing has a total of 103 wins in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

Owner Champion: Joe Gibbs, Joe Gibbs Racing (No. 19, Aric Almirola)

• This is Joe Gibbs Racing’s seventh NASCAR Xfinity Series Owner Championship (2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2016, 2022, 2025), – the series-most owner titles all-time.
• Joe Gibbs Racing is one of 19 different organizations to win the NASCAR Xfinity Series owners championship.
• Joe Gibbs Racing began its NASCAR Xfinity Series program in 1997 at Rockingham Speedway with NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Labonte.

Xfinity Series Playoff Standings after Phoenix (Race 33 of 33):
1)#2-Jesse Love 4,040
2)#88-Connor Zilisch 4,034
3)#7-Justin Allgaier 4,032
4)#1-Carson Kvapil 4,024
See the Driver Points Standings and Owner Points Standings.

Race Updates:
Lap 200: #2-Love wins at Phoenix and is the 2025 Xfinity Series champion. #19-Almirola finishes second and Joe Gibbs Racing wins the owner’s title. #88-Zilisch finished third, with #20-Jones, #7-Allgaier, #8-Smith, #54-Gray, #00-Creed, #21-Hill and #18-Bonsignore complete the top 10.
Lap 197: #2-Love leads #19-Almirola by 1.4 seconds with three laps remaining. #88-Zilisch has dropped more than two seconds off the pace.
Lap 192: #19-Almirola takes second from #88-Zilisch.
Lap 190: #2-Love leads #88-Zilisch by 1.1 seconds with 10 laps remaining.
Lap 185: #2-Love is beginning to stretch the lead over #88-Zilisch by nearly three-quarters of a second.
Lap 176: #2-Love washes up the track through Turns 3 and 4 and takes the lead with 24 laps remaining.
Lap 170: #88-Zilisch and #2-Love continue trading lap times at the front of the field. #1-Kvapil has dropped to 14th.
Lap 163: #2-Love goes to the outside of #19-Almirola to take second spot. #88-Zilisch leads by four-tenths of a second.
Lap 160: #2-Love drives around #7-Allgaier through Turn 2 to take third position.
Lap 158: #88-Zilisch drove deep into Turn 1 to take the lead. #19-Almirola sneaks into second with #7-Allgaier and #2-Love battling for third.
Lap 154: #2-Love leads the race off pit road. #88-Zilisch gains two spots to second. #7-Allgaier had an issue on pit road and fell three spots to fourth in the running order.
Lap 151: #16-Eckes misjudged the entry of Turn 3 and got into the rear of #41-Sieg and clobbered the wall.
Lap 147: #2-Love continues applying pressure to #7-Allgaier as the two drivers have gaped third place #19-Almirola by two seconds. #88-Zilisch runs in fourth, over four seconds behind.
Lap 136: #1-Kvapil is losing positions to cars on fresher tires and has dropped to 13th.
Lap 130: #2-Love is matching the lap times of #7-Allgaier and is within three-tenths of the race lead.
Lap 125: #16-Eckes is making his way through the field on fresh tires, up to sixth with 75 laps remaining.
Lap 123: #17-Day has driven to fifth restart since restarting outside the top 15 on fresher tires.
Lap 120: #88-Zilisch passes #00-Creed for fourth position. #19-Almirola is on the door of #2-Love for second.
Lap 118: #7-Allgaier clears #2-Love for the lead through Turns 3 and 4 to keep the lead on the restart.
Lap 115: #20-Jones, #41-Sieg, #17-Day, #8-Smith, #16-Eckes, #39-Sieg and a handful of others pit for fresh tires and could try to stretch it the distance on fuel.
Lap 112: #70-Honeyman spins down the frontstretch to bring out the caution.
Lap 106: #1-Kvapil has dropped to 12th since the restart. #7-Allgaier leads #2-Love by four-tenths of a second.
Lap 102: #7-Allgaier takes the lead on the restart. #19-Almirola is side-by-side with #2-Love for second. #88-Zilisch gained two spots to fifth.
Lap 96: #2-Love has a monster pit stop and gains four spots to take the lead. #7-Allgaier is second. #88-Zilisch lost five spots and will restart seventh. #1-Kvapil dropped to 10th.
Lap 90: #7-Allgaier wins Stage 2, his ninth stage victory of the season. #88-Zilisch, #19-Almirola, #00-Creed, #2-Love, #54-Gray, #48-Sanchez, #20-Jones, #1-Kvapil, #41-Sieg round out the top 10.
Lap 85: #2-Love passes #48-Sanchez to take sixth place with five laps remaining in Stage 2.
Lap 82: #2-Love and #1-Kvapil have both gained one position each to run seventh and ninth. #7-Allgaier is running laps that are consistently three-tenths of a second quicker than the field each lap.
Lap 75: #7-Allgaier is beginning to stretch the lead, now 1.4 seconds ahead of #88-Zilisch.
Lap 70: Neither #2-Love (eighth) or #1-Kvapil (10th) have made up any ground since the restart.
Lap 62: #7-Allgaier drives deep into Turn 3 and clears #88-Zilisch for the race lead. #00-Creed, #19-Almirola and #54-Gray are the rest of the top five.
Lap 59: #7-Allgaier uses the same move on #54-Gray one lap later to take second spot.
Lap 58: #7-Allgaier gets a solid roll through the middle of Turns 1 and 2 to pass #00-Creed for third around the outside.
Lap 55: #88-Zilisch takes the lead on the restart from #54-Gray. #7-Allgaier is battling #00-Creed for third position.
Lap 50: #54-Gray leads the race off pit road. #88-Zilisch gained two spots to second. #1-Kvapil had a slow stop and fell four positions to 10th.
Lap 45: #54-Gray wins Stage 1, his third stage victory of the season. #00-Creed, #7-Allgaier, #88-Zilisch, #48-Sanchez, #1-Kvapil, #39-Sieg, #19-Almirola, #8-Smith and #20-Jones round out the top 10. #2-Love is the lone Championship 4 driver outside the top 10 in 12th.
Lap 41: #2-Love continues his freefall, now outside the top 10 in 12th.
Lap 37: #27-Burton cuts a right-front tire and hits the outside wall. The right-front suspension caught fire on pit road.
Lap 30: #2-Love continues falling through the field, getting past by #1-Kvapil to ninth position.
Lap 29: #39-Sieg passes #41-Sieg for 10th position.
Lap 27: #54-Gray continues holding a half-second lead over #00-Creed. #2-Love is being contested by #48-Sanchez for seventh position.
Lap 17: #1-Kvapil has cracked the top 10, passing #41-Sieg.
Lap 13: #7-Allgaier and #88-Zilisch take advantage of a dropping #20-Jones, moving up to third and fourth positions, respectively.
Lap 12: #00-Creed takes the runner-up spot from #20-Jones as the polesitter slides to third.
Lap 10: #54-Gray takes the lead from #20-Jones. #00-Creed is inching closer to the front two cars.
Lap 9: #7-Allgaier passes #88-Zilisch through Turns 1 and 2 to take fourth position.
Lap 5: #88-Zilisch looses third and has #7-Allgaier closing in for fourth position. #19-Almirola is challenging #2-Love for sixth spot.
Lap 2: #2-Love clears #7-Allgaier for fifth position, currently second in the Championship 4 battle.
Lap 1: #20-Jones leads the opening lap from the pole. #88-Zilisch moves to third position, passing #00-Creed.

Race Info:
Broadcast: CW, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 200 laps / 200 Miles
Stages: 45 / 90 / 200
Average time of race: 2:16:37
Pit road speed: 45 mph
Caution car speed: 50 mph
Fuel window: 81 laps

Cars to the rear: None reported

Pit-Stall Selections

#20-Brandon Jones won the pole for the Xfinity Series Championship race at Phoenix Raceway at a speed of 130.957 mph. It’s his second pole of the 2025 season, with both coming in the playoffs.
Joe Gibbs Racing swept the front row with #54-Taylor Gray starting second (130.468 mph). #00-Sheldon Creed will start third (130.251 mph), with Championship 4 drivers #88-Connor Zilisch and #7-Justin Allgaier running the exact same speed for fourth and fifth (130.227 mph).
#2-Jesse Love will start sixth, as #19-Aric Almirola, #48-Nick Sanchez, #26-Dean Thompson and #41-Ryan Sieg complete the top 10.
The lone driver in the driver standings to start outside the top 10 is #1-Carson Kvapil in 14th. #21-Austin Hill is still eligible to win the owner’s championship for Richard Childress Racing and starts 16th.
See the complete Phoenix Starting Lineup.

Qualifying Order

Practice for the Xfinity Series Championship race at Phoenix Raceway is complete. The top five, slowest, news and notes:
#88-Connor Zilisch 128.365 mph
#11-Brenden Queen 128.250 mph
#2-Jesse Love 128.195 mph
#17-Corey Day 127.918 mph
#21-Austin Hill 127.736 mph
Slowest: #74-Dawson Cram 121.367 mph
Most laps run: #19-Aric Almirola, 50
Best 10 consecutive lap avg (of 27 drivers): #2-Love 127.210
Notes: The only issue in the session came in the closing minutes when #10-Daniel Dye blew a right-front tire and clobbered the Turns 1 and 2 wall.
See full Phoenix Practice Results.

Crew Rosters

News and Notes — Phoenix Raceway

• This weekend marks the 48th running of a NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Phoenix Raceway.
• Phoenix has been on the Xfinity Series schedule every year since inaugural race in 1999
• The highest finishing Championship 4 driver will win the 2025 championship: #88 Connor Zilisch, #7 Justin Allgaier, #2 Jesse Love & #1 Carson Kvapil
• The highest finish Championship 4 car win the 2025 Car Owner Championship: #7 JRM, #19 JGR, #21 RCR, #88 JRM
• Connor Zilisch and Carson Kvapil could each become the fourth rookie to win Xfinity Series championship
• Connor Zilisch was highest finishing of Championship 4 drivers in 17 of 32 races this season; Allgaier – 7, Love – 4, Kvapil – 4
• Justin Allgaier finished 5^th at Phoenix in March, the highest of the Championship 4 drivers
• At 25 years, 5 months, 25 days, this is the second-youngest Championship 4 in series history
• When Justin Allgaier made Xfinity Series debut in 2008, the other three Championship 4 drivers were 5-years-old or younger: Kvapil – 5, Love – 3, Zilisch – 2
• NASCAR suspended Sam Mayer for one race after intentionally wrecking Jeb Burton after checkered flag at Martinsville; Ryan Sieg will drive #41 for Haas Factory Team at Phoenix, while Kyle Sieg will move to RSS Racing’s #39
• Ryan Sieg is making his 400^th NXS start this weekend at Phoenix

Goodyear Tire Notes: The NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will finish their seasons on tried and tested tires, too. For Xfinity Series teams, this tire setup is the same as they ran at Phoenix in March and at World Wide Technology Raceway in September.

There are 38 drivers/teams on the entry list for the Xfinity Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway. No cars will miss the race.
Notables: #5-TBA, #07-Patrick Emerling, #11-Brenden Queen, #17-Corey Day, #19-Aric Almirola, #28-Nick Leitz, #35-Stefan Parsons, #39-Kyle Sieg, #41-Ryan Sieg,#45-Josh Williams, #53-Joey Gase, #70-Leland Honeyman Jr., #74-Dawson Cram, #91-Josh Bilicki, #99-Connor Mosack.
See the full Phoenix entry list.

NASCAR Xfintiy Series News & Notes – Championship Weekend at Phoenix Raceway:

Phoenix Raceway Storylines and Insights:

• This weekend marks the 48th running of a NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Phoenix Raceway.
• Phoenix has been on the Xfinity Series schedule every year since inaugural race in 1999
• This will be the 6^th time Phoenix hosted the Xfinity Series Championship 4 race, every year since 2020
• The highest finishing Championship 4 driver will win the 2025 championship: #88 Connor Zilisch, #7 Justin Allgaier, #2 Jesse Love & #1 Carson Kvapil
• The highest finish Championship 4 car win the 2025 Car Owner Championship: #7 JRM, #19 JGR, #21 RCR, #88 JRM
• Two teams are represented in Championship 4: JR Motorsports (3) and Richard Childress Racing (1)
• Connor Zilisch and Carson Kvapil could each become the fourth rookie to win Xfinity Series championship
• See much more

2025 practice and qualifying procedures

Phoenix At-Track Schedule

Race rules and information:

• Inspection Penalty Protocol
• Pit Road Penalties
• Pit Road Speeds
• Points Explanation
• Qualifying Procedures