Championship weekend and the end of another season at Phoenix Raceway.
This is also the final race that Xfinity will be the title sponsor for the series. Beginning next year O’Reilly Auto Parts takes over as the primary sponsor.
This is also the final race for the time being for Kaulig Racing. Announcing earlier this year that they would be running five Ram trucks in Ram’s return to racing in the Craftsman Truck Series. Concentrating on the new Truck Series program, Kaulig is taking a break from the Xfinity – soon to be O’Reilly Auto Parts – Series.
Carson Kvapil, Connor Zilisch, Jesse Love, and reigning champion Justin Allgaier will be racing to see who will be crowned the 2025 champion.
On a warm Friday afternoon, a full field of 38 drivers take to the track for a full 50 minute practice session.
On Tue5sday, NASCAR suspended Sam Mayer from the race over his post race antics at Martinsville last week. After the race, Sam Mayer hit Jeb Burton on the track and sent Burton into the wall. Ryan Sieg will be piloting the Haas Factory Team number 41 for the final race of the season.
William Sawalich still hasn’t been cleared from concussion protocol after the wreck at Talladega. Justin Bonsignore will be driving the number 18 car again this weekend.
Not surprising after winning 10 races in the season, 18 top 10’s in a row, and the regular season championship; Connor Zilisch took to the track and put his number 88 car at 1th01e top of the leaderboard.
Jesse Love tops the board in the 15 laps run.
Daniel Dye had a brake failure and just missed crashing into the wall.
The first driver on the track to make a qualifying run is Dawson Cram who posted a time of 28.966 seconds around the one mile track.
Stefan Parsons and Connor Mosack are “doing the double” running in the Xfinity Series race after racing in the Truck Series on Friday night.
Brenden Queen is the first driver to break the 28 second mark with a time of 27.950 seconds.
Ryan Sieg driving the number 41 car is making his 400th career NASCAR start today.
JR Motorsports playoff drivers Justin Allgaier and Connor Zilisch posted the exact same qualifying time of 27.644 seconds.
With a time of 27.490 seconds, Brandon Jones puts his number 20 car on the pole with teammate Taylor Gray alongside on the front row.
The starting lineup for the Xfinity Series Championship race:
Brandon Jones
Taylor Gray
Sheldon Creed
Connor Zilisch – playoffs
Justin Allgaier – playoffs
Jesse Love – playoffs
Aric Almirola
Nick Sanchez
Dean Thompson
Ryan Sieg
Jeb Burton
Harrison Burton
Justin Bonsignore
Carson Kvapil
Corey Day
Austin Hill
Kyle Sieg
Sammy Smith
Parker Retzlaff
Brenden Queen
Christian Eckes
Connor Mosack
Blaine Perkins
Brennan Poole
Leland Honeyman
Josh Bilicki
Anthony Alfredo
Nick Leitz
Jeremy Clements
Ryan Ellis
Patrick Emerling
Garrett Smithley
Daniel Dye
Stefan Parsons
Glen Reen
Joey Gase
Josh Williams
Dawson Cram
Stages one and two of the race are 45 laps each with stage three lasting 110 laps for a total of 200 laps around the one mile track.
The sun will be an issue for the drivers until it moves below the stands.
Brandon Jones brings the field down for the green flag start of the race with Taylor Gray alongside. Brandon jones gets out in front but Taylor Gray quickly works his way to challenge his JGR teammate.
Lap two, the top five are Brandon Jones, Taylor Gray, Connor Zilisch, Sheldon Creed, and Jesse Love.
Lap three Justin Allgaier passes Jesse Love for fifth.
Lap six, Jesse Love and Aric Almirola battle for sixth with a little beating and banging.
Lap seven, Justin Allgaier passes teammate Connor Zillisch for fourth.
Lap 12, Taylor Gray passes Brandon Jones for the lead.
Lap 14, Sheldon Creed and Justin Allgaier passes Brandon Jones to put him in fourth. Connor Zilisch passes Jones for fourth.
Lap 16, Aric Almirola passes Brandon Jones for sixth.
Lap 18, the top five are Taylor Gray, Sheldon Creed, Justin Allgaier, Connor Zilisch, and Aric Almirola.
Lap 22, Carson Kvapil has entered the top 10 in ninth after starting the race in 14th.
Lap 26, Taylor Gray has a near one second lead on Sheldon Creed; Justin Allgaier, Connor Zilisch, and Aric Almirola round out the top five. Jesse Love is in seventh and Carson Kvapil is in ninth.
Not a part of the playoffs, the Sieg brothers are having a good time on the track. Older brother Ryan is driving the 41 car after Sam Mayer’s suspension and younger brother Kyle is driving Ryan’s number 9 car. Kyle has passed Ryan for 10th.
Lap 34, Sheldon Creed has closed the gap on leader Taylor Gray to under half a second; Justin Allgaier, Connor Zilisch, and Aric Almirola round out the top five.
With eight laps remaining in stage one, leader Taylor Gray has encountered slower traffic.
Jeb Burton makes an unscheduled pit stop after contact with the wall.
Taylor Gray wins stage one.
The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Taylor Gray
Sheldon Creed
Justin Allgaier
Connor Zilisch
Nick Sanchez
Carson Kvapil
Kyle Sieg
Aric Almirola
Sammy Smith
Brandon Jones
Drivers come down pit road for service with Taylor Gray winning the race off of pit road with Connor Zilisch coming out second; Sheldon Creed, Justin Allgaier, and Aric Almirola round out the top five. Jesse Love and Carson Kvapil come out in ninth and 10th.
Taylor Gray brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two with Connor Zilisch alongside on lap 56. Getting a push from Justin Allgaier, Connor Zilisch takes the lead. Sheldon Creed and Justin Allgaier battle for third.
With 27 cars on the lead lap, Connor Zilisch leads the race with Taylor Gray in second; Sheldon Creed, Justin Allgaier, and Brandon Jones round out the top five.
The 53 car of Joey Gase was charged with jumping the restart and will have to serve a passthrough penalty.
Justin Allgaier passes Sheldon Creed for second.
Lap 62, Justin Allgaier is on Connor Zilisch’s bumper and challenging for the lead.
Lap 63, Justin Allgaier passes Connor Zilisch for the lead; Sheldon Creed, Aric Almirola, and Taylor Gray round out the top five.
Lap 69, Kyle Sieg is having a good time driving big brother Ryan’s car and is fighting to stay in the top 10.
Lap 71, the top five are Justin Allgaier, Connor Zilisch, Sheldon Creed, Aric Almirola, and Taylor Gray.
Lap 75, Justin Allgaier has a lead of over a second on Connor Zilisch; Sheldon Creed, Aric Almirola, and Taylor Gray round out the top five.
Lap 79, Justin Allgaier has pulled out to a lead of nearly two and a half seconds on Connor Zilisch.
Lap 84. Justin Allgaier is approaching slower traffic.
With five laps remaining in stage two, Justin Allgaier has a lead of over two and a half seconds on Connor Zilisch with Aric Almirola, Sheldon Creed, and Taylor Gray rounding out the top five.
The a lead of over three seconds, Justin Allgaier wins stage two for his 15th stage win of the season.
The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Justin Allgaier
Connor Zilisch
Aric Almirola
Sheldon Creed
Jesse Love
Taylor Gray
Nick Sanchez
Brandon Jones
Carson Kvapil
Ryan Sieg
Drivers come down pit road for service with Jesse Love edging out Justin Allgaier to win the race off of pit road.
Jesse Love brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three with Justin Allgaier alongside on lap 101. Allgaier edges out to take the lead with Jesse Love in second; Aric Almirola, Sheldon Creed, and Connor Zilisch round out the top five.
With 92 laps remaining in the race, Justin Allgaier has a half second lead on Jesse Love; Aric Almirola, Sheldon Creed, and Connor Zilisch round out the top five.
There are 27 cars on the lead lap.
The caution flag comes out with 88 laps remaining in the race for Leland Honeyman spins out with a flat tire after some on track contact. This is the first caution flag for an on track incident in the race.
Some of the drivers come down pit road with the leaders staying out on the track.
Justin Allgaier tells his crew chief that being out in front is a lot more fun; and adds that he was close to leading 1,000 this season.
Justin Allgaier brings the field down for the green flag restart with Jesse Love alongside with 82 laps remaining in the race. Sheldon Creed makes it a three wide battle for the lead but Justin Allgaier gets out in front to hold on to the lead.
With 79 laps to go, Justin Allgaier has a half second lead on Jesse Love; Aric Almirola, Connor Zilisch, and Sheldon Creed round out the top five.
With 73 laps to go, Jesse Love has closed the gap on leader Justin Allgaier to under half a second; Aric Almirola, Connor Zilisch, and Corey Day round out the top five.
Seventy to go, Justin Allgaier has a half second lead on Jesse Love; Aric Almirola, Connor Zilisch, and Corey Day round out the top five.
With 63 laps to go, Jesse Love has caught leader Justin Allgaier and begins to challenge for the lead.
Sixty to go, the leaders are approaching slower traffic.
Lap 144, leader Justin Allgaier is lapping slower cars.
With 52 laps to go, Jesse Love continues to challenge leader Justin Allgaier for the lead.
The caution flag comes out with 50 laps remaining in the race when Ryan Sieg gets loose and into the wall hard after contact from Christian Eckes. The rear end of the 41 car is destroyed.
Drivers come down pit road for fresh tires with Jesse Love edging out Connor Zilisch to win the race off of pit road. Justin Allgaier had a slow stop for a lug nut issue and came out fifth.
Jesse Love brings the field down for the green flag restart with best buddy Connor Zilisch alongside with 42 laps remaining in the race. Jesse Love spins his tires and Connor Zilisch takes the lead. Jesse Love, Aric Almirola, and Justin Allgaier battle for second.
Forty to go, the top five are Connor Zilisch, Aric Almirola, Justin Allgaier, Jesse Love, and Sammy Smith.
Jesse Love passes Justin Allgaier for third.
With 37 to go, Jesse Love passes Aric Almirola for second.
With 33 to go, Connor Zilisch has a half second lead on Jesse Love; Aric Almirola, Justin Allgaier, and Brandon Jones round out the top five.
Just 29 laps to go, Connor Zilisch has a lead of under half a second on Jesse Love with slower traffic approaching; Aric Almirola, Justin Allgaier, and Brandon Jones rounding out the top five.
With 26 to go, Jesse Love has caught leader Connon Zilisch and begins the battle for the lead.
Jesse Love passes Zilisch for the lead.
Twenty to go! Jesse Love has pulled out to a half second lead on Connor Zilisch; Aric Almirola, Justin Allgaier, and Brandon Jones round out the tip five.
Fifteen to go; Jesse Love continues to lead the race with a near one second lead on Connor Zilisch. Leaders are amid slower traffic.
Eleven to go, Aric Almirola is closing in on Connor Zilisch with Jesse Love over a second out in front.
Nine to go, Aric Almirola passes Connor Zilisch for second.
Brandon Jones passes Justin Allgaier for fourth.
Just six lap to go, Jesse Love has a lead of over a second on Aric Almirola.
Two laps remain in the 2025 Xfinity Series season; Jesse Love has a lead of over a second on Aric Almirola.
Jesse Love takes the white flag!
Jesse Love wins the fall race at Phoenix and the 2025 championship!
The unofficial results of the Xfinity Series Championship Race:
Jesse Love
Aric Almirola
Connor Zilisch
Brandon Jones
Justin Allgaier
Sammy Smith
Taylor Gray
Sheldon Creed
Austin Hill
Justin Bonsignore
Harrison burton
Kyle Sieg
Carson Kvapil
Corey Day
Nick Sanchez
Christian Eckes
Dean Thompson
Brennan Poole
Brenden Queen
Nick Leitz
Ryan Ellis
Connor Mosack
Anthony Alfredo
Leland Honeyman
Blaine Perkins
Josh Williams
Parker Retzlaff
Daniel Dye
Stefan Parsons
Joey Gase
Garrett Smithley
Josh Bilicki
Jeremy Clements
Glen Reen
Patrick Emerling
Dawson Cram
Ryan Sieg
Jeb Burton