Eyes on Xfinity: Dover Creates Opportunity for Some Prospects to Make Waves

When was the last time you watched one of those awesome dominoes videos?

You know, the ones where they push one over a line of dominoes starts to fall, then the force of that one push expands into more lines and it creates a picture. 

The Daniel Suarez announcement two weeks ago about his departure from Trackhouse Racing was that initial push needed to get silly season going in both the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR. Immediately, rumors swirled about Connor Zilisch, his ride and what the defending series champion team, JR Motorsports, might do with it.

Asked by @CandiceSpencer, Dale Jr. acknowledged that Daniel Suarez has been discussed as an option for next season. He mentioned that his cars are usually in limbo as the team decides whether to have four full-time cars or another with an all-star group of drivers.

— John Newby (@JohnNewby_) July 12, 2025

But while it may not carry the same marquee status as the series return to Mexico City or Chicago did, the Xfinity Series race at Dover Motor Speedway on July 19 could be where we see little deviations in this domino maze begin.

After talking last week about a pair of drivers in their 30s, it’s time to focus on the young drivers in the series. Specifically, a pair of debuts and two surprise entries that have a chance to make a big impression, one that could see moves for the 2026 season and beyond start to take shape.

First, there’s 20-year-old Jake Finch.

Next up in the No. 17! @jamessfinch will drive the No. 17 @HendrickCars Chevy at the @MonsterMile. pic.twitter.com/g8SNtsqcsq

— Hendrick Motorsports (@TeamHendrick) July 14, 2025

Finch is a familiar last name to long-time NASCAR fans. James Finch owned long-time Xfinity team — and eventually Cup Series team — Phoenix Racing. The team was largely dormant for a decade prior to its return in 2022 with James’ son, Jake, running ARCA Menards Series East races. 

In just his third career ARCA East start, coming at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway in 2022, Jake won the pole and finished runner up to Sammy Smith and immediately was in the conversation to be called up for full-time rides in the ARCA Menards Series and the Craftsman Trucks Series. But he didn’t jump. Instead, he continued to hone his craft on the short tracks with sporadic starts in ARCA with Phoenix and Venturini Motorsports.

Finch won an ARCA East win at Dover in 2023 and an ARCA win at Talladega Superspeedway in 2024. He’s also been all over the map in terms of Late Model rides, including the ASA Stars National Tour. He was worthy of a few headlines back when he was 17 putting together a solid run at Nashville. It’s interesting to see what he can do with a little more seasoning on him, especially in a competitive car from Hendrick Motorsports.

Like Finch, Lavar Scott comes from a racing family. His mother was a drag racer and his grandfather also raced. Scott’s jump into the national spotlight came in 2021 when he started racing Legend cars and Late Models for Rev Racing through the NASCAR Drive for Diversity program. After two years of that, Scott moved up the ladder to ARCA.

While he doesn’t have the wins like Finch does, he does have consistent results with a full-time ARCA slate the last three seasons. He finished third in the 2023 ARCA East standings, second in the 2024 ARCA Menards standings last season, and third in the ARCA standings entering this weekend with just 17 points separating him from points leader Brenden Queen.

Scott’s racing at what is essentially his home track on the NASCAR calendar for Alpha Prime Racing, a solid Chevy program that has shown through Brennan Poole and Parker Retzlaff. Coincidentally, Hendrick Motorsports and Alpha Prime were where Rajah Caruth made starts in 2022 and 2023 before he was a full-time driver in the Trucks Series. 

After a year and a half without a start in the series, Caruth is also making a start at his home track for Jordan Anderson Racing. It’s not quite the car ‘Mr. H’ has given Finch, but Jordan Anderson Racing has a playoff contender in Jeb Burton and has a history of quality part-time drivers giving them fantastic results. Just look at Austin Green, who has ninth- and 11th-place finishes the last two weeks at the Chicago street course and Sonoma Raceway. 

If Finch and Scott have taken ample time to get the most out of their debut, Caruth has gone the extra yard to be strong for this return. He’s got two Trucks wins and he’s been one of the most consistent drivers in the series the last three seasons. A strong run on Saturday could help the push for Caruth to a full-time ride in Xfinity next season.

Then, a shocking piece of news dropped on Tuesday. Kris Wright was booted from his ride at Our Motorsports and Kaz Grala was put in his place at Dover, continuing one of the weirdest careers in NASCAR history with just his second Xfinity start in three years. Grala hasn’t been a guy considered for full-time rides often, in part because his expertise is on the road courses. However, maybe a solid drive or two without incident — something Wright rarely delivered on — can get him a full-time ride with Our Motorsports or another team.

None of these four drivers come into Dover as strong contenders to win, but they’re worth paying attention to throughout the weekend. The outcome of this weekend could start a domino effect of its own, even if it may take awhile to get a clear picture of where it ends.