One of the better NASCAR Xfinity Series seasons in recent history came to a close with Saturday’s (Nov. 1) finale at Phoenix Raceway. When the dust settled, it was Jesse Love hoisting the 2025 trophy as the final Xfinity champion (O’Reilly Auto Parts takes over sponsorship in 2026).
It’s a bookend to the season for Love, winning the opening and closing races of the year. Love had far and away the best car to end the night, as he ran away from the JR Motorsports duo of Connor Zilisch and Justin Allgaier on the final restart.
The pair of JRM drivers held strong out front at the beginning of the race. The two were the highest-finishing Championship 4 drivers in stage one, finishing behind Taylor Gray and Sheldon Creed. In stage two, Allgaier took the green-and-white checkered with Zilisch close behind.
But both drivers faded as the final stage went on, allowing Love to speed past and pull away. He wasn’t alone; Aric Almirola finished second and claimed the owner’s title for Joe Gibbs Racing with his performance. Zilisch ended the day third with Brandon Jones behind him in fourth. Allgaier rounded out the top-five finishers, his bid for back-to-back titles falling short.
Sammy Smith, Gray, Creed, Austin Hill and Justin Bonsignore were sixth through 10th. The fourth title contender, Carson Kvapil, was pretty dormant in the title fight all night and ended the race in 13th.
The Winners
Love being the champion is a clear and obvious winner. Say what you will about the format, he got it done under the rules that have been in place for several years now. He’s also been a top-tier contender all season, running near the front but just without the win count to show for it. Now, Love is the 2025 Xfinity Series Champion and that cannot be taken away from him.
Joe Gibbs Racing also deserves a nod here. Winning the owner’s title is always a big deal considering that’s what pays the big bucks for the teams. The organization as a whole ended the year super strong, Almirola delivering after JGR’s decision to leave him running the No. 19 over the final few playoff races. We’ll see them in the hunt for a title again next year; perhaps they’ll have a driver in the hunt for the driver’s title, too, with rumors the car will just have one full-time driver in 2026.
All of the beneficiaries of Sam Mayer‘s suspension also had great runs, even if they didn’t show in the final results. Ryan Sieg was running seventh before getting taken out by a bizarre incident from contact with Christian Eckes. Kyle Sieg ended the day 12th but was mixing it up near the top 10 all night. Nick Leitz even showed some strength at some points, almost breaking into the top 15 with the No. 28 car. He would end up a respectable 20th.
The Losers
JRM had three shots to walk away with another championship to add to the trophy case. Now, that spot will have to wait another year for a chance to be filled. The team was probably the best overall in the garage for 2025, but losing was an outcome that remained possible heading into tonight. Hopefully, the multi-car program can get close to rechanneling the magic they had next year.
Jeb Burton should also get a slight mention here. While it may have been out of his hands, he did claim a last-place finish, wrecking hard right after his run-in with Mayer. As Burton’s car sailed into the wall, I’m sure somewhere Mayer was out there smiling when he saw the No. 27 with major damage.
Fuel for Thought
Xfinity’s tenure is officially over as the title sponsor of the series. While it felt like it went by as fast as Xfinity Mobile, it has left the fan base with a lot of great memories.
After 11 years, the partnership ended with a bang as it delivered one of the best seasons in this division we’ve seen in a while. 2025 was filled with so much drama, great racing and amazing moments to look back on for years to come.
Like the sport says, names truly were made here.
Paint Scheme of the Week
Almirola’s No. 19 adorned a new look for the finale this weekend and it was eye-catching, to say the least.
Maybe, it’s just because it’s new and my eyes haven’t adjusted to seeing this scheme over the other one. But it was hard to miss Almirola running up front.
Where to Next?
The Xfinity Series season has come to a close. The newly-rebranded NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series will return to the track on Feb. 14, 2026 at Daytona International Speedway.
See y’all on Valentine’s Day to watch Love start his title defense.
RCR has an excellent Xfinity program yet their cup series teams continued to struggle This has been the norm for the past few seasons Time for a change at the top level nothing else has helped
Jeez, Really?
NASCAR went to the playoff format and added stages to make racing more exciting for the fans and it absolutely worked. I didn’t like the change initially, but I warmed up to it. The only flaw, in my opinion, is one race for the championship where you always have the chance of a fluke winner. But, if they eliminate all of it and go back to a traditional format, it will be way more boring and monotonous which is why the playoff format was created to begin with. NASCAR, good luck trying to figure out a better way and keep it entertaining for the fans!
I don’t want to hear any bitching and moaning, NASCAR created this format because NASCAR and the fans HATED Matt Kenseth. NASCAR was also pissed that a northerner had won the cup and vowed that under the new format that would never happen again. Oh BTW, they hated Matt because he finished ahead of Jr.. Drivers and teams have praised this format for over 20 years because if gives everyone a chance. Unless of course they don’t win the cup, then they cry like the little babies they are. Want to make NASCAR great again? Stop listening to the drunk cry baby fans, go back to real racing and GIVE Sam Hornish the championship he won, the one NASCAR stole by some shady tactics because Sam was an Indy Car driver from the …yes you guessed, the north.
Heh.
“I don’t want to hear any bitching and moaning”, then posts a rambling screed about NASCAR, the fans, the teams, the drivers, and the racing.
The South shall rise agin! g’yuck yuck!