Jesse Love outruns Conner Zilisch for NASCAR Xfinity Series title
Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
AVONDALE, Ariz.—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.
The 20-year-old Californian had to best his best friend, the season’s 10-race winner Connor Zilisch to claim the career-changing victory and title. Love ultimately passed the JR Motorsports driver Zilisch for the lead with 24 laps to go at the desert one-miler and then had to hold off veteran Aric Almirola after the Joe Gibbs Racing driver also got around Zilisch with eight laps remaining.
The emotions were unmistakable as Love climbed out of his No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, the smoke still rising behind on track from the celebratory donuts he performed in victory. He immediately gave his father Duke a huge, lingering embrace – the sentiment between the two palpable and unmistakable. Love finished the season with two wins, nine top fives, 22 top 10s and four poles.
“I just feel so clean, and relieved,” said Love, whose margin of victory was .861-second. “It’s been a tough year for me and I’ve put so much work into it and people like my dad and [driver coach] Scott Speed and my whole number two team worked just as hard for my dream as I have for my own.
“It really hasn’t set in yet. All these emotions, it doesn’t feel real, doesn’t feel real at all,” Love said, adding of the close contest with Zilisch, “He’s my best friend in the whole world but not when we’re racing each other. We race each other hard but fair. … He ran a really great race tonight, but my car was just better tonight.”
Almirola was almost as emotional in celebrating the Owners Championship for Joe Gibbs Racing. The former fulltime NASCAR Cup Series driver has stayed in the sport racing part-time for the Joe Gibbs Racing team, officially earning a position in the owners’ championship with a victory at Las Vegas in the Playoffs.
Almirola’s 17 races in the JGR No. 19 Toyota was most among the six drivers who combined to drive it this season. Almirola earned all three wins for the car and scored 11 top-10 finishes.
“It is a team effort and I’m just so thankful for Coach [Gibbs] and the Gibbs family,” said Almirola, a three-time winner in a 12-year fulltime career in the NASCAR Cup Series that ended in 2023.
“This is really, really great. I’ve never won a championship. This is my first championship and it isn’t about me but I was a part of it and so proud of our organization and everyone who supports us.”
“I am so grateful to be a part of that and deliver that to Joe Gibbs Racing.”
Zilisch’s third-place finish and the dominating season he turned in this season in the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet was enough to earn Rookie of the Year honors, but that was of little consolation in the immediate moments after the checkered flag.
“Nothing to hang our heads about,” said Zilisch, who became the most successful rookie in series history with a record 18 consecutive top-five finishes, 20 top-10 and 19 top-five finishes as part of his 10-trophy effort. “We gave it our all today and it doesn’t take away from anything we did this year. We had a hell of a year. This is just going to sting a little bit.”
“I left my heart out on the track.”
As for his best friend Love, Zilisch was kind even in the heartbreak, “I’m very happy for him, he works hard at it, but I came here to win and it still doesn’t make it any better.”
The other two of the four championship eligible drivers, Zilisch’s JR Motorsports teammates Justin Allgaier and Carson Kvapil finished fifth and 13th respectively. The defending series champion Allgaier, won a stage and led a race best 83 of the 200 laps – one of six leaders on the evening – but was never able to reclaim the lead after losing it during a pit stop with 50 laps remaining.
“He did all the right things,” Allgaier said. “They rose to the occasion and we didn’t.”
Pole-winner Brandon Jones, who drives the No. 20 JGR Toyota finished fourth followed by Allgaier. Taylor Gray, who won the race’s first stage, finished seventh in another JGR Toyota, followed by Haas Factory Team driver Sheldon Creed, Love’s RCR teammate Austin Hill and JGR’s Justin Bonsignore.
NASCAR Xfinity Series Race Number 33
Race Results for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship - Saturday, November 1, 2025
Phoenix Raceway - Avondale, AZ - 1. - Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 200 Laps - 200. Miles
Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Saturday, 11/1/2025 @ 10:17 PM Eastern
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Stage 1 Pos Stage 2 Pos Pts Status Tms Laps Playoff Pts
1 6 2 Jesse Love (P) Whelen Chevrolet 200 5 40 Running 4 35
2 7 19 Aric Almirola (P) Young Life Toyota 200 8 3 46 Running
3 4 88 Connor Zilisch # (P) WeatherTech Chevrolet 200 4 2 34 Running 5 27
4 1 20 Brandon Jones Menards/Magicwood Toyota 200 10 8 38 Running 1 10
5 5 7 Justin Allgaier (P) BRANDT Chevrolet 200 3 1 32 Running 3 83
6 18 8 Sammy Smith Pilot Chevrolet 200 9 33 Running
7 2 54 Taylor Gray # Operation 300 Toyota 200 1 6 45 Running 2 44
8 3 00 Sheldon Creed Pit Boss Ford 200 2 4 45 Running
9 16 21 Austin Hill (P) Bennett Transportation Chevrolet 200 28 Running
10 13 18 Justin Bonsignore Soundgear Toyota 200 27 Running
11 12 25 Harrison Burton Dead On Tools Ford 200 26 Running
12 17 39 Kyle Sieg Sci Aps Ford 200 7 29 Running
13 14 1 Carson Kvapil # (P) Bass Pro Shops/Clarience Tech Chevrolet 200 6 9 24 Running
14 15 17 Corey Day HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 200 23 Running
15 8 48 Nick Sanchez # Borchetta Bourbon Chevrolet 200 5 7 32 Running
16 21 16 Christian Eckes # Campers Inn RV Mobile Medic Chevrolet 200 21 Running
17 9 26 Dean Thompson # MCM Transportation Toyota 200 20 Running
18 24 44 Brennan Poole Macc Doors/Neal McCoy Chevrolet 200 19 Running
19 20 11 Brenden Queen LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet 200 18 Running
20 28 28 Nick Leitz Tap and Sons Ford 200 17 Running
21 30 71 Ryan Ellis Classic Collision Chevrolet 200 16 Running
22 22 99 Connor Mosack(i) Viking Motorsports Chevrolet 200 0 Running
23 27 42 Anthony Alfredo Hypersteel Buildings Chevrolet 200 14 Running
24 25 70 Leland Honeyman DWC Chevrolet 199 13 Running 1 1
25 23 31 Blaine Perkins WERNER Chevrolet 199 12 Running
26 37 45 Josh Williams Optum Chevrolet 199 11 Running
27 19 4 Parker Retzlaff Green Bay Packaging Chevrolet 199 10 Running
28 33 10 Daniel Dye # Champion Container Chevrolet 199 9 Running
29 34 35 Stefan Parsons(i) TCS Bus Chevrolet 198 0 Running
30 36 53 Joey Gase Donate Life Arizona Chevrolet 198 7 Running
31 32 14 Garrett Smithley ThermoTech Chevrolet 198 6 Running
32 26 91 Josh Bilicki Movember x Speedmaster Chevrolet 196 5 Running
33 29 51 Jeremy Clements Alliance Driveway Solutions Chevrolet 196 4 Running
34 35 5 Glen Reen New Wave Bath Ford 196 3 Running
35 31 07 Patrick Emerling(i) Firman Power Equipment Chevrolet 192 0 Running
36 38 74 Dawson Cram Ox Ranch Texas Chevrolet 191 1 Running
37 10 41 Ryan Sieg Audibel Ford 150 10 2 Accident
38 11 27 Jeb Burton A.O. Smith Chevrolet 36 1 Accident
Fastest Lap Bonus: #20 lap 2 / 28.165
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 1 Mins, 49 Secs. Average Speed: 98.509 MPH Margin of Victory: 0.861 Seconds
Stage 1 Top 10: 54, 00, 7, 88, 48, 1, 39, 19, 8, 20
Stage 2 Top 10: 7, 88, 19, 00, 2, 54, 48, 20, 1, 41
Race Comments: Jesse Love has won the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway, his third victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Prior to the start of the race, the following vehicle(s) dropped to the rear of the field under penalty: No. 10 (backup car); No. 18 (unapproved adjustments).
Failed to Qualify: None.
Caution Flags: 4 for 31 laps; Laps: 47-55 (Stage 1 Conclusion [11]); 92-102 (Stage 2 Conclusion [31]); 114-118 (#70, 10 Incident Turn 4 [None]); 153-158 (#16, 41 Incident Turn 3 [45]).
Lead Changes: 15 among 6 drivers; B. Jones 1-10; T. Gray # 11-49; C. Zilisch # (P) 50; T. Gray # 51-55; C. Zilisch # (P) 56-62; J. Allgaier (P) 63-95; C. Zilisch # (P) 96; J. Love (P) 97-102; J. Allgaier (P) 103-117; J. Love (P) 118; J. Allgaier (P) 119-153; C. Zilisch # (P) 154; L. Honeyman 155; J. Love (P) 156-158; C. Zilisch # (P) 159-175; J. Love (P) 176-200.
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Next Race: January 1, 1900 -
NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications @ P.O. Box 2875, Daytona Beach, FL 32120-2875
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Points Report
Phoenix Raceway
NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship
UNOFFICIAL Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Saturday, 11/1/2025 @ 10:27 PM Eastern UNOFFICIAL
Rank Driver Car Starts GL Points Ldr Nxt Race Wins Stage Wins Playoff Pts
1. Jesse Love (P) 2 33 3 4040 0 0 2 2 14
2. Connor Zilisch # (P) 88 32 -1 4034 -6 6 10 11 71
3. Justin Allgaier (P) 7 33 0 4032 -8 2 3 15 38
4. Carson Kvapil # (P) 1 33 -2 4024 -16 8 0 2 5
5. Brandon Jones 20 33 2 2240 -1800 1784 2 3 0
6. Austin Hill (P) 21 32 0 2230 -1810 10 4 8 0
7. Taylor Gray # 54 33 2 2228 -1812 2 1 3 0
8. Sammy Smith 8 33 0 2222 -1818 6 1 3 0
9. Sheldon Creed 00 33 1 2218 -1822 4 0 1 0
10. Sam Mayer 32 -5 2204 -1836 14 1 3 0
11. Nick Sanchez # 48 33 0 2198 -1842 6 1 1 0
12. Harrison Burton 25 33 0 2163 -1877 35 0 2 0
13. Christian Eckes # 16 33 0 784 -3256 1379 0 0 0
14. Jeb Burton 27 33 0 719 -3321 65 0 0 0
15. Ryan Sieg 41 33 0 691 -3349 28 0 0 0
16. Dean Thompson # 26 33 0 690 -3350 1 0 1 0
17. Aric Almirola (P) 19 17 1 652 -3388 38 3 3 0
18. William Sawalich 31 -1 636 -3404 16 0 0 0
19. Brennan Poole 44 33 1 608 -3432 28 0 0 0
20. Daniel Dye # 10 33 -1 604 -3436 4 0 0 0
21. Jeremy Clements 51 33 0 501 -3539 103 0 0 0
22. Parker Retzlaff 4 32 0 479 -3561 22 0 0 0
23. Josh Williams 45 30 0 474 -3566 5 0 0 0
24. Anthony Alfredo 42 33 0 471 -3569 3 0 0 0
25. Kyle Sieg 39 33 1 467 -3573 4 0 0 0
26. Blaine Perkins 31 33 -1 456 -3584 11 0 0 0
27. Matt Dibenedetto 30 0 435 -3605 21 0 0 0
28. Ryan Ellis 71 33 0 419 -3621 16 0 0 0
29. Josh Bilicki 91 20 0 261 -3779 158 0 0 0
30. Garrett Smithley 14 25 0 247 -3793 14 0 0 0
31. Leland Honeyman 70 18 0 242 -3798 5 0 0 0
32. Corey Day 17 11 0 238 -3802 4 0 0 0
33. Austin Green 13 0 212 -3828 26 0 0 0
34. Joey Gase 53 17 0 189 -3851 23 0 0 0
35. Kris Wright 18 0 177 -3863 12 0 0 0
36. Justin Bonsignore 18 9 4 136 -3904 41 0 0 0
37. Nick Leitz 28 13 0 132 -3908 4 0 0 0
38. Mason Massey 13 -2 129 -3911 3 0 0 0
39. Thomas Annunziata 13 -1 114 -3926 15 0 0 0
40. Alex Labbe 7 1 97 -3943 17 0 0 0
41. Brenden Queen 11 5 2 88 -3952 9 0 0 0
42. Caesar Bacarella 4 0 72 -3968 16 0 0 0
43. Patrick Staropoli 4 1 58 -3982 14 0 0 0
44. Brad Perez 7 1 56 -3984 2 0 0 0
45. Myatt Snider 4 1 49 -3991 7 0 0 0
46. Ryan Truex 2 1 39 -4001 10 0 0 0
47. David Starr 3 1 38 -4002 1 0 0 0
48. Jordan Anderson 3 1 36 -4004 2 0 0 0
49. Carson Ware 5 1 35 -4005 1 0 0 0
50. Jeffrey Earnhardt 3 1 33 -4007 2 0 0 0
51. Cj Mclaughlin 4 1 33 -4007 0 0 0 0
52. Logan Bearden 4 1 32 -4008 1 0 0 0
53. Sage Karam 4 1 29 -4011 3 0 0 0
54. Lavar Scott 2 1 27 -4013 2 0 0 0
55. Glen Reen 5 3 3 25 -4015 2 0 0 0
56. Kasey Kahne 1 0 23 -4017 2 0 0 0
57. Will Rodgers 1 0 23 -4017 0 0 0 0
58. Jake Finch 1 1 20 -4020 3 0 0 0
59. Dawson Cram 74 6 2 19 -4021 1 0 0 0
60. Joey Hand 1 0 18 -4022 1 0 0 0
61. Jesse Iwuji 1 1 17 -4023 1 0 0 0
62. Austin J Hill 1 1 17 -4023 0 0 0 0
63. Alon Day 1 1 17 -4023 0 0 0 0
64. Jack Perkins 2 1 17 -4023 0 0 0 0
65. Natalie Decker 1 1 15 -4025 2 0 0 0
66. Vicente Salas 2 1 14 -4026 1 0 0 0
67. Preston Pardus 4 1 13 -4027 1 0 0 0
68. Jj Yeley 1 1 9 -4031 4 0 0 0
69. Takuma Koga 2 1 9 -4031 0 0 0 0
70. Kole Raz 2 1 5 -4035 4 0 0 0
71. Andre Castro 1 1 4 -4036 1 0 0 0
72. Tyler Tomassi 1 1 3 -4037 1 0 0 0
73. Will Brown 1 1 2 -4038 1 0 0 0
74. Baltazar Leguizam?n 1 1 1 -4039 1 0 0 0
75. Ruben Rovelo 1 1 1 -4039 0 0 0 0
76. Kyle Larson(i) 4 1 0 -4040 1 2 2 0
77. William Byron(i) 2 1 0 -4040 0 1 3 0
78. Shane Van Gisbergen(i) 3 1 0 -4040 0 1 1 0
79. Alex Bowman(i) 1 1 0 -4040 0 0 1 0
80. Chase Elliott(i) 2 1 0 -4040 0 0 0 0
81. Riley Herbst(i) 4 1 0 -4040 0 0 0 0
82. Ross Chastain(i) 5 1 0 -4040 0 0 1 0
83. Kaz Grala(i) 4 1 0 -4040 0 0 0 0
84. Connor Mosack(i) 99 6 1 0 -4040 0 0 0 0
85. Carson Hocevar(i) 2 1 0 -4040 0 0 0 0
86. Daniel Hemric(i) 3 1 0 -4040 0 0 0 0
87. Corey Heim(i) 3 1 0 -4040 0 0 0 0
88. Patrick Emerling(i) 07 9 1 0 -4040 0 0 0 0
89. Austin Dillon(i) 2 1 0 -4040 0 0 0 0
90. Ty Gibbs(i) 1 1 0 -4040 0 0 0 0
91. Mason Maggio(i) 12 -52 0 -4040 0 0 0 0
92. Rajah Caruth(i) 3 0 0 -4040 0 0 0 0
93. Stefan Parsons(i) 35 3 0 0 -4040 0 0 0 0
94. Justin Haley(i) 1 0 0 -4040 0 0 0 0
95. Matt Mills(i) 1 0 0 -4040 0 0 0 0
96. Trevor Bayne(i) 1 0 0 -4040 0 0 0 0
97. Chase Briscoe(i) 1 0 0 -4040 0 0 0 0
98. Christopher Bell(i) 2 0 0 -4040 0 0 0 0
99. Michael Mcdowell(i) 1 0 0 -4040 0 0 0 0
100. Greg Van Alst(i) 8 0 0 -4040 0 0 0 0
101. Andres Perez De Lara(i) 1 0 0 -4040 0 0 0 0
102. Katherine Legge(i) 6 0 0 -4040 0 0 0 0
103. Jake Garcia(i) 0 0 0 -4040 0 0 0 0
104. Andrew Patterson 0 0 0 -4040 0 0 0 0
105. Daniel Su?rez(i) 1 0 0 -4040 0 0 0 0
-Ldr/-Nxt = Points behind Leader/Next higher, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
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