When the Green Flag drops for Saturday’s United Rentals 300, this will officially mark the 44th season of the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the last step before the NASCAR Cup Series for a lot of young drivers. Justin Allgaier, who’s established himself as a veteran of the series, finally got the job done last November at Phoenix Raceway by winning his first title for JR Motorsports and looks to go back to back this year. But he’ll have to go through Sheldon Creed, Sam Mayer and Austin Hill, other series veterans, as well as Carson Kvapil, Connor Zilisch, Taylor Gray, William Sawalich and Nick Sanchez, all Rookies who are hungry to prove themselves and solidify their longevity in the sport. With 33 races on the calendar this year, here’s what’s on the menu for NASCAR’s second-tier division in 2025.
Schedule Changes
Just like the NASCAR Cup Series, the Xfinity Series will make a trip to Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City, Mexico on June 14th. Unlike the Cup Series, this will not be the first time the second-tier division has raced on the circuit, as the Xfinity Series visited the track from 2005-2008, so this’ll be their fifth visit to the country.
Rockingham Speedway will also play host to a race on Easter Weekend, with a 250-mile race at the North Carolina track that Saturday, with this being the series’ first race there since 2004, which was also the last time the Cup Series ran at the track. The NASCAR Xfinity Series recently had a test session at the 1.017-mile track and drivers responded positively to the results of the test and look forward to competing there in the spring.
World Wide Technology Raceway will host their first NASCAR Xfinity Series race since 2010 in September, when the Cup Series visits the St. Louis area racetrack for their Playoff event. This race will be significant, since it’ll be the last race before the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs starts the following weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway.
It should be noted that Bristol received their Spring date back for the series, while Michigan International Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Richmond Raceway are off the schedule. Darlington Raceway will only play host to one race for the series this year, while Portland International Raceway will have their race on Labor Day Weekend.
Driver Changes and Rookies
There are a lot of familiar faces in new places, as series veterans and rookies all played musical chairs in the garage area. Parker Retzlaff moves over from Jordan Anderson Racing to Alpha Prime Racing, in the #4 Chevrolet, while Blaine Perkins moves from Ryan Sieg Racing to the seat vacated by Retzlaff, the #31 Chevrolet for Jordan Anderson Racing. Leland Honeyman Jr. moves from Young’s Motorsports to the newly-formed Cope Family Racing, and will share the ride with Thomas Annunziata. Anthony Alfredo moves to Honeyman Jr.’s #42, as he vacates the Our Motorsports #5, which will be driven by Kris Wright.
Cup Series veteran, Harrison Burton will drive the #25 for AM Racing in the Ford camp, with Sam Mayer and Sheldon Creed moving to the rebranded Haas Factory Team, also utilizing Ford as the manufacturer. Viking Motorsports will switch from Ford to Chevrolet and will renumber their entry from #38 to #99, with driver Matt DiBenedetto returning. Greg van Alst will also compete for Joey Gase Motorsports, alongside Mason Maggio, both on a part-time basis.
The rookie class will consist of Dean Thompson, driving for Sam Hunt Racing, Nick Sanchez, driving for Big Machine Racing, Carson Kvapil alongside Connor Zilisch, driving for JR Motorsports, Taylor Gray alongside William Sawalich for JR Motorsports and Christian Eckes competing for Kaulig Racing with Daniel Dye. The highest finisher in the points amongst the Rookie Class will be crowned Sunoco Rookie of the Year.
What to watch out for
Austin Hill is entering his fourth season in the series, driving for Richard Childress Racing and has come close to winning the title multiple times. With Hill running multiple Cup races in the #33, expect Hill to possibly make the leap into the Cup Series after this year, if Hill can finally seal the deal. Hill is always strong on Drafting Tracks, so expect him to contend for his fourth season-opening race win in a row at Daytona this weekend, especially when you consider his teammate, Jesse Love, always has speed and will be a great drafting partner for Hill this weekend.
Justin Allgaier is still riding high on his momentum and his probability of going back-to-back are high. Expect him to win three to five races this year and make the Championship 4 again, as he’s made this round in the Playoffs his home. Allgaier will be strong at all Drafting Tracks, Road Courses and Short Tracks, as well as intermediates.
Connor Zilisch is a natural talent who found his niche behind the wheel. After winning in his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut last year at Watkins Glen International, it’s a given that he’ll be a contender on all Road Courses and is likely the early favorite to win Rookie of the Year. That doesn’t mean the competition won’t be tight, but Zilisch has shown he’s also fast on Intermediates, running in the top-10 at Kansas Speedway last fall for most of the race.
One thing is for sure. This year is going to be fun to watch, as both fans and drivers alike have continuously praised the NASCAR Xfinity Series for being the most fun series out of the three, as drivers go all-out on the proving ground and we consistently see close finishes, regardless of the type of track they’re racing at. You can catch every single race on the CW Network this year and every once in a while, Cup veterans will dibble and dabble in the Saturday series.
Every Man on Every Crew, LLC. 
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