(photo credit Leon Hammack)

As has been the case for so much of the season, the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series title may simply just come down to who can better JR Motorsports’ rookie sensation Connor Zilisch who has already claimed 10 victories this year.

The 19-year-old driver of the No. 88 JRM Chevrolet will be contending with a formidable threesome, however, in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship race (7:30 p.m. ET on CW Network, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) that includes his teammate and the reigning series champion Justin Allgaier (No. 7 JRM Chevrolet), their JRM teammate, rookie Carson Kvapil (No. 1 JRM Chevrolet) and Zilisch’s best friend, Richard Childress Racing’s Jesse Love (No. 2 RCR Chevrolet) in an all-Chevrolet battle for the big trophy.

Should Zilisch or Kvapil win the title, they would become only the fourth rookie to do so.

“It’s really cool to be in the Championship 4 with my teammates Justin and Carson,” Zilisch said. “It’s going to be a crazy busy weekend in Phoenix but I’m glad to be doing it alongside them.

“We just need to execute the day and make the most of it on Saturday. We’ve made sure that everything we do is calculated and are accounting for any and all situations to be prepared for anything.

“Before the season started my crew chief Mardy Lindley had me fill out a points and win prediction. I had us winning four races so to sit here today with 10 wins and winning the Regular Season Championship plus locking into the Championship 4 early, this No. 88 team has certainly outdone my expectations.”

Of the four championship contenders, only the veteran Allgaier owns a Phoenix trophy, winning at the track in Fall, 2019 and Spring, 2017. He finished runner-up to non-Playoff driver Riley Herbst last November to claim his first career title.

Allgaier (fifth) and Love (ninth) are the only ones among the championship-eligible foursome to score top-10 finishes in the most recent race at Phoenix in March. And Allgaier led a race best 130 of the 208 laps.

Phoenix has proven to be a strong venue for Love as well, who is a perfect three-for-three in top-10 showings at the track including a runner-up finish in his series debut there in Spring, 2023.

There are four other former Phoenix winners in the field, including Aric Almirola, who won this Spring, Front Row Motorsports Chandler Smith, who won in Spring, 2024, JR Motorsports Sammy Smith (2023) and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Brandon Jones (2020).

The last two Phoenix races have featured last-lap passes for the win.

Not only is there the highly-contested driver’s title to be decided Saturday, but there is a slightly different look for the owner’s championship too. It will include Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 19 Toyota – driven by Almirola – and RCR’s No. 21 Chevrolet driven by Austin Hill in addition to the JR Motorsports cars driven by Zilisch and Kvapil.

This race also marks a significant time in series history as longtime sponsor Xfinity ends an 11-year tenure.

Practice is set for 4:35 p.m. ET (CW App) on Friday, followed by Kennametal Pole Qualifying is Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET (CW App). Joe Gibbs Racing’s William Sawalich is the defending race pole-winner.

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!