For Connor Zilisch to end his stellar 2025 season without the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship is disheartening, a travesty in some people’s opinion, but it isn’t the first time the driver with the most victories in a single season has lost the title, and it probably won’t be the last.
The first year that such a situation comes to mind is 1985 when the Cup Series champion was determined by a year-long point system. That year Bill Elliott appeared unstoppable. He won 11 of the 28 races, including the Winston Million, 11 poles, posted 16 top-five and 18 top-10 finishes, completed 92.2% of the laps run, led 1,920 laps, and failed to finish only three races.
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However, Elliott lost the championship to Darrell Waltrip by 101 points. Waltrip, driving for Junior Johnson, won only three races that year, but he had 18 top-five and 21 top-10 finishes despite failing to finish five races. Elliott’s demise was the season’s final eight races.
After winning the Southern 500 at Darlington, Elliott’s best finish in the next four races was 12th. During that time his Melling Racing Ford suffered a transmission failure at North Wilkesboro, leaving him with a 30th-place finish. In that same stretch, Waltrip won two races and finished outside the top five only twice. His worst finish was 14th at North Wilkesboro. In the season finale at Riverside, California, Waltrip finished seventh while Elliott placed 31st.
Connor Zilisch.
A similar situation occurred in 1992. A season that ended with one of the most memorable championship races in NASCAR history saw the title go to a driver other than the competitor that won the most races that year in a season-long point system.
That year Elliott and Davey Allison tied for the most victories with five each. Alan Kulwicki, who eventually emerged as the 1992 Cup champion, recorded only two victories. Each of those three drivers had 17 top-10 finishes in 29 races. Allison had the most top-five finishes with 15, while Elliott was next with 14, and Kulwicki possessed 11. Kulwicki and Elliott failed to finish only two races, while Allison had three DNFs.
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The 1992 Cup championship came down to the final race with six drivers mathematically in contention for the title—Elliott, Allison, Kulwicki, Harry Gant, Kyle Petty, and Mark Martin. Allison’s championship hopes evaporated in a front-stretch crash. Kulwicki eventually won the title by leading the most laps in the race won by Elliott. The Wisconsin native defeated Elliott by 10 points for the championship. Once again, a driver who possessed the most victories in a season didn’t win the championship.
It was the same in 1973 when Benny Parsons claimed the championship. He had one victory in 28 races. David Pearson was the season’s top race winner with 11 victories. However, he wasn’t eligible for the championship because he competed in only 18 races.
I could cite many more examples, but I think you get the picture.
Xfinity Series champion, Jesse Love.
Before NASCAR instituted the playoff system in 2004, there had been five different season-long point systems used by the sanctioning body to determine its Cup Series champion. Seven-time NASCAR champion Richard Petty was the only driver to win a title under all of them.
To see Zilisch win 10 of the 32 races in which he competed, produce 23 top-10 and 20 top-five finishes, including a record 18 consecutive, and then not be the series champion is heartbreaking. However, no matter what system NASCAR implements to determine its champion, winning the most races will never guarantee a driver a title, and that’s been the case since NASCAR made its debut in 1948.
A North Carolina native, Deb Williams is an award-winning motorsports journalist who is in her fourth decade covering auto racing. In addition to covering the sport for United Press International, she has written motorsports articles for several newspapers, magazines and websites including espnW.com, USA Today, and The Charlotte Observer. Her awards include the American Motorsports Media Award of Excellence, two-time National Motorsports Press Association writer of the year, and two-time recipient of the Russ Catlin award. She also has won an award in the North Carolina Press Association’s sports feature category. During her career, Deb has been managing editor of GT Motorsports magazine and was with Winston Cup Scene and NASCAR Winston Cup Scene for 18 years, serving as the publication’s editor for 10 years. In 2024 she was inducted into the NMPA Hall of Fame.