No matter how the Xfinity Series race at Phoenix on November 1st played out, the 2025 championship was destined for a NASCAR Chevy. Four Bow Tie teams took the green flag with a shot at the title, but as the laps wound down, it came down to just two dueling for the win: best friends Connor Zilisch and Jesse Love. But there are no friends on track in the closing laps with a title on the line, and Love doubled down, pushing past Zilisch on his way to the 2026 Xfinity Series championship.
Love, driving the No. 2 NASCAR Chevy, made the winning pass with 24 laps left on the board. He’d been chasing the No. 88 Chevy of Zilisch for quite some time to that point. However, try as he might, Zilisch could not hold Love off. The two raced side-by-side for several laps before Love finally drove around. The two raced cleanly, and while Love set sail, Zilisch faded to third, slotting in behind the Toyota of Aric Almirola by the time the checkers dropped.
Love, whose No. 2 NASCAR Chevy is fielded by Richard Childress Racing, absolutely tore the track down in celebration after winning the season-ending race at Phoenix, wrapping up the championship. It was a fitting end to a challenging year for the 20-year-old driver, who won the first point-paying race of 2025 at Daytona in February.
“I just feel so clean, and relieved,” Love said. “It’s been a tough year for me and I’ve put so much work into it and people like my dad [Duke Love] and [driver coach] Scott Speed and my whole number two team worked just as hard for my dream as I have for my own.”
He added, “It really hasn’t set in yet. All these emotions, it doesn’t feel real, doesn’t feel real at all… [Zilisch is] 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.”
Zilisch was understandably disappointed with the conclusion of Phoenix, but considering that he’s now the most successful rookie in the division’s history, he can’t hate on 2025 too much. He earned 18 straight top-five finishes this year, along with 20 top-10 results and 10 overall victories.
“Nothing to hang our heads about,” he said. “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.”
Defending series champion Justin Allgaier led the most laps, but lost the lead during a pit stop cycle and could not rally his No. 7 NASCAR Chevy back to the top. He finished fifth. Carson Kvapil, the fourth Bow Tie driver eligible for the championship, finished 13th.