Jesse Love<\/a>, who survived Martinsville Speedway to make the Championship 4 after a miserable affair, put together the race of his life exactly when he needed it. Love passed his best friend with just under 25 laps remaining at Phoenix Raceway in the season finale and set sail from there en route to becoming just the fifth driver in series history to win the title at age 20 or younger.<\/p>\n Only one of those drivers wins one of our awards this year. In fact, he won two.<\/p>\n Read all of Frontstretch\u2018s content looking back on 2025 here<\/a><\/p>\n Driver of the Year: Connor Zilisch<\/p>\n It couldn\u2019t be anyone else. The way Zilisch dominated NASCAR\u2019s second-tier series was rare. Despite injuries during the season, the rookie won the regular-season championship in addition to the aforementioned torrid numbers.<\/p>\n At one point in the season, Zilisch put together 18 straight top-five finishes, a streak that started in May at Charlotte Motor Speedway and went all the way through Las Vegas Motor Speedway in October, an unprecedented level of execution for the JR Motorsports rookie (that\u2019s right, rookie; more on that shortly).<\/p>\n Zilisch easily worked his way into the Championship 4 at Phoenix but didn\u2019t have the best car as he finished third in the race, ending as the runner-up in the driver and owner championships.<\/p>\n Despite the loss, Zilisch has absolutely nothing to be ashamed about considering his masterful output in 2025. He may not have an Xfinity championship to his name, but everyone knows about how formidable he is behind the wheel and why he\u2019s getting the callup to Trackhouse Racing next season in the NASCAR Cup Series.<\/p>\n Rookie of the Year: Connor Zilisch<\/p>\n That\u2019s right: he was a rookie, too.<\/p>\n 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Awards<\/p>\n What\u2019s understood about Zilisch doesn\u2019t need to be said again in this section, but what we will do is give some credit to other rookies who had good stretches throughout the 2025 campaign.<\/p>\n A pair of rookies won their first career races this year, with Nick Sanchez<\/a> taking the victory at EchoPark Speedway and Taylor Gray<\/a> getting over the hump at Martinsville. Gray in particular had a solid finish to the year, winning the opening stage at Phoenix after getting his grandfather clock.<\/p>\n Before concussion-like symptoms cut his season short, William Sawalich<\/a> was putting together a good end to his rookie year. At one point, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver was outside the top 20 in points with a rough learning curve. Starting at Sonoma Raceway, Sawalich put together six top 10s in an eight-race stretch, including two runner-up finishes where he had chances to put himself in the playoffs.<\/p>\n Race of the Year: Watkins Glen International<\/p>\n So much happened in NASCAR\u2019s yearly trek to New York. <\/p>\n Zilisch and Shane van Gisbergen<\/a> looked like they were going to have a heavyweight bout much like their affair at Sonoma, which was a strong contender for this award.<\/p>\n Zilisch and van Gisbergen raced so hard that they made contact, with the latter taking a hard hit that ended his day.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Austin Hill<\/a> had returned from his one-race suspension after wrecking Aric Almirola<\/a> at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and proceeded to stun lock the field after wrecking Michael McDowell<\/a>.<\/p>\n The field blew apart down the straightaway, with several contenders getting taken out and piles of carnage taking shape in the back.<\/p>\n Zilisch survived said complete chaos at the end of the race en route to another road-course win. He then experienced what becomes the most viral moment in NASCAR this season, falling off the door gap in his car and breaking his collarbone \u2014 all while the cameras rolled.<\/p>\n Jaw-Dropping Sequence of the Year: Austin Hill\u2019s Summer Sunburn<\/p>\n Hill certainly had a summer where he made no friends. After declaring that he wanted to be a driving force for leadership among the Xfinity garage alongside Justin Allgaier<\/a>, Hill proceeded to wreck Almirola at Indianapolis, sending him hard into the outside wall \u2014 a move NASCAR deemed intentional.<\/p>\n Hill was held several laps on pit road for reckless driving, to which he continued to retort with expletives toward NASCAR about the decision. The series later suspended the veteran for Iowa Speedway after taking stock of the situation, a decision team owner Richard Childress <\/a>did not support.<\/p>\n Here is what Richard Childress said after the race about #NASCAR<\/a> penalizing Austin Hill 5 laps for reckless driving for incident with Aric Almirola in the Xfinity race at Indy. pic.twitter.com\/vJfiU1DXaZ<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Dustin Long (@dustinlong) July 26, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Hill returned at Watkins Glen, where he pulled off an unintentional but rash decision against McDowell. <\/p>\n In a year when the Xfinity Series had tons of highs, Austin Hill\u2019s summer stretch left a sour taste in many people\u2019s mouths, resulting in a loss of 21 playoff points, the exact deficit he was eliminated by during the playoffs.<\/p>\n Most Valuable Production: The CW<\/p>\n The MVP of the Xfinity season has to go its new broadcast partner, he CW. The network has taken coverage of the series with passion and respec, and fleshed out lots of good stories across the grid in its inaugural season.<\/p>\n The broadcasters \u2014 both in the full-time booth of Adam Alexander, Jamie McMurray<\/a> and Parker Kligerman<\/a>, along with the weekly driver analysts \u2014 were all knowledgeable and willing to dig deep for narratives. <\/p>\n The CW also was intentional about adding pre- and post-race coverage for most events, letting reporters Kim Coon, Dillon Welch and Carla Metts flex their muscle as we heard thoughts and analysis from a rotating cast of members each week.<\/p>\n 2025 ARCA Menards Series Awards<\/p>\n When you put together some historic viewership numbers for NASCAR\u2019s secondary series, you\u2019re doing something right.<\/p>\n The CW just announced Xfinity Series ratings were up 10% over last year and averaged more than one million viewers per race (including the finale, which also topped a million). Most-watched Xfinity season in four years. https:\/\/t.co\/Vu8Z3O8xk3<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) November 5, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Both The CW and NASCAR Productions did an admirable job in taking the coverage seriously, and viewers were better for it. On the other hand, there is still room for improvement. If The CW can bump up the amount of in-person coverage at the races for broadcasters, it\u2019ll add another element to an already strong telecast. Additionally, if it can streamline its app to be synced with events, namely the races being watchable live on the app, that would be another key addition to a strong network.<\/p>\n The CW has a lot going for it. It is allowing NASCAR fans to not have to play hot potato with their TV remotes and is providing both informed yet passionate coverage of the series\u2019 underrated racing product on cable.<\/p>\n It\u2019ll have to continue that momentum when the newly named NASCAR O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts Series gets ready to roll in 2026.<\/p>\n Thomas is in his first year covering NASCAR at Frontstretch. A Bay Area NASCAR fan for over 15+ years, he found his love for the sport through Jeff Gordon.<\/p>\n Thomas has enjoyed several trips to Sonoma Raceway in his time and currently covers college football in the Bay Area, also writing about the California Golden Bears.<\/p>\n \t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2025-trucks-phoenix-2-corey-heim-time-nkp-150x100.jpg\")
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