Almirola’s runner-up finish delivers seventh owner’s title for the team
AVONDALE, Ariz. (November 1, 2025) – Aric Almirola made a late race pass to secure the 2025 Xfinity Series Owner’s Championship for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) with a second-place finish on Saturday at Phoenix Raceway. The title is the seventh owner’s championship for JGR in the Xfinity Series. The No. 19 team won three races this year along with earning 10 top fives and 13 top-10 results during the 2025 season.
JGR teammate Brandon Jones also earned a top-five finish with a fourth place result in Saturday’s race. Jones won the pole and led 10 laps in Saturday’s season finale race.
Toyota GAZOO Racing Post-Race Recap NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) Phoenix Raceway Race 33 of 33 – 200 miles, 200 laps
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Jesse Love*
2nd, ARIC ALMIROLA
3rd, Connor Zilisch*
4th, BRANDON JONES
5th, Justin Allgaier*
7th, TAYLOR GRAY
10th, JUSTIN BONSIGNORE
17th, DEAN THOMPSON
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 19 Young Life Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 2nd
What does it mean for Joe Gibbs Racing to win the 2025 owner’s championship tonight?
“What an absolute fight. Our car was not good to start. We had to just keep swinging at it. We were making huge adjustments, and those guys were just firing off so much better than me and I just couldn’t keep pace and finally Seth Chavka (crew chief) and the guys just kept swinging at it and swinging at it with huge adjustments and we finally got it decent to where I could maintain and keep pace with those guys. That restart was key to be able to get to third and try and keep pace with the 88 (Connor Zilisch). I knew I wasn’t racing the 2 (Jesse Love). I just knew that I needed to stay close enough that if the 2 got by the 88 then I could run him down and go and get by him for the owner’s championship. I’m just so proud. J.D. Gibbs name is on this car. Coy Gibbs name is on this car. This is not about me. This about a team. Coach Gibbs talks all the time about winning with people and this is about a lot of people at Joe Gibbs Racing. This is an owner’s championship. It has nothing to do with Aric Almirola. I was the lucky guy to be behind the wheel for a few of the wins and to get the championship tonight, but it is a team effort. I’m just so thankful for Coach and J.D. and the Gibbs family and Toyota, Young Life. Oh my gosh. This is really, really awesome. I’ve never won a championship. This is my first championship and again like I said, this isn’t about me, but I was a part of this and I’m just so proud of our organization and everybody that helps us and supports us. Praise God. This is pretty awesome.”
BRANDON JONES, No. 20 Menards/Magicwood Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 4th
Did your Toyota GR Supra come to life after the final pit stop?
“Yeah. I’m glad that worked out because the alternative was that everybody else had a set laying, I think right at the end. I didn’t want to see a caution come out because I wanted to take advantage of the tire there at the end. My only little weakness here was just firing off. I just never could really go forward. I could maintain okay on some restarts but never could take advantage and go forward and that was really the difference maker today. At the end of that run we were the fastest car for the majority of the end. Just kind of out of track position and ran out of time. These guys worked really hard. I know this was a car really being prepared for the Final 4 and we expected to go to the Final 4 today. It would’ve been hard to beat those guys. I think that we would’ve ran probably identical to what we did today so we would’ve still probably come up a little bit short but still it’s a career best for me in I think fifth in points. So there’s a lot that got checked off the bucket list for me. I really wanted to qualify good here. That’s been a weakness of mine the last couple of races at this track. We sat on the pole today and so it was a great day for Magicwood’s and Menards and everyone else that supports us. I think that we’re going to be the hardest working team this offseason and coming out of the gate in 2026 swinging pretty hard, so I’m excited about it. I wouldn’t want to work with anybody else in this garage. I love these guys. We’ll continue to just I guess explore all of the weaknesses that we had this year and use up the simulators and do everything that we can this offseason to figure out how we can come out and maybe have a year where some of these guys had with a lot of wins.”
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for nearly 70 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.
Toyota directly employs nearly 64,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 49 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants. In 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina began to assemble automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.
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In a stacked fight against a trio of JR Motorsports’ competitors, Jesse Love and Richard Childress Racing capitalized when it mattered most as they motored their way to win both the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race and the overall championship at Phoenix Raceway on Saturday, November 1.
Love, the 2023 ARCA Menards Series champion from Menlo Park, California, led four times for 35 of 200 scheduled laps in a finale where he started in sixth place and struggled through the event’s first stage period by drifting out of the top-10 mark and being scored in 12th place when the stage concluded. Then, after climbing up to fifth place following the second stage period, Love received a stellar 12.8-second pit service from his team that enabled him to lead the field at the start of the third and final stage period.
After being outdueled by title rival Justin Allgaier through two restarts to commence the final stage, the long runs in the closing segments of the finale combined with the night conditions played in favor of Love as he reeled in and intimidated Allgaier through every turn and straightaway. Then after exiting pit road first with 46 laps remaining amid a late-race caution, Love had another title rival, this being his friend, Connor Zilisch to duke for the title while Allgaier lost ground due to having a slow pit service.
Despite Zilisch’s late attempt in storming to the lead during the final restart with 42 laps remaining, Love reeled in and overtook Zilisch with 25 laps remaining. From there, Love motored away from the field and his title rivals as he proceeded to claim the checkered flag and cap off his sophomore Xfinity Series season with both a race victory and his first championship in the finale.
With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Brandon Jones notched his second Xfinity pole position of the 2025 season with a pole-winning lap at 130.957 mph in 27.490 seconds. Jones shared the front row with teammate Taylor Gray, the latter of whom qualified at 130.468 mph in 27.593 seconds. Meanwhile, Championship 4 finalists Connor Zilisch, Justin Allgaier, Jesse Love and Carson Kvapil qualified fourth, fifth, sixth and 14th, respectively.
Prior to the finale, Daniel Dye dropped to the rear of the field in a backup car. Justin Bonsignore, who filled in for William Sawalich, also dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments that were made to the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota entry.
When the green flag waved and the finale commenced, teammates Brandon Jones and Taylor Gray dueled against one another for the lead and in front of the field that dived through the frontstretch’s dogleg. Entering the first turn, Gray drove his entry deep from the inside lane in an attempt to stall Jones’ momentum, but the latter used the outside lane to motor the No. 20 Menards Toyota Supra ahead through the first two turns. Amid Gray’s intimidation, Jones fended off his teammate to lead the first lap.
Over the next four laps, Jones stabilized his early advantage to as high as three-tenths of a second over teammate Gray while Sheldon Creed, who lost third place to Connor Zilisch on the opening lap, regained the spot as he trailed the lead by more than a second. Behind, Championship 4 finalists Zilisch, Justin Allgaier and Jesse Love were racing from fourth to sixth, respectively, in front of Aric Almirola, while Carson Kvapil, the fourth Championship 4 finalist, navigated his way to 12th from 13th.
Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Jones continued to lead by a tenth of a second over teammate Gray and by half a second over third-place Creed. Behind, Allgaier, who overtook teammate Zilisch for fourth place on the track and for the championship lead, retained the spot while Love and Kvapil pursued from seventh and 11th, respectively. By then, Almirola was up to sixth place while Dean Thompson, Nick Sanchez and Ryan Sieg were racing in the top 10, respectively.
During the following lap, Gray overtook teammate Jones for the lead. Another two laps later, Creed overtook Jones for the runner-up spot before Allgaier navigated his way up to third place during the next lap. As Gray proceeded to lead by seven-tenths of a second at the Lap 15 mark, Allgaier led teammate Zilisch for third place by six-tenths of a second as the latter moved up to fourth place behind Allgaier. Meanwhile, Love was mired in seventh place while Kvapil cracked the top 10 in 10th place.
At the Lap 25 mark, Gray slightly extended his advantage to eight-tenths of a second over Creed while both Allgaier and Zilisch trailed in third and fourth, respectively, by two seconds. Behind, Almirola and Jones occupied fifth and sixth on the track, Love retained seventh and Kvapil was up to ninth behind Sanchez. Over the next 10 laps, Love dropped to 10th, Kvapil gained two spots to seventh and the top-two duo of Allgaier and Zilisch remained in third and fourth, respectively. Amid the early championship battle, Gray had his advantage decrease to three-tenths of a second over Creed.
When the first stage period concluded on Lap 45, Gray captured his third Xfinity stage victory of the 2025 season. Creed followed suit in second by half a second while Allgaier, Zilisch, Sanchez, Kvapil, Kyle Sieg, Almirola, Sammy Smith and Jones were scored in the top 10, respectively. Meanwhile, Love was the lowest-running Championship 4 finalist on the track in 12th place behind Ryan Sieg, while Jeb Burton, who cut a right-front tire and pitted before taking his entry to the garage just past the Lap 35 mark without drawing a caution, was scored at the tail end of the field in 38th place.
Under the first stage break period, the lead lap field led by Gray pitted for a first round of pit service. Following the pit stops, Gray exited pit road first and he was followed by Zilisch, Creed, Allgaier, Almirola, Jones, Sanchez, Kyle Sieg, Love and Kvapil, with the latter losing a handful of spots due to a slow pit service.
The second stage period started on Lap 55 as Gray and Zilisch occupied the front row. At the start, the latter two dueled for the lead in front of the field through the frontstretch’s dogleg before Zilisch used the inside lane to motor his No. 88 WeatherTech Chevrolet Camaro entry ahead entering the first turn. While Gray was trying to fend off both Allgaier and Creed for the runner-up spot, Zilisch proceeded to lead the next lap.
Through the Lap 60 mark, Zilisch was leading by a tenth of a second over teammate and a hard-charging Allgaier while Gray, Creed and Almirola followed suit. Two laps later, Allgaier reassumed the lead in the championship battle as he overtook Zilisch through the backstretch to also assume the race lead for the first time. As Allgaier proceeded to lead by four-tenths of a second over Zilisch by Lap 70, their other two Championship 4 rivals, Love and Kvapil, were mired in eighth and 10th, respectively, while Creed, Almirola and Gray continued to race in the top five on the track in front of too Sanchez and Jones.
By Lap 80, Allgaier extended his advantage over the race and the championship battle by more than two seconds over Zilisch, while Almirola, Creed and Gray trailed on the track by as far back as five seconds. Behind, Love and Kvapil each moved up to seventh and ninth, respectively, but they trailed Allgaier by between six and seven seconds.
When the second stage period concluded on Lap 90, Allgaier notched his 15th Xfinity stage victory of the 2025 season. Teammate Zilisch trailed by nearly three seconds while Almirola, Creed, Love, Gray, Sanchez, Jones, Kvapil and Ryan Sieg were scored in the top 10, respectively.
During the second stage break period, the lead lap field led by Allgaier returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Love, whose No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet team executed a 12.8-second pit stop, exited pit road first and he was followed by Allgaier, Almirola, Gray, Creed, Jones, Zilisch, Justin Bonsignore, Sanchez and Kvapil. Amid the pit stops, both Zilisch and Kvapil endured slow pit services from their respective JR Motorsports pit crews.
With 98 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as Love and Allgaier occupied the front row. At the start, the latter two dueled for the lead through the frontstretch’s dogleg before Allgaier used the inside lane to muscle his No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet Camaro entry ahead of Love, Almirola, Gray and the field through the first two turns. As the field fanned out through the backstretch, Love retained the runner-up spot over both Almirola and Creed while Zilisch carved his way up to fifth place. In front of the field, Allgaier led the next lap.
With 90 laps remaining, Allgaier was leading by four-tenths of a second over title rival Love while Almirola and Creed followed suit, respectively. Meanwhile, Zilisch trailed in fifth place by three seconds while Kvapil was mired in 11th place and trailing the lead by five seconds. Two laps later, the caution flew when Leland Honeyman, who was racing in 24th place, spun through Turn 4 and the frontstretch after he received contact from Daniel Dye. During the caution period, some, including Jones, Ryan Sieg, Corey Day, Sammy Smith, Christian Eckes, Kyle Sieg, Brenden Queen, Parker Retzlaff, Harrison Burton, Ryan Ellis, Brennan Poole, Blaine Perkins and Nick Leitz pitted their respective entries while the rest, led by Allgaier remained on the track.
The start of the next restart began with 82 laps remaining and featured Allgaier and Love dueling in front of a fanned-out field through the frontstretch’s dogleg as Creed tried to get beneath Love and ignite a three-wide battle for the lead. With Almirola also trying to squeeze his way in between Allgaier and Love, Allgaier fended off Love through the backstretch before he motored ahead from the outside lane and led the next lap. With Love getting pressured by Almirola, Creed and Zilisch for second place on the track, Allgaier led by three-tenths of a second with 80 laps remaining.
With 75 laps remaining, Allgaier was leading by half a second over Love and by a second over third-place Almirola while Zilisch retained fourth place after he claimed the spot four laps earlier. Meanwhile, Corey Day, who restarted 10th, muscled up to fifth place and Eckes, who pitted for fresh tires, carved his way up to sixth place while Creed, Gray, Sammy Smith, Ryan Sieg and Kvapil trailed in the top 11, respectively.
Fifteen laps later, the battle for both the lead of the race and the championship fight ignited as Love, who reeled in Allgaier by a tenth of a second during the previous lap, trailed the latter by three-tenths of a second. As Love continued his late challenge on Allgaier for the lead through every corner and straightaway, Zilisch trailed his top-two title rivals in fourth place on the track by three seconds while Kvapil was mired back in 12th place and trailing the lead by 11 seconds.
Then with 49 laps remaining, the caution flew when Ryan Sieg, who was racing in the top 10 and filling in for the suspended Sam Mayer in the No. 41 Audibel/Haas Factory Team Ford Mustang entry, was bumped and sent for a long spin exiting the backstretch before he then backed his entry against the Turn 3 outside wall and sustained terminal rear-end damage. At the moment of caution, Allgaier fended off Love’s repeated challenges for the lead while Almirola, Zilisch, Day, Sammy Smith, Eckes, Jones, Kyle Sieg, Creed, Harrison Burton and Kvapil were scored in the top 12, respectively.
During the caution period, the lead lap field led by Allgaier pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Love and Zilisch exited first and second, respectively, ahead of Almirola while Allgaier lost three spots and exited pit road fourth.
When the race restarted with 42 laps remaining. Zilisch led the next lap and the following lap while Almirola, Allgaier, Love and Sammy Smith followed suit.
Down to the final 35 laps of the event, Zilisch was leading both the finale and the championship battle by four-tenths of a second over title rival Love as the latter overtook Almirola two laps earlier. Behind, Allgaier trailed in fourth place on the track by eight-tenths of a second while Sammy Smith, Jones, Day, Creed, Gray and Kyle Sieg were racing in the top 10, respectively. Meanwhile, Kvapil was mired in 14th place and trailing the lead by more than five seconds.
Ten laps later, Zilisch continued to lead by a tenth of a second over a hard-charging Love, one-and-a-half seconds over third-place Almirola and by two seconds over fourth-place Allgaier. Shortly after, Love dueled and overtook Zilisch to assume the top spot as the former led the next lap. With the clean air to his advantage, Love proceeded to stretch his lead to half a second over Zilisch with 20 laps remaining. By then, Allgaier continued to race in fourth place by three-and-a-half seconds while Kvapil was mired in 15th place and trailing the lead by 14 seconds.
Down to the final 15 laps of the event, Love continued to lead by seven-tenths of a second over Zilisch while Almirola and Allgaier trailed by one and four seconds in third and fourth, respectively. Love proceeded to stretch his advantage to more than a second over Zilisch and Almirola with 10 laps remaining as Allgaier, who was overtaken by Jones for fourth place on the track, trailed by five seconds.
With eight laps remaining, Almirola overtook Zilisch for the runner-up spot on the track. This allowed Almirola to place Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 19 Toyota team in a prime position to claim the owner’s championship over Zilch’s No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet team. As Almirola proceeded to fend off Zilisch for the runner-up spot, Love retained the lead by more than a second with five laps remaining. By then, Allgaier, whose hopes of winning back-to-back championships were beginning to fade, retained fifth place while Kvapil trailed the lead by 18 seconds in 15th place.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Love remained in the lead by a second over Almirola and by two seconds over Zilisch. With the latter two unable to reel in Love, Love was able to smoothly cycle his No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro entry around Phoenix for a final time before he returned to the frontstretch and claimed the checkered flag by eight-tenths of a second for both the finale victory and the championship.
By winning for a second time in 2025 and adding his win column to three, Love became the 35th competitor overall to win a NASCAR Xfinity Series championship. He also became the first California native in three years and the 18th Chevrolet competitor overall to accomplish the feat of winning a title in NASCAR’s No. 2 division series.
Tonight’s finale at Phoenix marks the eighth time over the previous 10 seasons and during the series’ current Playoff-elimination format where the finale was won by the championship-winning competitor. In addition, Love became the ninth competitor to be crowned an Xfinity champion for the first time under the format.
The 2025 Xfinity Series championship was the sixth for Richard Childress Racing (RCR), the organization’s first since 2019 and the second for veteran crew chief Danny Stockman Jr., as Love will return to the organization and attempt to defend his title in 2026.
Love’s 2025 championship, which occurred in his second full-time campaign in the Xfinity circuit, occurred in a season where he commenced the year by winning the season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway in February. Despite not winning again prior to the finale, he generated a total of four poles, nine top-five results, 22 top-10 results, 297 laps led and an average-finishing result of 11.1 throughout the 33-race schedule. By winning only the first and final race of an Xfinity season en route to a championship, Love became the first competitor since Tyler Reddick in 2018 to achieve the feat.
Photo by Ron Olds for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“It’s been a tough year for me,” Love, who fought tears of joy, said on the frontstretch on the CW Network. “Man, I’ve just put so much work into it. People like my dad, Scott Speed and my whole No. 2 team have worked just as hard for my dream as I have for my own. For one last time, this car was fast as Xfinity mobile. [The championship] really hasn’t set in yet. I tried to just tune out all the emotion. It doesn’t feel real at all.”
“We were so bad to start,” Love added. “I couldn’t believe how bad we were. We were awful and Danny [Stockman] put one of his magic wrenches in [the car] and we came to life. This means the world to me and everybody that’s been on this journey with me over the last few years, especially the last eight months or so. I’ve really tried to just rebuild myself and come back better. I feel so clean and relieved.”
During his post-championship interview, Love took a moment to acknowledge the late-race battle for the title with his fellow competitor, rival and best friend, Zilisch.
“[Zilisch]’s my best friend in the whole world, but not when we’re racing each other,” Love said. “We race each other hard, but fair. I knew I had to take [the lead] there [with 25 laps remaining]. He was running a really good race. My car was just better tonight in allowing me to roll the center, get off the corner better. Hats off to the No. 88 team and Connor for all they’ve done this year, but tonight’s about my guys.”
As Love celebrated a championship, Zilisch was left emotionally heartbroken on pit road with a runner-up result in the final championship standings. Amid the disappointment of not adding an Xfinity title to his resume, Zilisch capped off the 2025 season on a historic note with a season-high 10 victories, eight poles, 20 top-five results, 23 top-10 results, 1,013 laps led and an average-finishing result of 8.0 through 32 starts. In addition, the Charlotte, North Carolina, phenom claimed the 2025 Xfinity Series’ Rookie-of-the-Year title as he now prepares to campaign in his first full-time season in the Cup Series division with Trackhouse Racing in 2026.
“I came into the weekend and I told my entire team [that] we got to give it 100% this week and as long as we walk out of this place knowing we did that, I’ll be proud of us,” Zilisch said. “We did that today. We fought all day long and threw everything we had at [the car], but unfortunately, our WeatherTech Chevrolet, we just didn’t quite have what we needed. It doesn’t take away from anything we’ve done this year. It’s just you work all year long. You bust your ass for 33 weeks and I feel like we’ve done the best job we could all year long. We just didn’t have it today. I’m so proud of this team. We have nothing to hang our heads about, but yeah, this one’s gonna sting.”
Like Zilisch, teammate Allgaier, who led a race-high 83 laps, was disappointed with a fifth-place result at Phoenix that left him with a third-place result in the final standings overall and two points spots short of winning back-to-back titles. Nevertheless, Allgaier caps off the 2025 season with three victories, two poles, 15 top-five results, 20 top-10 results, 1,056 laps led and an average-finishing result of 12.3.
While Allgaier is set to remain at JR Motorsports for another Xfinity title bid in 2026, his crew chief remains to be determined as Jim Pohlman, who led Allgaier to his first title a year ago, is transitioning to Richard Childress Racing to serve as Kyle Busch’s Cup Series crew chief.
“[I] Felt like we did all the right things tonight and we still came out of here really short,” Allgaier said. “Disappointing. [I’m] Bummed with the way that [the season] ended, but still, we’re so blessed to this and to be here. I couldn’t ask for a better team. We’ll move on and go to Daytona at the beginning of the year [in February]. It seems weird that this is the last one, but we’ll go make the most of the off-season [period].”
Lastly, rookie Carson Kvapil settled in fourth place in the final standings with a 13th-place result at Phoenix. Despite struggling to keep pace with his other three title rivals, Kvapil concluded his first full-time Xfinity campaign with seven top-five results, 14 top-10 results, 104 laps led and an average-finishing result of 13.7. Like Allgaier, Kvapil is scheduled to return as a full-time Xfinity competitor in 2026.
“I can’t be thankful enough for everybody that gave me this opportunity,” Kvapil said. “We just fought a little bit of handling all day. I thought we were gonna have a really good chance at [the championship]. It just didn’t seem like we made [the car] better from [the end of the first stage period and the rest of the event]. It seemed like the other people were able to make their stuff faster and better. Hopefully, next season, we can be a few spots better and hopefully, we can be in the Final Four again to have this opportunity. It was a fun run. I had a really fun rookie season.”
Photo by Ron Olds for SpeedwayMedia.com.
Meanwhile, Aric Almirola, who finished in second place behind the champion Jesse Love on the track, accomplished his feat of clinching the owner’s championship for Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 19 Toyota Supra team. As a result, Joe Gibbs Racing achieved its eighth owner’s title in the Xfinity circuit, its second with the No. 19 team and its first since 2022.
Brandon Jones, who claimed fifth place in the final driver’s standings, finished fourth on the track at Phoenix while Sammy Smith, Taylor Gray, Sheldon Creed, Austin Hill and Justin Bonsignore completed the top 10 on the track.
Notably, this event marked the final sponsor entitlement of Xfinity for NASCAR’s No. 2 division series following a 11-year journey. Beginning in 2026, O’Reilly Auto Parts will take over the sponsorship and rebrand the series as the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.
The 2025 finale featured 15 lead changes for six different leaders, and four cautions for 31 laps. In addition, 23 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.
Race Results:
1. Jesse Love, 35 laps led 2. Aric Almirola 3. Connor Zilisch, 27 laps led 4. Brandon Jones, 10 laps led 5. Justin Allgaier, 83 laps led, Stage 2 winner 6. Sammy Smith 7. Taylor Gray, 44 laps led, Stage 1 winner 8. Sheldon Creed 9. Austin Hill 10. Justin Bonsignore 11. Harrison Burton 12. Kyle Sieg 13. Carson Kvapil 14. Corey Day 15. Nick Sanchez 16. Christian Eckes 17. Dean Thompson 18. Brennan Poole 19. Brenden Queen 20. Nick Leitz 21. Ryan Ellis 22. Connor Mosack 23. Anthony Alfredo 24. Leland Honeyman, one lap down, one lap led 25. Blaine Perkins, one lap down 26. Josh Williams, one lap down 27. Parker Retzlaff, one lap down 28. Daniel Dye, one lap down 29. Stefan Parsons, two laps down 30. Joey Gase, two laps down 31. Garrett Smithley, two laps down 32. Josh Bilicki, four laps down 33. Jeremy Clements, four laps down 34. Glen Reen, four laps down 35. Patrick Emerling, eight laps down 36. Dawson Cram, nine laps down 37. Ryan Sieg – OUT, Accident 38. Jeb Burton – OUT, Accident *Bold indicates Championship 4 contenders
Final standings
1. Jesse Love 2. Connor Zilisch 3. Justin Allgaier 4. Carson Kvapil 5. Brandon Jones 6. Austin Hill 7. Taylor Gray 8. Sammy Smith 9. Sheldon Creed 10. Sam Mayer 11. Nick Sanchez 12. Harrison Burton
The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series’ teams and competitors enter an off-season period before returning to action at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, on February 14, 2026, for a new season of competition.
Denny Hamlin gained a major advantage in his pursuit for his first elusive NASCAR Cup Series championship by capturing the Busch Light Pole for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway on Saturday, November 1.
The event’s qualifying format consisted of a single-truck, impounded format, with each competitor cycling once around Phoenix in a bid to record the fastest time.
Hamlin was the fifth-fastest competitor during Friday’s practice session and upped the ante by clocking in a qualifying lap at 133.759 mph in 26.914 seconds. His lap was enough for the three-time Daytona 500 champion from Chesterfield, Virginia, to capture the final pole position of the 2025 Cup Series season for himself and his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry XSE entry team.
With the pole, Hamlin notched his 48th career pole in the Cup Series division, his fourth at Phoenix and his fifth of the 2025 season. This season marks Hamlin’s fifth time contending in the Championship 4 round as a title contender. With this season also marking his 20th consecutive campaign in the Cup division, Hamlin sets his sights on Sunday’s main event, the finale, and the opportunity to achieve his first Cup Series championship that eludes him and remains missing from his extensive racing resume and accomplishments.
“We’re doing everything we can, but really proud of this whole Progressive Toyota team,” Hamlin, who was elated, said on pit road. “We worked hard at it. We’ve really been working hard and hopefully, we get the payoff tomorrow. We’re obviously going to be in a great starting spot [for Sunday’s finale] at this point. Then, we got to just make sure we do all the right things. That’s execute the entire day. Largely, that’s gonna rest on my shoulders, so I’ll do the best I can.”
Hamlin will share the front row with Championship 4 rival William Byron as the latter posted a qualifying lap at 133.551 mph in 26.956 seconds. Byron, who won last weekend’s Round of 8 finale at Martinsville Speedway that enabled him to clinch a Championship 4 berth for a third consecutive season, is pursuing a similar feat to Hamlin in campaigning for a first Cup title.
Kyle Larson, Byron’s teammate at Hendrick Motorsports and a Championship 4 rival, qualified in third place with a lap of 133.437 mph in 26.979 seconds. Larson is the only Championship 4 finalist who previously won a Cup title in 2021. And he now strives to become the 18th to achieve multiple titles.
Lastly, Chase Briscoe, a teammate to Hamlin at Joe Gibbs Racing, is also the lowest-starting Championship 4 finalist and will take the green flag in 12th place. Briscoe’s qualifying lap occurred at 132.680 mph in 27.133 seconds. Despite being one of several competitors who experienced tire issues during Friday’s practice, Briscoe will also be contending for his first Cup title.
Austin Cindric and Ryan Blaney, teammates at Team Penske, are the two-highest non-Championship 4 finalist starters for Sunday’s finale as they will roll off the starting grid in fourth and fifth, respectively.
Carson Hocevar, Josh Berry, Alex Bowman, Chris Buescher and Joey Logano, the latter of whom is the reigning three-time Cup Series champion, completed the top-10 starting grid.
The only competitor who did not post a qualifying lap was AJ Allmendinger. Allmendinger wrecked his primary entry in Turn 3 due to a flat right-front tire during Friday’s practice session and will start Sunday’s finale in a backup entry.
With 38 competitors vying for 38 starting spots in the Championship Race, all of the entered competitors made the event.
28. John Hunter Nemechek, 132.105 mph, 27.251 seconds
29. Justin Haley, 131.868 mph, 27.300 seconds
30. Todd Gilliland, 131.839 mph, 27.306 seconds
31. Shane van Gisbergen, 131.791 mph, 27.316 seconds
32. Riley Herbst, 131.584 mph, 27.359 seconds
33. Cody Ware, 131.171 mph, 27.445 seconds
34. Ty Dillon, 130.804 mph, 27.522 seconds
35. JJ Yeley, 129.870 mph, 27.720 seconds
36. Casey Mears, 129.660 mph, 27.765 seconds
37. Michael McDowell, 128.760 mph, 27.959 seconds
38. AJ Allmendinger, 0.000 mph, 0.000 seconds
*Bold indicates Championship 4 contenders
The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway is scheduled to occur on Sunday, November 2, at 3 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN, SiriusXM and HBO MAX.
AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “Yesterday was definitely a difficult read with as many cautions as we had in practice, but I definitely thought we had a fast Discount Tire Ford. These single day qualifying sessions are kind of a beast of their own and go out there and run a fast lap in tricky conditions, so it’s a good, solid start. Qualifying and pit selection are all very important here, so we’ll take that and go try to get a great result from it.”
WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FOR NEXT SEASON WITH ALL OF THE TIRE CHANGES THIS YEAR? “This year, talk about just the playoffs. We were talking about it yesterday as a team, I think there may be one or two races, period, that carried over the same tire that we would have raced the last time there and some of these have been completely new and untested tires. It’s been a huge story, I think, from behind the scenes for the teams trying to understand what you’re even gonna have. At least this weekend we had a chance to adjust on it. Look, it’s the same for everybody, but it’s been chaotic from that standpoint and you have not been able to really rely on a notebook. It’s kind of been more of best judgment.”
HOW DO YOU EVALUATE YOUR 2025 SEASON OVERALL? “I think performance-wise, I’m sure even points-wise it probably reflects it, but it’s definitely been my best season and most complete season behind a Cup Series car. But not getting the end results of races has been frustrating for us. Like even last weekend, the worst we were running was where we finished, and that’s for a number of reasons and it’s not just one race, but it’s a great example. I feel like there’s been so many races where we’ve had so much potential, so I think we carry that. You can either look at it as a negative or a positive and we’ve been in the hunt all year. I think that’s been a big positive for us. I don’t feel like we’ve really dropped the ball at all and that’s from the top down on the 2 car. I feel like as a group as well I’m really proud of my guys because I feel like we’re really contributing at a high level to the team as a whole, and I think that’s really important for us moving forward.”
HOW DID JOSH BERRY FIT IN THIS YEAR AS A NEWCOMER? “I think Josh has been a great fit and fit in really well, whether if that’s from team dynamics in meetings or speedway racing or just kind of thoughts in general. He kind of brings in a different perspective, especially from what I have. You can’t really pick two more different guys as far as their racing backgrounds than myself and Josh. I haven’t even sat in a late model, where he could probably build one before I could ever figure out how to drive it. It’s been good to have him and I’ve enjoyed getting to know him.”
HOW MOTIVATED ARE YOU TO PLAY SPOILER THIS WEEKEND? “I think so. At the end of the day, it’s still another race we can go out and try to win, but at the same point, I guess with everything else going on you have to be conscious of where the playoff guys are at and what’s on the line. I’ve been in that position before, and I think these guys all deserve a lot of respect from their competition to go out and race for that championship tomorrow.”
WHAT IS THE BIGGEST AREA OF IMPROVEMENT GOING INTO NEXT YEAR? “I hate to say just finishing. I know I kind of talked about that and at the end of the day some of that is out of your control, but we just haven’t been able to finish off races. If we do that, I think we’re a serious contender more so than I feel like we’ve unfortunately shown with our race finishes. I think there have been a ton of positives throughout the year, but I think finishing the job on most days is going to really probably change the narrative, but also make us feel a little better after races because a lot of the competitiveness has been there.”
Brandon Jones secured the final pole position of the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series season for this year’s championship race and season-finale event at Phoenix Raceway on Saturday, November 1.
The event’s qualifying format consisted of a single-car, impound format, with each competitor cycling once around Phoenix in a bid to record the fastest time.
During the qualifying session, Jones, the eighth-fastest competitor during Friday’s lone practice session, posted a qualifying lap at 130.957 mph in 27.490 seconds. Jones’ lap was enough for the 28-year-old native from Atlanta, Georgia, to claim the top-starting spot for himself and his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) Toyota Supra team.
With the pole, Jones, who has won twice this season (Darlington Raceway in April and Kansas Speedway in September), notched his second Xfinity Series pole position of the 2025 season and his first at Phoenix and the 14th of his career. Despite being one of four competitors who were eliminated from the Playoffs last weekend and missing the Championship 4 cutline, Jones remains optimistic that he can contend for a victory at a track he once won at in 2020 to cap off a season where he reunited with JGR for the first time in three years.
“We’re certainly as fast as Xfinity mobile today,” Jones said. “I’m so excited to have speed at this last race. We all 100% believe in this No. 20 group that we felt like we should have been in that Final Four. [A] Couple of bad races in that Round of 8 just took us out of contention. We had a lot of momentum after that third place in Martinsville and almost having a shot to make it in on a win.
“We know how much speed I’ve had at this racetrack [Phoenix] as well, so we had high hopes coming into it,” Jones added. I’m hoping I’m the [championship] spoiler today. We’re still fighting for fifth in points, which is a big deal for us. We just need to put [the race] all together, have a great day, execute and hopefully, stand in Victory Lane smiling and thinking that we would have been the ones winning the championship. All in all, these [No. 20] guys did a phenomenal job. I’m excited to go into the race this afternoon.”
Jones will share the front row with teammate Taylor Gray, the latter of whom posted his lap at 130.468 mph in 27.593 seconds and scored his first Xfinity career victory at Martinsville Speedway. Sheldon Creed will line up in third place with a qualifying lap of 130.251 mph in 27.639 seconds.
Meanwhile, rookie Connor Zilisch is the highest-starting Championship 4 finalist and will take the green flag in fourth place. Zilisch, a 10-time race winner in 2025 and a first-time Championship 4 finalist, posted his lap at 130.227 mph in 27.644 seconds. Notably, bBefore qualifying, Zilisch was the fastest competitor during Friday’s practice session.
Justin Allgaier, Zilisch’s Xfinity teammate at JR Motorsports and another Championship 4 finalist, will start in fifth place. He posted the identical lap time and speed as Zilisch. Allgaier is also the reigning Xfinity Series champion and will attempt to become the eighth competitor overall to win back-to-back series titles during the main event later on Saturday.
Jesse Love, a third Championship 4 finalist in the Xfinity Series, won this year’s season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway while driving for Richard Childress Racing (RCR). He will start in sixth place with a lap of 130.194 mph in 27.651 seconds. Lastly, Carson Kvapil, an Xfinity rookie driving for JR Motorsports, will start in 14th place after a qualifying lap of 129.301 mph in 27.842 seconds. Like Zilisch and Love, Kvapil is a first-time Championship 4 finalist.
Notably, Aric Almirola and Austin Hill, both of whom are contending for the owner’s championship for JGR’s No. 19 Toyota team and RCR’s No. 21 Chevrolet team, qualified seventh and 16th, respectively. In addition, Ryan Sieg, who is piloting the No. 41 Haas Factory Team Ford Mustang entry in place of the suspended Sam Mayer. He qualified in 10th place and he will start behind Nick Sanchez and Dean Thompson.
With 38 competitors vying for 38 starting spots, all of the entered competitors made the event.
The 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway is scheduled to occur on Saturday, November 1, at 7:30 p.m. ET on the CW Network, MRN and SiriusXM.
Ford Racing Notes and Quotes NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race Media Availability — Phoenix Raceway Saturday, November 1, 2025
Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse, answered questions from the media before today’s qualifying session.
JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse – HOW DO YOU EVALUATE THIS SEASON FOR YOU PERSONALLY AND THE 22 TEAM? “Obviously not everything we hoped for. Our goal is to win the championship every year and we fell short of that. Our goals are really high. By the same token, I feel like there were moments of the year we looked really strong. There were moments of the year where we didn’t capitalize on opportunities to win that we could have, and then I look at the playoffs as OK. We didn’t really stack any wins in there, but we were able to work our way into the Round of 8 and be a threat up until the last race in Martinsville. I always say the goal every year when we start the playoffs is to make it 10 weeks of hell. Make sure you have the pressure on you for 10 weeks. Well, we got nine – nine hard weeks. That’s better than six, but it’s not exactly where you want to be. In some cases, you can look at it and say we’ve done a decent job, but on the other hand it’s just not what our expectation is of ourselves. This weekend stings a little bit, if I’m being honest. It hurts to be here and not racing for a championship, but, at the same time, it’s probably good that it hurts because it shows you still care. If it makes you a little angry, it’s probably a good thing and you can use that.”
WE’VE HAD FOUR YEARS WITH THIS RACE CAR. WHAT DRIVER HAS BENEFITTED FROM THIS CAR AND WHAT DRIVER HAS BEEN HINDERED BY IT? “Honestly, I think it’s really helped the younger drivers coming into the sport. I’ve got two parts to that. The other car was very unique. It took years to get your head wrapped around it and when the Next Gen car was introduced all of that knowledge that the experienced guys had got wiped away back to zero. If anything, it was even harder because you had to unlearn a lot of things. Now, there’s still the experience and how to lead your team and all those things that you learned for experience that will always be there and will always help you, but you have to relearn how to restart, how to pass cars, how your car is gonna migrate throughout runs, where the lines are. All of those things you have to unlearn, so if there was a time to be a rookie, it was a few years ago. Now, it’s starting to be to the point where everyone is getting experience together and it’s going ahead. The other piece it obviously helped, is when someone like a Shane van Gisbergen is able to jump into a Cup car and win immediately because it felt like home to him, like a similar car to what he raced. He’s really good, so he would have won in the old car too, but I believe it would have taken a little bit longer for him to get his head wrapped around what the old car was as slick as it was to drive and heavy and just little nuances about it.”
HOW DO YOU THINK THE CITY OF PHOENIX AND THE RACEWAY HAS BEEN AS HOST? “I think it’s been great. I’m sure I’m speaking for all of us, we got so used to finishing the year in Miami, where it was just tradition. We were used to it and when that got ripped away, you were kind of like, ‘I don’t know if I’m gonna like this.’ I’ll be honest, the first couple of years it felt weird being out here, but it honestly has felt like tradition now out here since we’ve done it for so long. As somebody that’s been fortunate enough to win championship in both places, it’s been awesome both ways. I promise, it’s been great. No matter where it is, I don’t think it’s gonna matter. The place is gonna pack out no matter where it is. It’s the championship race, so as long as it has all of that clout behind it, I don’t think it matters where you put it, the fans are gonna show up, but I will say the fans at the racetrack here have been great. The racetrack itself has done a good job of making it feel special. That’s important. It’s only a big deal if you make it a big deal, and I feel like they’ve done a good job of making this race feel like it’s different than all of the other races because it is and it should be.”
THIS IS PROBABLY THE LAST ONE-RACE VERSION OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP. HOW DO YOU THINK THIS FORMAT WILL BE VIEWED YEARS FROM NOW? “I’m sure some day we’ll be in our rocking chairs talking about this and the argument will continue. I think it will just go forever on which one was the best and all these different ways. I don’t know. I was talking to Richard Petty yesterday and he said he won five championships in five different formats. He’s won seven championships, but five of them were in different formats, and I was like, ‘That’s kind of crazy.’ I didn’t even know that, so there’s a certain point where no one is even gonna know. It’s gonna go to whatever the next one is and if you’re a new fan, you’re not even gonna know what this format was. It’s just gonna be a stat. You just know he has seven championships. I don’t even know the ways he’s won it. He was teaching me things I didn’t know. We might know and everyone is gonna have their opinion on it and that’s fine. I will always remember it personally because it’s affected my life in so many ways good and bad – being on the good side and the bad side. I know I’ve never felt pressure like I do during the playoffs and the way this format is. I’ve never felt anything like it. I’m interested and curious to see what the next one is. I don’t know what it is. Your guess is as good as mine. It’s probably better than mine. You probably know. I don’t, but whatever it is is what it will be and I’m gonna have to figure out how to win in that one, too. That’s just the name of the game.”
WHAT DO YOU DO ON MONDAY? RESET OR GO BACK INTO PREPARING FOR NEXT SEASON? “I’ve got to go to the SEMA show and then the banquet, so Monday is not quite normal, but I will say that I think it’s important to take a second and take a breather. Over these last 10 weeks, like I said, it’s a long 10 weeks and it’s important to take a break – maybe a little time to reflect and not that I haven’t already been thinking about it of, ‘OK, what do we do different next year.’ You’ve got to do something different because what we did wasn’t good enough, so you can’t do the same thing and expect a different outcome. We have to look to do some different things and how can we approach things differently. How do we approach race weekend? What do we have to do to be faster on the racetrack? We just have to try to be better because the bottom line is we were not good enough. That’s the fact. There’s no way to hide from that. You can’t make up all these different scenarios on why you weren’t. We weren’t good enough, so we have to identify those weaknesses and figure out what to do to change those, and that will happen really quickly.”
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE HAMLIN AND BYRON SINCE YOU’VE WON TWO CHAMPIONSHIPS HERE? “I don’t know if I’m the one who should be giving advice. Everybody is different. Everybody handles things differently. Everyone handles the weekend differently. I do always laugh and everyone says it’s just another race weekend and it’s just another race because it’s such a load of crap. It’s not. It’s so much more than that. It’s always funny when I hear that, I will say that, but I don’t know. Like I said, everybody is different, but the pressure is real and everybody is different on their teams, too, whether it’s their crew chief and all that, so everyone’s got to do it their own way. I can’t be somebody else. They can’t be me. You’ve got to figure out your own way of doing it. I don’t know if I can give the best advice, but the only thing I know is it’s the opportunity of doing something that will follow you the rest of your life is tomorrow. That day is that day, will happen and the one thing you don’t want is to go to sleep tomorrow night saying, ‘I didn’t think of this,’ or, ‘I should have thought of this and tried a little bit harder here or put a little bit more effort into this and I might have given myself a better chance.’ That’s my biggest fear.”
HOW DO YOU HOPE TO CONTINUE NASCAR’S RICH LEGACY AS A SPORT? “There are so many different phases of my career, just like anybody else in the sport. There’s the driving and active piece and then there’s gonna be at some point when I don’t drive anymore and what does that look like. I don’t know exactly what that will be, but I do know the definition of a true champion is giving back more than you take and this sport has given me a lot. It’s given me everything. It’s been an awesome experience, and I definitely want to leave it better than it was when I got here. I can do a lot of that now while I’m still active and we do that through the driver advisory council a lot. I’m very active in that, but post racing for me, post driving, I’ll be involved. I’ll be around in some way because the people before me did that for me, and I should do that for the next generation.”
HOW MUCH SLACK OR LACK THEREOF WILL YOU GIVE THE CHAMP 4 DRIVERS IF YOU’RE RACING FOR THE WIN? “I think you’re respectful of the situation. I’ve been in the situation right and your senses are just heightened. Like any little thing that happens you’re like, ‘What is that guy doing?’ You’re just fired up in the car a lot more, so you’re respectful of what’s going on, but you still have your race. You still can go out there and try to win the race. You don’t want to get in the middle of what they’ve got going on and be a storyline, but you can go out there and be a spoiler, if you will, where you can go out there and win the race. It’s happened one time before. Only once, but it’s happened and it’s possible to go beat those guys and win the race. It would be bittersweet, I could tell you that much. It would definitely be that, but it would be cool.”
WOULD A WIN HELP CURE THE SORROW OF LAST WEEK OR FRUSTRATING KNOWING WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN? “I think it would be the most frustrating victory of all time (laughing).”
WHICH LOGANO CHILD IS GOING TO BE THE ONE TO FOLLOW IN YOUR FOOTSTEPS AND GO INTO THE RACING WORLD? “I don’t know if any of them will, to be honest with you. Maybe. I’m not gonna force them, I know that. I’m just gonna let them live their life. They see what dad does and if they want to race, great. I know some good avenues to help. If they want to go do something else, that’s good too. All I want them to do is try hard. That’s all that matters to me is effort. I just want to see them digging and grinding to be great. Whatever it is, try to be the best in the world at it no matter what it is. I don’t know what those would be. I will say that my oldest has taken an interest in just driving. It’s literally every day. We sneak out and go drive go-karts and four-wheelers. It’s every single day, which is great because I feel like I’m raising my best friend, so it’s pretty fun. Whatever they want to do is fine with me. We’ll just wait and see.”
IS HE REALLY COMPETITIVE? “Oh, he’s competitive alright. He’s frustrating to race against, believe me. He’s really light and he wrecks me, but he’s just like his old man (laughing).”
Ford Racing Notes and Quotes NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race Media Availability — Phoenix Raceway Saturday, November 1, 2025
Ryan Preece, driver of the No. 60 Fry’s/Celsius Ford Mustang Dark Horse for RFK Racing, has set personal bests for most top 10 finishes in a season (13) and most top fives (3). He stopped by the infield media center at Phoenix Raceway to talk about his season and what lies ahead.
RYAN PREECE, No. 60 Fry’s/Celsius Ford Mustang Dark Horse – HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT 2025? “Honestly, I’m excited on how we’re finishing the season. When we didn’t make the playoffs and a lot of people usually talk about trying different things and kind of throwing away the final 10 races to find a direction for 2026, but I’m proud and happy that we kept trying to build on momentum, and I feel like the past four races we’ve just continued to build that. Martinsville was really strong and I’ve just really enjoyed my time here at RFK and the opportunity between having Kroger and Celsius on the car this weekend, it’s been a lot of fun. We’re definitely looking forward to 2026 and all of the things we can accomplish.”
HOW MANY ROLLS OF INDUSTRIAL SHRINK WRAP DID YOU USE YESTERDAY? “Three. It was pretty good. I don’t even think he’s on his way here yet because there’s one more thing that he might find out this morning, but it was three rolls and I wish somebody could get a video of him trying to cut it off.”
LOOKING AT YESTERDAY’S PRACTICE. ALL OF THE STUFF WE SAW WITH FLAT TIRES, DID THAT APPEAR TO BE AGGRESSIVENESS WITH AIR-PRESSURE? “That’s just teams trying to push the limits, so, yeah, I think it’s just pushing limits. Do I think there’s gonna be problems in the race? That’s on how aggressive you want to be. It’s also not gonna be good if you blow a tire and wreck yourself out of the race, so I think there’s a fine line and we as drivers and teams we know what that line is.”
WHAT WAS A TURNING POINT FOR YOU THIS YEAR? “I feel like every week is a process in learning those things and, for us, I felt like we had some pretty good moments early on in the season and certainly were really consistent, but, for our group, the 60 team, it was trying to find how can we go from being consistently finishing in the top 10 and being a part of the conversation to being faster and running top five and doing those things. Las Vegas about three or four weeks ago was one that I started to find what I’m looking for and Derrick and the guys are doing a great job on giving it to me, so I feel confident. We’re heading down a path and one that I’m excited about, so it’s all really good stuff. For me, I’ve been grinding at this for six years and sometimes you’ve got to keep fighting and swinging and I’m glad that this has been the opportunity that I’ve been really looking for. I have a great group of guys. We talk about it. This team really didn’t come together until mid-January and for how it’s developed and the teamwork and all those things, it’s been truly amazing to be a part of.”
CHRIS SEEMED TO INDICATE YOU’RE EVEN WITH THE PRANKS. HOW FAR WILL THIS GO? “It just depends if he wants to keep going. When he got me the first time and the second time that’s when I knew. When you get me, I’m gonna get you really bad, so it doesn’t matter. It’s almost like if you ram me on the track, I’m gonna make sure I get you pretty good, so the same thing goes with pranks.”
HOW IS THE PREP GOING FOR THE SNOWBALL DERBY? “I’m excited. I actually just fired it up last week before Martinsville. For me, having our son and all the things throughout the year, usually when I get a race car I’ll put it together in three or four weeks. I just constantly think about it and thrash on it. This one, I picked the chassis and the body up in mid-December and it took all the way until the middle of September, October to get it prepared to where it could be fired. Once the season is over I’m ready to be in my race shop and finish setting it up and getting ready to go test down there in two or three weeks. I’m excited about it because, as a race car driver, I think you guys follow along, some like to play golf or like to go do different things away from racing. Racing is my golf game. Typically, if it’s racing a modified, racing a super late model, it doesn’t matter what it is, where it is, it’s something I enjoy doing as well as working on the race cars and building them. I enjoy it, so it’s going well. How the Snowball Derby is gonna go I’m not entirely sure yet because in the past I’ve had Chris Gabehart help me as the crew chief. He’s a really great super late model driver and crew chief as well, so I’m planning on going on down with a group of my friends as well as people that I trust and like racing with, and I’m gonna make the best calls that I can on my race car to make it drive good.”
STATISTICALLY. YOU’RE HAVING YOUR BEST SEASON BUT ALSO SEEMINGLY THE MOST FUN AS WELL. WHY HAS THIS DEAL WITH RFK CLICKED? “So, for me, in the past what I had to be as a race car driver was essentially, not a crew chief, but I had to micro-manage everything outside of driving the race car. I feel like in the final 10-12 races last year, I came to terms that as much as I was trying to help, I was doing more harm. So, coming into the 2025 season I said, ‘OK, I’m gonna focus on the things I need to focus on as a race car driver and trust that the people around me are gonna make great decisions and give me great race cars, and I’ll be able to go show what I’m capable of.’ So, a change in mindset was probably a big piece of that as well as coming over to RFK and seeing what Brad’s been able to help build and continue to build back up of what we can be. We’re all frustrated we didn’t make the playoffs, but there’s a ton of potential between all three of us and I’m excited for that. For me, it was probably a change in mindset as well as a great group of people that came together and are working on accomplishing the goal. That’s probably the biggest thing I can give you.”
CAN YOU LOOK BACK AT DATA FROM LAST YEAR OR TWO YEARS AGO TO HELP SET UP YOUR CAR, OR DO YOU COME THIS WEEKEND AND START FROM ZERO? “That goes back to the part I was talking about. I try to stay out of the setup conversations and some of those discussions. What I’ll say is I’ve been a fan of what Goodyear has been doing with their tire, so as we change I’m sure the setup has to evolve with that, and how you choose to drive the race throughout the course of the run changes as well. So, as much as, yes, you could continue to take previous races and kind of use that as a baseline, you also have to be willing to adapt and change.”
WHAT IS THE BIGGEST THING YOU LEARNED ABOUT BRAD IN YEAR ONE AT RFK? “I didn’t know Brad’s entire story, and it’s one that I’ve grown to appreciate. I think the biggest thing that opened my eyes to him is he’s a forward thinker. He’s not complacent. He’s always looking to continue to improve all aspects of the company. It doesn’t matter if it’s the race cars, the marketing or the hospitality side, he’s a forward thinker and that’s a huge part if you want to be successful on and off the track in racing, so that surprised me a lot. He’s very, very hands on.”
YOU ARE EXPONENTIALLY BETTER THIS SEASON. WHAT IS THE MINDSET YOU CHANGED TO? “My background is modified racing and what I’ll tell you is there has always been some things that I feel I excel at and passing race cars is one of them. That comes from where I’m from in Connecticut. We have a handicap system each week, where if I win one week, I cannot start ahead of 15th the next, and you have to find your way to get to the front. So, there are strengths that I’ve had and there’s weaknesses that I’ve also worked on for myself to make them better. On the flip side, Ryan Preece from 2008 through 2015 was a different race car driver than Ryan Preece was in 2016 to essentially where the mindset is right now. And that was because when I was racing part-time with modifieds I was racing for a guy, he hired me. I was full-time on the race cars. I was the crew chief. I was the driver. I was everything and that was a mindset that I got stuck in for a while, where I was very integrated into the setup, into the air-pressures, into everything that it took to make that car go around the racetrack, and the problem in my eyes when I got to this level is there are people here for that. I don’t need to micro-manage that. When I was racing my modified, there was a plumber, there was an HVAC guy and a buddy who ran an asphalt plant. They were races. The enjoyed racing. They were volunteers, but this wasn’t their job. It was my job and it was my job to manage all of that, and when I came here that’s not my job. My job is not to manage the crew chief, the engineer, the tire guy, every aspect of that race car. My job is to drive the race car, and I think changing the mindset and obviously trusting the people around me that they’re gonna give me a great race car because that’s what it takes. This is truly a team sport. As much as we get a lot of credit. We have to make the great decisions on the racetrack. You have to navigate traffic. You’ve got to execute. You’ve got to do all of those things, but it takes an entire team to go out and succeed.”
IT LOOKED LIKE THE NUMBER ONE PIT BOX WAS REALLY SLICK LAST NIGHT. WHAT ARE THE STALLS LIKE? DO YOU NOTICE A SLICNESS AND WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES FOR YOU? “I think having the advantage of that stall, typically you don’t have to worry about exiting out of somebody, but there are certain stalls tat are more of a challenge to get in and out of. I’ve noticed that at this track there is definitely an advantage to being other place, but I still think stall number one is probably a massive advantage, but throughout the entire schedule there are tracks that it’s difficult to get in and out of the boxes, and then there are other tracks where it’s easy. That’s just one of the challenges that the team, the pit crew and the drivers, that’s what we face every week.”
SO IT’S NOT UNIFORM ACROSS EVERY TRACK? “You can look at when racetracks are paved. I noticed this at my short track racing level is you go to the northeast, the grip in the asphalt is different than you go in the Southeast and how they pave it and whatever materials they use to lay it down. I don’t know all the details of it, but I can feel a difference depending on which part of the country I’m in, the grip level the car has.”
Key Takeaway: Tyler Reif impressed in his NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series debut race and capped the night off with a great finish. Reif qualified the highest out of the four Niece Motorsports drivers in 13th and drove into the top-10 in the beginning laps of the race. Navigating through dirty air on older tires, the rookie learned a considerable amount and gained valuable experience. The No. 41 pit crew gained several positions on pit road which allowed him to make moves on late restarts. Crossing the line in ninth, Reif earned respect from his peers following the race.
Tyler Reif’s Post-Race Thoughts: “Tonight was really cool; I think coming to a track that I knew really well helped me in my first Truck Series start. We executed in qualifying and through the race all night, and I got in the pit box well. Our delta was positive in the pits up until the last stop where we made a little mistake on my part and the crew’s part, but nothing we could really do about it. That wreck in front of us helped us out, and sometimes luck is more important than skill. We were able to put the restart together on the final overtime and came home P9. I think we probably could have had a little better finish, but definitely nothing to complain about. Thanks to everyone at Niece Motorsports, McLaren Transport, and Chevrolet for making this possible.”
About McLaren Transport: McLaren Transport, a division of DQS Solutions & Staffing, is a leader in automotive logistics, specializing in reliable, safe, and efficient transportation across the U.S. and Canada. Supporting its core transportation services, McLaren also offers warehousing, cross-docking, and supply chain solutions for temperature-sensitive goods. Strategically located near the Gordie Howe International Bridge, the company supports efficient border-crossing for clients across industries. Backed by DQS’s logistics and operational resources, McLaren delivers end-to-end solutions that drive efficiency, strengthen partnerships, and keep the automotive and logistics industry moving forward.
No. 42 J.F. Electric Chevrolet Silverado RST Driver: Matt Mills | Crew Chief: Landon Polinski
Key Takeaway: Matt Mills and the No. 42 team overcame early adversity and recovered to bring home a respectable finish to their season. After having issues in qualifying and having to start from the back of the field, Mills gained track position and kept in the fight. By virtue of two free passes, the team was able to capitalize on late-race chaos to climb through the field. Mills drove his J.F. Electric Chevrolet home to an 11th-place finish.
Matt Mills’ Post-Race Thoughts: “We caught a lot of breaks and made our truck better throughout the night. I feel like we didn’t really get to where we wanted it to be, it just felt free for the most part and then it went a little too tight there at the end. But, after not getting a qualifying lap in, we came home with one of our better finishes of the year. We played some survival strategy there, made the truck better, and that is all we can ask for. We took what we could get and made it into a decent run to end the year and go into next year with momentum.”
About J.F. Electric: J.F. Electric is an electrical contractor that provides engineering expertise, backed by construction and installation know-how in a diverse range of service offerings, from utilities and commercial projects, to industrial and telecommunications customers. When having a long family history in an industry, a company not only builds on its knowledge and experience, it takes pride in cultivating a solid understanding of client needs, all the while nurturing strong relationships with its employees. Evolving through five generations of the Fowler family, J.F. Electric has matured into a well-managed and thoughtfully diversified electrical contractor which is poised to continue its growth and expansion into the future. Connect with J.F. Electric’s services at www.jfelectric.com.
About Utilitra: Utilitra is a woman-owned firm specializing in utility and technology solutions with a diverse team of specialized professionals. Utilitra is committed to solving their client’s unique challenges, whether one expert or a team of experts is needed. By adapting to the needs of their respective industries, Utilitra has built a range of services for their utility and technology partners. See how Utilitra is powering businesses at www.utilitra.com.
No. 44 Telcel Chevrolet Silverado RST Driver: Andrés Pérez de Lara | Crew Chief: Wally Rogers
Key Takeaway: Andrés Pérez de Lara suffered a violent crash in the season finale at Phoenix Raceway, but was able to walk away unscathed. Pérez de Lara had a solid run throughout the event, and the No. 44 team found speed in the pits. The rookie was positioned to fight for a top-10, but made contact with other competitors late in the race which sent him into the outside wall. Though it was not the result he was looking for to end his rookie campaign, there was no doubt that he proved his worth after changing teams mid-season.
Andrés Pérez de Lara’s Post-Race Thoughts: “There was a lot of stuff going on in that restart. We had new tires, and coming into turn three and four with the inside wall, there was a lot going on. I just misjudged what the other drivers were doing, so obviously I have to apologize for that. I need to see a better replay to know what happened there, but inside the truck it felt like that. [It was] definitely a big hit; sorry to my team because I thought it was going to be a good night with the strategy. Thank you to everyone at Niece Motorsports, Telcel, and Chevrolet for everything they do.”
About Telcel: Telcel is Mexico’s leading telecommunications company, providing nationwide coverage, cutting-edge mobile connectivity, and high-speed internet services to millions of users. With over 30 years of experience, Telcel continues to innovate in digital communication, offering solutions that keep people connected anytime, anywhere.
No. 45 DQS Solutions & Staffing Chevrolet Silverado RST Driver: Bayley Currey | Crew Chief: Phil Gould
Key Takeaway: Bayley Currey and the No. 45 team were swept away in a late-race crash with teammate, Andrés Pérez de Lara, and others at Phoenix. Currey ran just outside the top-10 for the majority of the night, and looked to end his season on a high note. The DQS Solutions & Staffing pit crew made big gains on pit road all race long, and enabled Currey to contend up front. Unfortunately, the damage was too severe to allow the team to finish the race, and Currey would be scored in 27th-place.
Bayley Currey’s Post-Race Thoughts: “We had a good truck tonight, but that was just an unfortunate turn of events. We came in to put tires on and made good adjustments right before the end, but just didn’t get to see them. That’s part of it, that’s racing, man. A mistake happened and we just got caught up. Huge thank you to everyone at Niece Motorsports, DQS Solutions & Staffing, J.F. Electric, Precision Vehicle Logistics, and everyone that’s a part of this team. These No. 45 guys brought me a good truck this weekend. It’s a sucky way to end the season since I get to think about it all the way until Daytona, but we’ll go home and work on our stuff a bit, and maybe run some fun stuff over the off-season.”
About DQS Solutions & Staffing: Guided by a mission to achieve excellence and adaptability, DQS partners with clients to create custom solutions that address unique business challenges. Recognized as Michigan’s fastest-growing company and #22 in the nation on the Inc. 5000 list, DQS drives industry growth while giving back through its nonprofit, Foundation for Pops, and partnerships like the River Rouge School District. About Niece Motorsports: Niece Motorsports is a professional auto racing team that has competed in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) since 2016. Founded by United States Marine Corps Veteran Al Niece, the team is owned by Josh Morris of DQS Solutions and Staffing and the Fowler Family of J.F. Electric and Utilitra. At its 80,000 sq. ft. headquarters in Salisbury, NC, Niece Motorsports is a full-service race vehicle build shop as well as a customizable fabrication shop for any manufacturing needs.
Follow the Team: To keep up to date with the latest team news, visit niecemotorsports.com or connect on Facebook and Instagram (@NieceMotorsports) as well as X (@NieceMotorsport).
The Toyota Development Driver breaks additional records on his way to a record-breaking night
AVONDALE, Ariz. (October 31, 2025) – Corey Heim concluded his dominate season with another victory – his record-setting 12th – as the Toyota Development Driver won his first Truck Series championship. During the night, Heim became the first driver in series history to lead at least one lap in every race this season, along with taking over the all-time single season laps led record.
Fellow Toyota driver Kaden Honeycutt had a stellar night as well as he drove from the back of the pack to finish third and finish third in the overall point standings.
Gio Ruggiero, despite being taken out in an accident this evening, was named the season-long Rookie of the Year.
Toyota GAZOO Racing Post-Race Recap NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) Phoenix Raceway Race 25 of 25 – 150 Miles, 150 Laps
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, COREY HEIM 2nd, Ty Majeski* 3rd, KADEN HONEYCUTT 4th, Layne Riggs* 5th, Rajah Caruth* 18th, GREG VAN ALST 21st, TANNER GRAY 23rd, COLE BUTCHER 25th, TONI BREIDINGER 28th, BRENT CREWS 31st, GIO RUGGIERO *non-Toyota driver
“I just am so grateful to be where I’m at. So thankful for the TRICON Garage, Toyota taking a chance on me years ago, Safelite, Mobil 1, Yahoo, Celsius, for every bit of their support. I was so stressed out ever since we went to the ROVAL. I’ve been, like, so terrible to talk to as a person, so stressed out. This is just such a relief, to say the least. So thankful for everybody. There’s so many names I could go through, Trevor (Bayne, Competition Mentor, TRD) and Blake (Koch, Competition Mentor, TRD) for all my prep work, 23XI for everything they do for me on the development side. There’s such a long list. Thankful for everybody involved.“
KADEN HONEYCUTT, No. 52 Halmar International Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, Halmar-Friesen Racing
Finishing Position: 3rd
How will you reflect on this experience?
“I don’t think it can be anything but good honestly. Just thank you to Stewart (Friesen), everyone at HFR (Halmar-Friesen Racing), Toyota, Halmar, everyone that gave me the chance to be here tonight honestly. We had a good truck. The initial start is what it is. Ultimately didn’t change how we finished. With our speed, we were able to get back up there, fight the two in the end. The last restart, the only thing I had a chance at is if him and Corey (Heim) got together and we could have been three on the bottom into (turn) three. Ultimately didn’t happen. Didn’t have the balance we needed there to fight for it. Like I said, this run was for Stewart (Friesen), this whole team. Definitely nothing to hang my head about for sure. My goal when I signed up this year was to at least be here. We did that. Definitely was a crazy journey to be here. Thanks to everybody that has been supporting me and been in my corner. Looking forward to next year, and hopefully have Stewart (Friesen) back in the seat where he belongs with this team.”
“I just saw the wall honestly. I think I was top of three there getting into turn three and whoever was on the bottom just came up and cleaned us out. I don’t know if they had a flat tire or hit the inside wall. Just unfortunate. We had an okay day going. Just sucks we couldn’t close out the season with another top 10.”
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for nearly 70 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.
Toyota directly employs nearly 64,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 49 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants. In 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina began to assemble automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.
