That’s it, folks, the curtains have been drawn on the 2025 Xfinity Series campaign, and it’s a conclusion few would be happy with. Having dominated the entirety of the season, Connor Zilisch arrived at the Phoenix Raceway as the favorite to take home the title. However, the entire NASCAR world was in for a shocker with Jesse Love having the last laugh.
Three JR Motorsports cars went into the Championship Four race, with Love hoping to spoil their party. Having achieved what looked like an unlikely goal, not only did Love become the 2025 Xfinity champion, but he may also have hit the final nail in the playoff format’s coffin.
What Does the Playoff Format’s Future Look Like After Connor Zilisch’s Title Loss?
Entering the season finale, there was tension in the air as many feared that the most dominant driver of the season would be in for a heartbreak, thanks to the controversial playoff system. In the end, that’s exactly what happened as Zilisch could only finish third in the final race of his one-and-done Xfinity campaign.
10 wins and 18 straight top-five finishes in a season proved to be insufficient for a driver to be crowned the series champion. Meanwhile, a driver with just two race wins in the entire season was able to earn bragging rights, putting a huge question mark on the credibility of the playoff system.
Ever since the 2025 season began, the playoff system has been a critical point of contention within the NASCAR world, with many opposing it. While some voices spoke in favor of it, Zilisch’s loss to his best friend should be the end of the conversation.
Insider Jordan Bianchi recently harshly put forth that Corey Heim and Zilisch’s losses in each of their series would be the undoing of the playoff system. While Heim stood his ground and took the title, Zilisch’s story goes entirely differently.
And, as Dale Earnhardt Jr. said after the Phoenix race, there is hardly anything that can be said to the 19-year-old to make him feel better. The driver is heartbroken at the result, and there is no fixing it.
Perhaps something that can bring him some respite is the news of NASCAR doing away with the playoff system, as it will give him the peace of knowing no other driver will suffer a similar fate.
And given what’s just happened, that is what most of the NASCAR world wants. Undoubtedly, Love was good on the track in Phoenix and deserved to win. But was it a champion’s campaign?
That honor still falls in Zilisch’s favor, given the number of records he broke all season. On that note, the teenage driver has now become the winningest driver in an Xfinity Series season to lose the championship title.
If that doesn’t wave goodbye to the playoff system, no one knows what will. While many would still favor the playoff system for its unprecedented nature, the fact of the matter still remains that it favors one race luck over season-long consistency and can hardly determine a true champion of the sport, and it has to go.
