NASCAR Xfinity Series Power Rankings: Is Brandon Jones finding another gear?

Yahoo

16-04-2025

And just like that, the NASCAR Xfinity Series season has completed one-third of its regular season and a hair over a quarter of the 2025 campaign's entirety.
Following Kyle Larson's victory at Bristol Motor Speedway, the Xfinity Series campaign is now nine races old, and plenty has changed since we ranked the Xfinity field on the eve of the 2025 season.
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Let's give this ranking another try. NASCAR.com's John Crane ranks the top 12 Xfinity Series contenders through the first nine races of the 2025 season and ahead of the series' exciting return to Rockingham Speedway on Saturday (4 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
RELATED: 2025 Xfinity Series schedule | Xfinity Series standings
Analysis: Two of Allgaier's first three races to begin the season ended with finishes of 18th or worse … but was there any worry? Of course not. Allgaier sandwiched those finishes with a runner-up result at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and that's not all. Dating back to Phoenix Raceway in March, the reigning Xfinity Series champ is on a six-race streak of top-five finishes, including back-to-back dubs at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway. No. 7 is a slam dunk No. 1 in this ranking installment.
Analysis: Hill is currently on a rough patch of sorts, with two finishes of 16th or worse in his last two contests (Darlington, Bristol), but fret not. Aside from Allgaier, the 30-year-old Hill is the only driver in the circuit to tally two wins at this juncture of the season. And while Hill has surprisingly led only nine laps since his convincing victory at Atlanta in February, there should be little — if any — concern that the Georgia native will again go on a scorcher.
Analysis: If you predicted that Mayer would rank … checks notes … second in the driver standings at this mark of the campaign, collect your earnings now. Freshly into his inaugural campaign with the refreshed Haas Factory Team, the 21-year-old Mayer has already tallied five top fives and six top 10s, good enough for a 9.4 average finish. (Only Allgaier's 7.2 average finish ranks higher among all full-timers.) Although Mayer has only led 35 laps to date, that total could certainly rise should this pace continue. Keep a watchful eye.
Analysis: After clinching his first win of the season during the first race of the season, Love has continued to show signs of consistency, save for a 37th-place tally at Martinsville Speedway in March; all of his other 2025 finishes to date have yielded results of 16th or better. Not too shabby for the Xfinity Series sophomore, who has repelled any semblance of a second-year slump.
Analysis: A fifth-place preseason ranking might've been seen as a reach for a rookie driver who only had four Xfinity Series races to his name entering 2025. But if there was one driver who could prove such a ranking to be warranted, it has been Zilisch, who holds steady in this rendition's top five. There have, admittedly, been bumps in the road; the 18-year-old started the season with two consecutive DNFs. But the upside has also been apparent, including a pole start and first-place finish at Circuit of The Americas in March and a near-clinic of a showing not even one month later at Martinsville.
Analysis: Jones is easily the biggest mover in this installment, given he was unranked in the preseason rankings. He's also arguably been one of the bigger surprises so far this season; the No. 20 pilot, nine races into his Joe Gibbs Racing return, sits seventh in the driver standings and captured his first Xfinity Series win at Darlington Raceway in April … a triumph that snapped a 98-race winless skid. One could say he has transitioned nicely in his return to JGR digs, and one could also say there's still more in the tank; a scary proposition for other title contenders.
Analysis: A huge chunk of the rookie fanfare might be on Zilisch, but it's time to give Kvapil, his JR Motorsports teammate, his due. After all, his three top fives match the totals from other Xfinity Series regulars like Jones and Sheldon Creed, and it even surpasses that of others, including Love and Sammy Smith. And it's not like the 21-year-old is lucking into these finishes, either; his 8.2 average start currently ranks fifth among full-timers. Take note: Kvapil is only going to get better.
Analysis: Smith's 'worst' finish so far in 2025 has been a 24th-place result during the season-opener at Daytona International Speedway, which, given that anything can happen at Daytona, isn't the end of the world in the slightest. Seven of his other eight finishes so far this season have yielded results of 14th or better, and his 10.0 average start and 12.3 average finish illustrate solid, consistent results, a good framework to build upon as the regular season continues. Finding enough race-ending speed to clinch a victory — reminiscent of his win at Talladega Superspeedway last October — is next on the docket.
Analysis: It's been a slow brew for Creed in 2025, and while his three top-five finishes are undoubtedly solid on the surface, the No. 00 has yet to find consistent speed at the front of the field, leading only nine laps to date this season. That said, 2024 started off slowly for Creed as well, tallying only three top fives and leading four laps through the first nine races. In other words, expect more up-front racing for the 27-year-old California native … and perhaps a trip to Victory Lane in due time.
Analysis: Sieg is currently on pace for a career-best 15 top-10s in what is his 12th full-time Xfinity Series campaign; his four top 10s so far this season are tied for seventh in the field. This is made even more impressive given the fact he had finishes of 19th, 20th and 19th through the first three races to begin the campaign. Being the steady veteran Sieg is, it wouldn't (and, frankly, shouldn't) be a shock if this pace continues.
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Fun fact: Sieg is one of only three Xfinity Series drivers entered in Saturday's race to previously turn laps at Rockingham in race conditions, joining Kasey Kahne and Jeb Burton.
Analysis: Nine races into 2025, and the Xfinity rookie Dye already has accrued three top 10s. Why is this significant? Well, that total already surpasses the two top 10s he accumulated during a 10-race part-time Xfinity stint in 2024. And while his Kaulig Racing teammate — and fellow rookie — Christian Eckes might have more top 10s to his name (four), Dye has shown more consistency in finishing races, with only one DNF on the No. 10's ledger.
Analysis: Two consecutive top 10s to begin 2025 emphasized just what Burton can bring to AM Racing in what is his first full-time Xfinity season since 2021. A pair of stage victories — including one most recently at Darlington Raceway in April — additionally illustrated Burton's capability to race at the front of the field and collect valuable points, which could prove vital down the road. This is all to say something relatively straightforward: Burton and AM Racing might hit a bump here and there, but the capability to race at the front of the field is very much real, and that's all you can ask for.