Grading the Xfinity Series

 

    I normally do not talk much about the Xfinity or Truck Series on this blog. That said, with it being a relatively slow news week, I wanted to grade each full time Xfinity driver on their 2025 season. I'll give a brief description for the grade that I give, but won't be super long. Either way, time to dive into my grades for each Xfinity Driver!

Sheldon Creed (D+)

    Sheldon Creed has been pretty disappointing this year. He sits 11th in the regular season points and is currently the last driver in the playoffs. His average finish is 6 positions worse than what it was last year with JGR, and that's largely because he keeps crashing out in races. He has 6 DNFs this season, all because of crashes. Creed is a decent driver, but the hype around him in Xfinity has quickly died down. He's been with 3 top Xfinity teams the last 4 years and still has not gotten a win. At some point, some serious discussions are going to be needed about what Creed's future looks like in cup.

Carson Kvapil (B)

    Kvapil has had a solid first season in the Xfinity series. He sits 6th in the standings and does not have a single DNF all season. That said, Kvapil has lagged behind Allgaier and Zillich for much of the season. He hasn't been bad by any means, but he just has not been up front that much this season. He only has 64 laps led so far. He had a great run ar Bristol earlier this season where he finished 2nd and he led 47 laps at Rockingham. I'm intrigued by Kvapil as a prospect, as he is only 22. That said, he has some room to grow.

Jesse Love (B+)

    Love has had a very solid sophomore year. He did win at Daytona earlier this season, and while I would like for him to get a win at a non-superspeedway, he still has been pretty fast. He just finished 2nd at Pocono a couple weeks ago and he sits 4th in the regular season standings. He has been right up there with his teammate Austin Hill this year, which is really good. I think Love is an intriguing prospect and should make the round of 8 at the very least.

Parker Retzlaff (C-)

    I don't really know how to grade Retzlaff. He was alright the first 10 races of the season, as he had a stretch of 5 top 20 finishes in a row including a 2nd at Rockingham. He did not qualify for COTA and he has been awful as of late. He has 5 straight finishes outside the top 20 and sits 25th in the standings among full time drivers. His average finish is comparable to his 2024 season, but this year has just not been good for Retzlaff.

Kris Wright (D)

    I'm giving Wright this grade solely based off of his race at Texas, where he got in the way of Allgaier leading to Allgaier wrecking. Wright is last among full time Xfinity Drivers in points and most weeks, he's just a moving chicane. 

Justin Allgaier (A+)

    Let's just get the bad out of the way. Allgaier has had a rough 3 week stretch where he only has 1 top 10 finish which was a 10th place finish at Pocono. That said, Allgaier still has a full race lead over Sam Meyer in the points standing. Allgaier has been really good this season, including 3 wins and the most stage wins of any driver in the field. He has 648 laps led, more than double of the next best driver in the Xfinity Series. He is the driver to beat at most tracks and should be the favorite for the championship.

Sammy Smith (C)

    Sammy Smith is having a typical Sammy Smith season. He got the win at Rockingham after Jesse Love was disqualified, but has largely been quiet aside from that. He only has 40 laps led on the season which isn't great. He sits 14th in the points as well, which is the lowest of the JRM stable. Smith has kind of just been there this year. He will spring up from time to time, but he isn't going to run up front very much. He likely won't go super far in the playoffs later on. You can look at his last 2 seasons and see this one is a carbon copy. 

Daniel Dye (C+)

    I don't really think Dye had high expectations coming into the season. It's clear to many that Kaulig was not the same team that they once were after last year when Allmendinger only won 1 race. Dye has been okay this year, I guess. He sits 16th in points, just behind his teammate Christian Eckes. Dye does have 6 top 10s this year, but has largely been apart of the midfield. 

Josh Williams (C-)

    I forget that Josh Williams drivers for Kaulig in the Xfintiy Series. He has had a couple top 10s on the season but he has been the most forgettable driver in the series, in my opinion. His only shot of making the playoffs will be winning at Daytona.

Christian Eckes (D)

    I have been pretty disappointed by Eckes this season. I thought that he would be contending for a playoff spot and be a threat to win a race. He really hasn't shown winning speed at all this season. He does have a couple top 5 finishes as of late, but he's more than 50 points out of the playoffs. It's not impossible for him to get a win, but pointing his way into the playoffs looks to be very difficult.

William Sawalich (F)

    Sawalich has been awful this year. He has 6 DNFs this year and sits 23rd in points among full time drivers. He has shown speed at times, like at Nashville when he led 37 laps. He is still super young, but Sawalich gets an F because his teammates are all inside the top 10 of the regular season points. Sawalich is nowhere near them and seems to crash out of every other race.

Brandon Jones (B)

    Jones has been decent this year. He got that win at Darlington earlier this year to lock himself into the playoffs. He has been much better this year than his time at JRM, but it still feels like something is missing. Jones has led 79 laps this year which isn't bad, but he isn't contending up front all that much. I'd like to see him be more competitive up front moving forward. Still though, a solid season from Jones.

Austin Hill (B+)

    Hill has been pretty comparable to Jesse Love this season. He does have 2 more wins, and 4 more top 5s, but has a worse average finish and the same amount of top 10s. I'm giving Hill the same grade as his teammate because Hill's expectations are higher than that of Love. I expect Hill to be up front more often, but he has not been as good as the last two years. He's still been solid, but I thought he would be closer to Allgaier this season which just hasn't been the case.

Harrison Burton (A-)

    Harrison Burton has brought this 25 team to relevancy after they were completely dead last year. Even when Hallie Deegan was not running this car, results were pretty bad. Burton, meanwhile, has brought this team to be a playoff contender and they look pretty good this year. He sits 13th in the points, just below the playoff cutline. I don't think expectations were very high for this team, but Burton has done a really solid job.

Dean Thompson (B+)

    Sam Hunt Racing has been competitive in the past with Corey Heim filling in and whichever other Cup Series drivers have driven it. Thompson was awful during the 2024 Truck Series season, where he kept crashing all of the time. Expectations were very low for this team, but Thompson has done a really solid job. He is just behind Eckes and Dye in point's sitting 17th. He only has 1 DNF all season which is a great turnaround from last year. I doubt Thompson will ever be a true championship contender, but he's doing well as of now.

Jeb Burton (A) 

    I normally am a lot more strict on driver grades, but Jeb Burton has been really good this year. He has a 13.9 average finish which is the best he has put up in a full time season. He has 0 DNFs and he currently holds a playoff spot. Jordan Anderson Racing has not been a very competitive team in their existence, but Burton has helped this team out tremendously this year by keeping the car clean. 

Kyle Sieg & Blaine Perkins (C-)

    I don't really have much to say on either of these drivers. Both of them are close to the bottom in points among full time drivers. Neither has any real standout run and are significantly underperforming compared to their teammates.

Ryan Sieg (C+)

    Sieg is doing everything that we expected him to do this season. He isn't lighting the world on fire, but still has some decent speed. I don't think this season has been as good for Sieg as his 2024 was. Sieg was running up front more often last year compared to this one. Sieg sits 12th in the regular season standings, just outside the playoffs. He has been decent this year, but I want him to run up front more often.

Sam Mayer (A-)

    Mayer has had a really good regular season. He sits in 2nd in the regular season and has the best average finish in the Xfintiy Series this season. The only reason why Mayer isn't getting an A is due to the 0 that he has in the win column. I fully expect Mayer to be a threat to win wherever the rest of the season, but I need to see him get a win by season's end to truly be a great one. Still though, Mayer is off to a great start.

Anthony Alfredo (C)

    Fast Pasta hasn't been very fast this year. Alfredo has largely been a midfield driver for most of the season, as evident by him being 21st in points. He hasn't done a ton wrong, but the team just isn't very good. Alfredo is having a similar season to what LeLand Honeyman Jr. had in that car last year. Therefore, Alfredo gets a C.

Brennan Poole (C)

    I don't like handing out C's willy nilly, but Poole has been the same as last year pretty much. He has 1 more top 5, the same top 10s, a slightly better average finish, but sits 2 spots worse in points at 18th compared to 2024. He's been fine this year, but there isn't much that screams future playoff contender with Alpha Prime Racing at the moment.

Nick Sanchez (B-)

    Sanchez is having an alright season. He's running about where I thought he would be and currently sits 10th in points. He's been decent for the most part, but broke through to get a win at Atlanta this past weekend. Sanchez is locked into the playoffs and could potentially make the round of 8 down the line. He hasn't lit the world on fire and is having a worse season compared to Kligerman the year before. That said, expectations for Sanchez are not as high as when Kligerman drove this car.

Jeremy Clements (C+)

    Clements has probably been the most average driver in Xfinity this season. He won't run very well but he will keep the car out of trouble. He sits 19th in points which is right around where he has sat the last 2 years. The only reason why is grade is slightly above average is because of his average finish being the best it has been since 2021. Clements is alright, but nothing much more than that

Taylor Gray (B)

    Taylor Gray isn't having an amazing season, by any means. He is, however, currently in a playoff spot and has been comparable to teammate Brandon Jones this season. Jones has a win, but Gray has more top 5s and top 10s on the season. The expectation for Gray coming into the season was to make the playoffs and get a win. He does not have a win, but is currently 8th in the regular season standings. I'll give him a B for now.

Ryan Ellis (C)

    Pretty much copy and paste what I said for Kyle Sieg and Blaine Perkins here. Only difference is Ellis does not have a teammate. He's been fine this season.

Connor Zilisch (A)

    Zilisch has been really impressive this season. He sits 5th in points at the moment and has 5 straight top 5 finishes. Zilisch gets an A because of how quick he has adapted to the ovals. He won at Pocono and he has shown great speed at a lot of these ovals this year. Martinsville comes to mind as another great run that he had where he led 100 laps. Zilisch will always be fast at the road courses, but to see him be so good at the ovals is awesome. Furthermore, he's likely getting a promotion to the 99 Cup car which is great.

Matt Dibenedetto (C+)

    Dibenedetto hasn't had a great year in Xfinity, but expectations for this team were very low. The Viking Motorsports team is no longer with Ryan Sieg Racing, so they are operating on their own now. Matty D has a slightly better average finish than last year, albeit with one less top 10 that he is currently on pace for. He's been fine, but it's crazy to see the downfall that he has had since leaving the Wood Brothers in 2021.

Overall Thoughts

    The overall season for Xfinity has been decent. The coverage has been solid from the CW and the booth largely carries it, in my opinion. This series is great for fans that want to see the drivers hang it out as much as possible, while getting racing that more resembles the older generations of car. I think my championship four favorites currently are Allgaier, Hill, Zilisch, and Love as they have been able to run up front more often than not. I look forward to seeing the rest of this season!