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Connor Zilisch Earns Top NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Drivers Championship Odds; Will Nicholas Sanchez Return To Big Machine Racing?

Jeff Hawkins Written by Sports EditorJeff Hawkins
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Connor Zilisch Earns Top NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Drivers Championship Odds; Will Nicholas Sanchez Return To Big Machine Racing?

NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Nicholas Sanchez appears to be set with his sophomore ride.

Now, the No. 48 Chevrolet can focus on keeping his rookie season alive in the playoffs. Entering Saturday’s Round of 12 finale at Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course, Sanchez remains five points below the cutoff line. Jesse Love ranks No. 8.

With rumors linking Sanchez to several possible seats in 2026, he told Frontstretch.com last weekend he expects to return to Big Machine Racing’s No. 48 Chevrolet team.

Sanchez, who won his first series race at EchoPark Speedway in June, drew +5000 odds to earn the drivers’ championship, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. Regular-season titleholder Connor Zilisch (-110) remained the overwhelming sports-betting favorite. Zilisch recorded a record 16 consecutive top-five finishes.

Brandon Jones Moving On In Playoffs

Brandon Jones got “exactly” what he needed last weekend, earning a win at Kansas Speedway to advance to the Round of 8. Zilisch and reigning champion Justin Allgaier also qualified for the third round based on playoff points.

Jones led 54 of 200 laps, placing P2 in both stages.

“That was exactly like how we needed that to go down,” Jones said, as reported by NASCAR.com. “Two really solid stages – no mistakes. The entire day was so well executed. That’s probably by far in my career my most well-executed race.

“I’m so proud of these guys (his No.20 Joe Gibbs Racing team). We worked so hard all week to get here and put a race like this together.”

Allgair captured both staged and led a race-high 79 laps, but fell victim to a failed tire strategy.

“Disappointed,” Allgaier said. “They work for you sometimes, they don’t some other times.”

2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Odds

Here are the drivers’ odds for the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers’ championship, according to FanDuel Sportsbook: 

Driver 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Odds
Connor Zilisch -110
Justin Allgaier +250
Sam Mayer +650
Jesse Love +1200
Austin Hill +1400
Sheldon Creed +3000
Brandon Jones +3500
Carson Kvapil +3500
Taylor Gray +4000
Nicholas Sanchez +5000
Harrison Burton +7500
Sammy Smith +7500

*-Odds current at time of publication

Jeff Hawkins Written by Sports EditorJeff Hawkins
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry, in both print and digital media. He joined the Sportscasting team in 2021 following a decade of freelancing. He spent his early career as a reporter for various newspapers in Illinois, New York, Florida, North Carolina, and Michigan, with a particular emphasis as a beat reporter for the Chicago Blackhawks. Jeff earned his bachelor's degree in journalism from Oakland University. Over the course of his career he earned several sports writing awards, including two national awards from the Associated Press Sports Editors for column writing and news reporting. One of the five prized columns included a commentary on NASCAR's increasing corporate influences, particularly in northern racetracks — commentary which you might find Jeff building on as part of the Motorsports writing team at Sportscasting now.  
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