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The Xfinity Series Drivers Who Could LEAVE In 2025

PORTLAND, OREGON - JUNE 01: Shane Van Gisbergen, driver of the #97 Quad Lock Chevrolet, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Xfinity Series Pacific Office Automation 147 at Portland International Raceway on June 01, 2024 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)

Joshua Lipowski

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Royal T Grafix

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What’s Happening?

As Silly Season rolls on, the picture becomes more clear at all levels of NASCAR. Today, we focus on the second-tier series, the Xfinity Series, to see which drivers could be on the move for 2025.

  • Any full-time Xfinity Series driver is eligible for this list. Fans tune in to watch these drivers every week, and they are always candidates for new rides that pop up in the series.
  • Drivers on the move can head to multiple different places. Some may move up to Cup, while others may jump to another Xfinity Series team or even out of the sport.
  • Fans are interested to see more Xfinity Series drivers on the move for 2025. These moves can jump-start careers and are often the big breaks drivers are searching for.

Riley Herbst

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With Stewart-Haas Racing shutting down, the future of the team’s current drivers, Riley Herbst and Cole Custer, is also uncertain. Whereas Custer seems likely to end up at Haas Factory Team in some capacity, it’s not as simple for Herbst. However, he brings a lot of funding and has performed reasonably well this season in the Xfinity Series.

The latest rumors indicate that Herbst could end up at 23XI Racing. Someone else will probably pick him up if that does not work out, but we will have to see who.

Sam Mayer

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Sam Mayer admitted after Iowa that he was upset more Cup Series teams were not looking at him. Bob Pockrass reported in June that Mayuer is a candidate at Front Row Motorsports. There are two seats available, and three candidates for it.

Pockrass described Noah Gragson as the “Favorite”, and another candidate, Josh Berry, is already signed to The Wood Brothers. That means Mayer may need to fight with another lower series driver, Christian Eckes, for the ride. Who ends up where?

A.J. Allmendinger

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In late June, Bob Pockrass reported that Kaulig Racing still has open seats for 2025, and it all depends on funding. While Pockrass did mention A.J. Allmendinger as a Cup Series candidate, does the funding exist to take him there? Allmendinger is in the Xfinity Series in first place due to a lack of sponsorship.

When specifically discussing NASCAR, Allmendinger is Kaulig’s most experienced and accomplished racer. He has the talent to be in the Cup, and he has won three races there. However, life is not always that simple.

Cole Custer

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Cole Custer seems very likely to go to Haas Factory Team in 2025, and Adam Stern reported earlier this week that Custer is the favorite to land the team’s only Cup Series ride. This would be a big move for Custer, as he dropped to Xfinity in 2023 after three subpar seasons in the Cup Series.

Haas Factory Team is being born from the ashes of the current Stewart-Haas Racing. Custer’s father, Joe Custer, will be the team President, so everything is there for Custer to head up to Cup. Performance, funding, and connections all help Custer.

Shane Van Gisbergen

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Shane Van Gisbergen needs to move up to Cup eventually, and the opportunity might open up for him at Trackhouse. With SHR shutting down, Trackhouse is reportedly in line to purchase one of the team’s three available charters, giving them three cars. However, SVG has some internal competition for this seat.

Zane Smith is another Trackhouse development driver looking for a ride for 2025. Trackhouse will have to choose between Smith and SVG, and who knows where they will end up.

Brandon Jones

Brandon Jones has been a disappointment in his first two seasons at JR Motorsports. he went from the doorstep of the Championship 4 in 2022 to out of the Playoffs in 2023 and nearly a full race outside of the Playoffs 17 races into 2024. Jones told Fronstretch in 2023 that he initially signed a two-year deal with JRM.

If his contract is out, and Connor Zilisch is reportedly coming into the fold, could Jones lose his ride? Time will tell, but JRM plans to field five entries in nearly half of the races in 2024, and Jones brings funding from Menards.

What do you think about all this? Let us know on Discord or X what your take is, and don’t forget you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and even YouTube.

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HAMPTON, GEORGIA - FEBRUARY 21: Sheldon Creed, driver of the #00 Road Ranger Chevrolet, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250 at Echo Park Speedway on February 21, 2026 in Hampton, Georgia.

O’Reilly: Sheldon Creed Breaks Through in Thriller at EchoPark Speedway

by Cody Williams

What’s Happening?

It was a busy Saturday at EchoPark Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway). First, we had the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race. Then, the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series took center stage and they were two vastly different events. Ultimately, it was Sheldon Creed standing tall in victory lane when all was said and done. Here’s what you need to take away from tonight’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at EchoPark Speedway.

  • There were a lot of drivers who had tire problems which set off massive wrecks and incidents. First, Sam Mayer had a tire go down from the race lead. Sammy Smith got bitten. Austin Green. Corey Day. Taylor Gray. The list goes on and on. Some of them were able to stay in contention while others were plagued for the rest of the race.
  • Speaking for Corey Day, he just had a bad race. First, he sparked an incident which took out several drivers, including the Sieg brothers (who weren’t shy about voicing their displeasure about the rookie) and Harrison Burton. And though the broadcasters on the CW gave him the benefit of the doubt, the later incident was less forgivable. In this incident, while he was battling the JRM duo of Carson Kvapil and Justin Allgaier for the race lead, Day got into the No. 1 Arby’s Chevy, sending all three of them into the wall. This is certainly a performance that he’ll want to forget.
  • Chevrolets swept the stages. Winning the first one was none other than Jesse Love, continuing RCR’s dominance on drafting tracks. Rajah Caruth, who had a handful all race, was able to capture his first career stage win by winning Stage 2.
  • It wasn’t the dominating race for RCR that we all thought it would be. With ill-handling cars, their qualifying attempts were underwhelming, and they got off to a lukewarm start tonight. By the end of it, though, they were in the mix. Slicing and dicing, Austin Hill had the lead as they came around to take the white flag. However, in Turn 1, he got “Chastained.” Ross Chastain plowed into the back of the No. 21, knocking him down to the apron. Hill was able to save it and rally home to a 12th place finish.
  • The big story tonight is that Sheldon Creed, finally, after far too many runner-up finishes to count, broke through to capture his first NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series win. It will certainly be a day he and his team will never forget.

Notable Incidents

Lap 5: Corey Day

Corey Day had a very sloppy, bad race in general, and it started early. First, he caused a wreck that took out Harrison Burton and a couple of others. Then, he took out the JRM duo of Carson Kvapil and Justin Allgaier. You can recap that first incident by reading the article below.

Also Read:

O’Reilly: Corey Day Triggers Big Wreck Early at EchoPark Speedway

Lap 142: Sammy Smith

Kvapil and Allgaier weren’t the only JRM cars to have issues tonight. Firstly, Rajah Caruth was out of control throughout the race, fighting a mean-handling car. He was able to brilliantly save it several times, to his credit. But perhaps the biggest incident involving the four JRM Chevys came at Lap 142 when Sammy Smith had a tire go down and spun in front of the pack. This took out several drivers, including Taylor Gray, among others. Read about that here:

Also Read:

O’Reilly: Sammy Smith’s Flat Takes Out Heavy Hitters Late at EchoPark

Results

Results Pending.

Points Standings (2 of 35)

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O’Reilly: Sammy Smith’s Flat Takes Out Heavy Hitters Late at EchoPark

by Cody Williams

What’s Happening?

As Ross Chastain took the lead and the pack was closing in on 20 laps to go, things a little deeper in the pack started to get a little hairy. We had yet another huge crash late in the running here tonight, this one sparked by Sammy Smith’s flat rear tire. Here’s what happened:

  • As the laps were winding down in tonight’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race, Sammy Smith, along with his JRM teammates, were in the thick of contention for the win. Unfortunately for him, a poorly-timed flat rear tire ended his (and several others) chance to capitalize and get that first valuable win of the season. Unable to hold onto it, the No. 8 Pilot Chevy spun around in front of a massive horde of cars.
  • Helpless to go anywhere, several heavy hitters were caught up in this incident. They include the likes of William Sawalich, Gio Ruggiero, Patrick Staropoli, Taylor Gray, Brennan Poole, Nick Leitz, and Lavar Scott.
  • It’s an unfortunate beginning of the year for a handful of these drivers. Luckily for Brennan Poole, he’s coming off a strong showing at Daytona and was in the thick of it here tonight. That shows some promise for sure.

What do you think about this? Let us know your opinion on Discord or X. Don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

O’Reilly: Mid-Race Report from EchoPark Speedway

by Cody Williams

What’s Happening?

It has been a tail of two races when it comes to today’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at EchoPark Speedway (formerly the Atlanta Motor Speedway). We got off to a rough start with Corey Day triggering a massive wreck that took out the likes of Harrison Burton, and the Sieg brothers. Then, the field settled in and started to churn laps. Here’s what’s gone down so far.

  • Sam Mayer led a bulk of the opening laps. Leading the first 23 laps of the race, he was forced to pit on Lap 24 due to a flat left front tire. No caution was triggered. To make matters worse, he was caught speeding on pit road, putting him down several laps and effectively taking him out of contention.
  • Jesse Love continued RCR’s dominance in the first stage. With Mayer out of the picture, he assumed the race lead, leading 31 laps to win the opening stage.
  • Austin Hill finally made it up to the race lead by Stage 2. Unfortunately for him and RCR, their win streak in the stages ended with the conclusion of Stage 2. It was Rajah Caruth in the No. 88 HendrickCars.com Chevy that captured the green and white checkered flag.
  • In a horrific accident during pit stops, Taylor Gray smashed into one of his tire carriers. It was a scary situation. Fortunately, he got up like a champ and completed the stop. He was thankfully checked and released from the in-field care center.
  • Corey Day’s woes continued as the field set in for the final stage of the evening. Drawing further criticism, Day, while battling for the race lead, made contact with leader Carson Kvapil, sending them both into the outside wall. Also collected in the incident was Kvapil’s teammate, the 2024 series champion, Justin Allgaier.

What do you think about this? Let us know your opinion on Discord or X. Don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.