The Rookie of the Year battle is one of the best battles throughout the NASCAR season. The award, given to the Rookie with the highest final position in the season standings, has a long legacy of Champions, Hall of Famers, and Daytona 500 winners. So, here are this year’s Xfinity Series Rookie of the Year Candidates.
Last season, five drivers began their season with hopes of walking away with this prestigious award. However, only three made it to the end of the season, and tow drivers, Shane van Gisbergen and Jesse Love, took their battle into the playoffs. Love walked away victorious. However, SVG walked away with more wins and a Cup Series promotion.
This year’s field is stacked with drivers who are already champions, ringers, and blue-chip prospects. Of these eight drivers, it’s hard to imagine that only one can walk away as Rookie of the Year.
Second-generation racer Carson Kvapil will get his first full-time NASCAR National Series season this year with JR Motorsports. Taking over a No. 1 car that won three races with Sam Mayer last season, Kvapil has a chance at Rookie of the Year but the Series Championship.
Kvapil is a proven winner on the short tracks of the East Coast, specifically in the CARS Tour. Kvapil is the 2021 CARS Super Late Model Champion and the 2022 and 2023 CARS Late Model Stock Champion. Last season in nine part-time starts with JRM, Kvapil had three top-fives and four top-tens, including an almost-win at Dover in the spring.
Daniel Dye was the first driver signed for a revamped lineup at Kaulig Racing in 2025. This season, Dye takes over what was essentially Shane van Gisbergen’s No. 97, a car that won three races in 2024. However, Dye is not a winner in the three NASCAR National Series but showed major strides of growth in 2024 with McAnally-Hilgemann Racing.
In the 2024 Truck Series series season, Dye improved his average finish from 20.2 in 2023 to 16.2 and made the Truck Series playoffs on points. Dye also made ten starts in the No. 10, then a part-time car with Kaulig in 2024. Despite two top-tens, Dye put together some solid runs for the team in his limited appearances.
Christian Eckes is the other driver racing for the revamped Kaulig Racing in 2025. He joins Dye and teammate Josh Williams in the team’s most-storied entry, the No. 16. Last season, the No. 16 put together a Championship Four run with veteran AJ Allmendinger. With Allmendinger headed back to the cup, Eckes got a long-awaited promotion.
Eckes made his Truck Series debut with Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2018, but after disappointing seasons, Eckes bounced to ThorSport, then to MHR in 2023; however, in 2023, Eckes broke out with four wins. He scored four wins this past season as well, and most impressibly 22 top-tens in 23 races.
William Sawalich finally gets his call-up to Joe Gibbs Racing’s Xfinity Series program in 2025. After years of winning in the ARCA Menards Series, Sawalich may be Toyota’s most hyped prospect in years. He takes over the No. 18, which Sheldon Creed drove to 23 top-ten finishes in 2024.
While not the most decorated driver in this rookie class, Sawalich is a two-time ARCA Menards Series East Champion and has 13 wins in 24 starts in the main ARCA tour. He has, however, struggled with limited Truck and Xfinity Series, which starts with TRICON and JGR. However, he capped his 2024 season with a pole at Phoenix.
Dean Thompson was the most shocking promotion from the 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series lineup. Thompson is a veteran of the series; however, they struggled with TRICON in recent seasons. When Sam Hunt Racing announced his signing, some were disappointed. However, a deeper look at the stats suggests Thompson is improving.
In 2023, Thompson scored two top-fives and five top-tens for TRICON, which dropped to just six top-tens in 2024. But, in 2024, Thompson completed 745 more laps for Tricon and improved his average finish from 22.3 to 18.9. This resulted in a career-best 16th-place points finish.
Nick Sanchez had a breakout season in 2024 and moved to full-time competition with Big Machine Racing in 2025. BMR’s No. 48, despite great efforts from veteran Parker Kligerman the past two seasons, has yet to win a race. If the team was looking for a breath of fresh air, Sanchez might be that guy.
Sanchez is the 2022 ARCA Menards Series Champion. In his rookie season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Sanchez had five poles but struggled for consistency. However, the REV Racing driver rebounded well in 2024, winning two races and making a serious run at the championship.
Taylor Gray is the final TRICON Garage driver to move to full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series action in 2025. Unlike Thompson, Gray finds himself with Toyota’s top Xfinity Series team, Joe Gibbs Racing. He takes over what essentially was Chandler Smith’s No. 81 from last season, a car that could’ve won the championship.
Due to age, Gray did not make his Truck Series debut until three races into the 2023 season. While it took time for him to adjust, Gray found his groove last season, scoring eight top-fives and 14 top-tens. He also made 13 Xfinity Series starts for JGR. Gray impressed with two top-fives and three top-tens, including a third-place finish in his debut at Richmond.
Connor Zilisch is the top prospect in all of NASCAR. The Trackhouse Racing developmental driver made his Truck and Xfinity Series debut last season. He also made international waves, winning the LMP2 class at the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
In his NASCAR efforts last season, Zilisch set the world on fire, winning the pole in both of his National Series debuts and winning his Xfinity Series debut at Watkins Glen. He takes the car he took to victory lane that day, the No. 88, full-time with JRM this season.
This page will be updated as the season goes on, showing the standing between the two drivers.
