2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series Rookie of the Year: 10 drivers racing for best newcomer

The 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series Rookie of the Year race is going to be one of the most hotly contested battles of the entire season. There are ten rookies declared for the year and a handful of them could go Sunday racing in the near future.

The ten-driver rookie class is the largest since 2018 when Tyler Reddick was ROTY and series champion. Ty Gibbs won the championship the same year as his ROTY campaign in 2021. We could have a rookie champion again this season.

In terms of talent level, this is likely the best Xfinity Series rookie class since 2018 or 2019 depending on how you view it. So, how does this class stack up against the best in recent memory? Let’s go through each driver and see.

Daniel Dye – No. 10 Kaulig Racing

21 years old, Daniel Dye makes the move to the NASCAR Xfinity Series after a part-time schedule in 2024. Dye is a driver that could develop into a consistent winner in this series. When it comes to Sundays, we will have to see more out of him before making an assessment.

Dye is going to race for Kaulig Racing. He ran his ten races with them last year. A P7 at Indianapolis is his career-best in Xfinity.

Christian Eckes – No. 16 Kaulig Racing

Daniel’s teammate, Christian Eckes is a driver with a ton of promise. A little older at 24, Eckes put on a clinic in the Truck Series last season. Four wins, three pole awards, and only one finish outside of the top-10.

Eckes had an average finish of 5.4 for Bill McAnally-Hilgemann Racing. An unreal number and performance. Don’t be shocked if Eckes wins multiple races in 2025 in the Xfinity Series.

Taylor Gray – No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing

The 54 car this year for Joe Gibbs Racing is driven by Taylor Gray and owned by Ty Gibbs officially. Gibbs is starting to get into the ownership side of things as he continues his own racing career in the Cup Series.

Gray is interesting. He is only 19 years old and has shown promise at the ARCA and Truck Series level. Gray did not win a race in the Truck Series with Tricon Garage, but is hoping his rookie year in the Xfinity Series is more successful. He had a pair of top-5 finishes in 13 starts with JGR.

Carson Kvapil – No. 1 JR Motorsports

The first of JR Motorsports’ two talented rookies this season. Carson Kvapil is a three-time champion in the CARS Tour between Super Late Model and Late Model Stock competition. He also made a huge splash in NASCAR in 2024.

P3 at Dover and P2 at Charlotte in ARCA were awesome to watch. But in the No. 88 car for JR Motorsports, Kvapil had three top-5 finishes and an additional top-10. He almost won at Martinsville, Dover, and New Hampshire late. Kvapil will be a favorite for ROTY.

Nick Sanchez – No. 48 Big Machine Racing

Nick Sanchez might be the most overlooked rookie coming into the NASCAR Xfinity Series this year. He moves on from Rev Racing to pick up a ride at Big Machine Racing, taking over for a retired Parker Kligerman.

Sanchez won two races in 2024 in the Truck Series. He also had two pole awards. The jump he made from his rookie Truck Series season to his sophomore year was impressive. In 2022, Big Machine gave Sanchez part-time starts in the Xfinity Series, he has a career-best of P7.

William Sawalich – No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing

An 18-year-old could not only win ROTY in 2025 but might even win the championship. Well, William Sawalich will be 19 in October just before the championship. But, Sawalich is the real deal as evidenced by his dominant performances in ARCA.

Last season, Sawalich had three starts in the Xfinity Series. He managed to win a pole and finish P13 at Phoenix. His other starts, P24 at Homestead, and P33 at Martinsville, were nothing to write home about.

Dean Thompson – No. 26 Sam Hunt Racing

Going into 2025, Dean Thompson has a tall task ahead of him. Sam Hunt Racing brings him on full-time for this year and it appears to be a funding decision.

Thompson does not have the same credentials as some of these other rookies, but he does have a chance to shock a lot of people. Will he be able to record a top-5 finish in 2025? He failed to earn one in the Truck Series last season.

Greg Van Alst – No. 35 Joey Gase Motorsports w/ Scott Osteen

The ARCA 200 at Daytona winner from a couple of years ago, Greg Van Alst has turned that into a full-time Xfinity Series schedule. Well, at least enough races to qualify for ROTY.

No one is expecting a lot out of Joey Gase Motorsports and Greg Van Alst. But it is great to see drivers get a chance after putting in so many years of hard work.

Kris Wright – No. 5 Our Motorsports

Another driver who is likely to have little expectations. Kris Wright comes to Our Motorsports after a full-time season with Venturini in the ARCA Menards Series.

To be honest, nothing has really stuck out about Wright. He’s 30 years old and comes from an open-wheel and sportscar background, He was P2 in the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2019 for the LMP2 category. Wright replaces Anthony Alfredo in this car.

Connor Zilisch – No. 88 JR Motorsports

If I had to bet on one of these drivers to win ROTY and the Xfinity Series championship, it would be Connor Zilisch. He won in his Xfinity Series debut at Watkins Glen. He is arguably the best road course racer in NASCAR, maybe even better than Shane van Gisbergen.

The thing is, he has also shown a talent on ovals. He’s won in the CARS Tour and ARCA, and at 18 years old, he is the most Cup Series-ready driver on this list today. Zilisch is on another level and should be the favorite to win ROTY.