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Connor Zilisch | Early 2025 Xfinity Series Championship Odds, Picks & Projections

2025 Xfinity Series Championship Odds, Picks & Projections

by Elliot Hicks

NASCAR’s second-tier Xfinity Series is touted as “the series where names are made.” Formerly serving as a separate playground for the sport’s best to earn additional victories, over the last decade or so, it has truly shifted to the tour that prepares drivers to put on their Sunday best in the years to come.

The champions of this series have largely reflected that. Drivers such as Chase Elliott, Chris Buescher and Tyler Reddick are among those who have moved up to Cup Series stardom. But this series still has its wily veterans who hang back (usually by circumstance rather than choice) and teach the new kids how to play. In 2024, it was Justin Allgaier, one of the series’ longtime stalwarts, finally claiming a championship in his 14th full-time Xfinity Series season.

2025 has an exciting mix of both types of drivers and a handful of teams that will expect to dominate week in and week out. The best bets for this year’s title winner come from all throughout.

(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)

NASCAR Betting CTA

2025 Xfinity Series Championship Odds, Picks & Projections

  • Austin Hill (+550)
  • Connor Zilisch (+700)
  • Christian Eckes (+3500)

Austin Hill (+550)

While Allgaier is the championship favorite on DraftKings, it’s just below him where I’m starting to take interest.

Austin Hill is almost a blend of both prospect and veteran. The 30-year-old’s journey is much more old-school; he wasn’t rushed up the ranks the second he turned 18 but has driven and fought his way up the ladder to what will be a fourth full-time season with Richard Childress Racing (RCR). The Georgia native can often get pigeonholed into the category of just being a superspeedway winner, a fair label given that seven of his 10 Xfinity Series wins have come at either Daytona or Atlanta. Still, he had a much more well-rounded season in 2024 that provides optimism at any track type.

Most impressive was a Homestead victory to send Hill to the Championship 4, but the No. 21 had strong runs on road courses and intermediates as well. Overall, he finished T10 in 60% of races last year. Hill is a driver who will continue the old-school upward trajectory this year and keep his team in a title fight.

Connor Zilisch (+700)

Though last year’s champion was a veteran, drivers oftentimes come into their first Xfinity Series season and light the world on fire. This is exactly what I’m expecting from Connor Zilisch in the JR Motorsports (JRM) No. 88 in 2025.

The 18-year-old has perhaps the most upside of a driver stepping into a JRM car since Chase Elliott’s debut Xfinity season in 2014. Elliott had no previous Xfinity starts but won three races and 16 T5s and 26 T10s, eventually earning the series’ title. It wouldn’t surprise me to see Zilisch do the same. He started four Xfinity races last year, winning his debut at Watkins Glen and earning an additional pair of P4 finishes at Kansas and Phoenix. Zilisch also won a pair of Truck Series pole awards at Bristol and in his NASCAR debut at Circuit of the Americas (COTA).

The equipment and the skill level are both there for Zilisch to make the Xfinity garage run on his terms in 2025.

Christian Eckes (+3500)

The odds for Christian Eckes to bring home a title as a series rookie are much higher. It’s also much more along expectations, not only for new drivers to a series but for a team like Kaulig Racing has become.

Whether because of driver talent moving up the ranks or team quality going downward, 2024 wasn’t the year Kaulig wanted overall consistency-wise. That said, A.J. Allmendinger still won his way into the Championship 4 at Las Vegas, ensuring the team’s trophy-hunting mantra stayed alive. Shane van Gisngerben (SVG) also won three times in his first full-time Xfinity Series season with Kaulig.

A driver like Eckes could be the perfect fit to rebuild consistently strong finishes. He finished T10 in all but one of 23 Truck Series races last year and has 25 T5 and 35 T10 finishes over the last two Truck seasons. Eckes also earned four victories, holding up his end of the trophy-hunting bargain.

All this is to say that even though Eckes and Kaulig are far from title favorites, a +3500 title outright for a team and driver likely to earn a playoff berth are odds far too long to ignore.

Check out all of our 2025 NASCAR futures picks & predictions:

DraftKings CTA (2024) = Large


Thanks for reading my 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship odds, picks & predictions. Be sure to catch us live every Thursday night at 8:30 p.m. EST on The Backroad!

Also, follow me on Twitter/X @ehicks39 for more NASCAR takes and betting advice.

*Photo Credit: Mark J. Rebilas – USA TODAY Sports*

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