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Jan 21, 2025 | 
frontstretch.com | Steve Leffew
As NASCAR Xfinity Series Silly Season winds down, there are still a few dominoes left to fall. Xfinity’s Silly Season is a unique beast. Without the prevalence of multiyear contracts alongside the combination of drivers moving up and down the ranks, there is a ton of change each year. The biggest change was probably the emergence of Haas Factory Team, a revamped version of the former Stewart-Haas Racing.
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Nov 13, 2024 | 
frontstretch.com | Steve Leffew
What we saw on Saturday (Nov. 9) night at Phoenix Raceway was one of the greatest recent examples of what makes NASCAR racing so addicting. Justin Allgaier’s championship win was about as entertaining as you’ll see. It proved the modern playoff format can work to perfection. It put a cherry on top of a spectacular season. As we look back on the 2024 season and ahead to 2025 and beyond, we start to see something unexpected. The Xfinity Series’ racing today is as good as any NASCAR racing has ever been.
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Nov 8, 2024 | 
frontstretch.com | Steve Leffew
Thirty-five down, one to go. When the NASCAR Xfinity Series takes the track this weekend at Phoenix Raceway, it will feature a clash of titans and a wealth of experience. This is the series where names are made, known for young rising talent passing through on the way to the NASCAR Cup Series. But the four drivers competing for the championship have an average age of 34. For some perspective, that’s almost four years older than Championship 4 in Cup.
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Oct 10, 2024 | 
frontstretch.com | Steve Leffew
Sammy Smith‘s unexpected win at Talladega Superspeedway last Saturday (Oct. 5) did a lot for his championship effort, but my eyes are on what it did to the bottom of the playoff grid. Heading to the Charlotte ROVAL, we are about to see some craziness that could reach the level of last season’s penultimate race at Martinsville Speedway. Smith entered Talladega last in points among the 12 playoff drivers. If that race was a must-win for anybody, it was him.
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Oct 3, 2024 | 
frontstretch.com | Steve Leffew
Road and street courses: Of course. Superspeedways? Check. So Shane van Gisbergen has figured out how to run well at superspeedways in addition to his frequent dominance on road and street courses. So what? He can never win a championship on those disciplines alone. Good early-season runs at Martinsville Speedway and Phoenix Raceway made the case that SVG can run well enough on the short tracks, too.
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Sep 26, 2024 | 
frontstretch.com | Steve Leffew |Trenton Worsham
The Bristol Night Race has long been NASCAR’s unofficial fourth or fifth crown-jewel event. What once was the rowdiest summer spectacular, and one of the hardest tickets in sports to come by, has in recent years has been a shadow of its former self. Ask a fan not in a No. 5 hat who was there how they felt about things, and you’ll get an even more muted response.
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Sep 18, 2024 | 
frontstretch.com | Steve Leffew
Once every few years, a young talent emerges, poised to become a star. Every few decades one will come forward who is given the label ‘generational talent’. Connor Zilisch doesn’t fit the description for either of these. In his short time on the NASCAR scene, it’s become clear he has high potential to be even better than the drivers that have been known as generational talents. Zilisch is destined for greatness, and he is probably going to win the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship.
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Sep 12, 2024 | 
frontstretch.com | Steve Leffew
When the NASCAR Xfinity Series takes the track this coming Saturday (Sept. 14) at Watkins Glen International, the race will air on USA Network, a part of the NBC family. It will be the final Xfinity race under the NBC umbrella, a relationship that has continued each year since 2015. The series will move on the CW beginning at Bristol Motor Speedway (Sept. 20), where it will make its home through 2031. I see many pros, and some minor cons, to this monumental change.
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Sep 5, 2024 | 
frontstretch.com | Steve Leffew
When it was announced Aug. 31 that Christian Eckes will take over the No. 16 for Kaulig Racing next season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, it was with subdued fanfare. Yet Eckes brings more to the table than may initially meet the eye. Team owner Matt Kaulig was not present for the press conference that featured Eckes along with team president Chris Rice. Eight days earlier, a similar announcement was made confirming that Daniel Dye will drive another full-time Xfinity car for the team in 2025.
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Sep 5, 2024 | 
frontstretch.com | Steve Leffew
Sometimes you’re doing good where you’re at, but you want more. You think you’re capable of something greater, but the environment you’re in is holding you back. A change of scenery is what you need. Similar work, for a new company. That’s all it will take to reach new heights in your career. Sometimes you’re wrong. For one reason or another, it doesn’t work out. Over the last two seasons, Brandon Jones has learned maybe his results with Joe Gibbs Racing from 2018 to 2022 weren’t bad after all.
