Who's trending up, down two races into NASCAR Xfinity Series season

Following Saturday's race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the first two races of the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series season are in the books. Going into Saturday's Focused Health 250 at Circuit of the Americas, here are the drivers trending up and down early in the season. 

Trending up: Harrison Burton, No. 25 Ford, AM Racing 

Burton has been a pleasant surprise through the first two weeks of 2025, and is the only driver in the series with a top-10 finish in both races this season. His hot start has the No. 25 team sitting sixth in points after two races. That's a far cry from the 2024 season, in which AM Racing's full-time car spent most of its time at the bottom of the standings. 

Trending up: Austin Hill, No. 21 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing 

To the surprise of absolutely nobody, Hill has been the dominant driver through the first two races of the season at Daytona and Atlanta. While a mechanical issue at Daytona took him out of contention, his win at Atlanta proves that he'll once again be a weekly contender. 

Trending up: Matt DiBenedetto, No. 99 Chevrolet, Viking Motorsports 

DiBenedetto and the No. 99 team weren't expected to be around the playoff bubble this season, but finishes of 11th at Daytona and 12th at Atlanta have DiBenedetto sitting 10th in points. COTA will be the first real test of the No. 99 team's speed, but their success over the first two races was a nice underdog story to follow. 

Trending down: Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Chevrolet, JR Motorsports 

Zilisch's struggles this year haven't been his fault, as crashes at Daytona and Atlanta took him out of contention. He sits 32nd in points as the circuit heads to COTA, but he's one of the favorites to win in Austin, Texas on Saturday. A win in the Focused Health 250 would lock Zilisch into the playoffs and prove that he is a title threat. 

Trending down: Brandon Jones, No. 20 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing 

Like Zilisch, Jones has had crashes not of his own doing take him out over the first two weeks of the season. However, unlike Zilisch, Jones doesn't seem to have the raw speed to win on a weekly basis. It's been nearly three years since Jones last went to victory lane, and it will be tough for the 28-year-old to climb out of the hole he's dug for himself. Jones currently sits 28th in points going into the weekend's action at COTA. 

Trending down: Josh Williams, No. 11 Chevrolet, Kaulig Racing 

After a lackluster 2024 season with Kaulig, Williams needs a big year in 2025. It hasn't gotten off to a great start, however, as Williams sits 19th in points two races into the season. COTA likely won't be a strong track for Williams, so it's important that the No. 11 team shows up with speed at Phoenix.