Connor Zilisch paces NASCAR Xfinity Series practice at Phoenix

NASCAR Xfinity Series championship favorite Connor Zilisch certainly looked the part on Friday afternoon. 

Zilisch, one of the four drivers eligible to win the 2025 Xfinity Series title at Phoenix Raceway on Saturday, topped the speed chart in Friday's practice session with a fastest lap of 28.045 seconds around the one-mile oval. 

Jesse Love was the only other Championship 4 driver who was inside the top-13 in practice, ending the session in third. Defending Xfinity Series champion Justin Allgaier was 13th-quickest, with rookie title contender Carson Kvapil 14th. 

Notable Xfinity Series practice results 

Brenden Queen, Love, Corey Day and Austin Hill rounded out the top five, with Sammy Smith, Aric Almirola — who is racing for the owners championship — Brandon Jones, Jeb Burton and Nick Sanchez completing the top 10. 

Other notable qualifying efforts include Harrison Burton in 11th, Ryan Sieg in 16th, Martinsville winner Taylor Gray in 18th, Justin Bonsignore in 21st, Sheldon Creed in 23rd. 

Dawson Cram (38th) was last on the speed chart. 

Xfinity Series qualifying will take place at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, with coverage on the CW App. The 200-lap, 200-mile Xfinity Series championship race will go green shortly after 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, with coverage on the CW, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Pre-race coverage will begin at 7 p.m. ET on the CW and MRN. Riley Herbst is the defending race winner.