Entering NASCAR's championship weekend at Phoenix Raceway, two of the three major series had clear and obvious title favorites.
Corey Heim and Connor Zilisch both put together historic seasons in NASCAR's Craftsman Truck Series and Xfinity Series, respectively, to the point where anybody else winning the title would have been a miscarriage of justice. The former got the job done on Friday night, and disaster was averted.
On Saturday, however, Zilisch was outdueled for the win by Jesse Love. And, rightfully so, fans wasted no time making their displeasure known.
But let's look at it this way. Is Zilisch losing this title really going to matter in the grand scheme of his career?
Connor Zilisch is going to be just fine, with or without an Xfinity Series championship
Zilisch is, with perhaps no exaggeration, the most promising prospect this sport has ever seen. His best-case scenario is to be firmly in the discussion as one of the greatest of all-time 20 years from now. Never in NASCAR history has a driver been as good as he is as a 19-year-old in his first full-time season at the national level.
Chase Elliott and Ty Gibbs both won Xfinity Series championships as teenaged rookies (okay, the latter turned 20 with a month left in his campaign), doing so in years when they won three and seven races, respectively. Zilisch won as many as they did combined, becoming the first series regular to hit double digits in decades.
The fact that he didn't win the title, under a format where the championship outcome is condensed into one race, takes nothing away from his season. We all know he deserved it the most, and that's all that should matter. And we all know he's going to go on to do much bigger and better things.
Once it's all said and done, the discussion surrounding Zilisch will be strictly focused on his Cup Series career. When it comes to both wins and titles, it's not "if" or even "when"; it's "How many?"
He should immediately challenge teammate Shane van Gisbergen for road course dominance, and if Trackhouse Racing manage to get their oval program together, he'll be contending everywhere before too long.
In a few years, absolutely nobody is going to give a single you-know-what that Zilisch didn't win the 2025 Xfinity Series title. The playoff format sucks; we all know that. But when it comes to lower series drivers who are only at those levels as a stepping stone, it's not really about the championship. It's about evaluating long-term upside, an area in which the JR Motorsports phenom passed every test.
So, really, what's the big deal if Love gets to hoist the trophy instead?