NASCAR insiders, Regan Smith react to 'gut-wrenching' Connor Zilisch championship loss

Throughout the course of 32 race days, there was no question that Connor Zilisch was the dominant driver in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. But on race day No. 33, this past Saturday at Phoenix Raceway, Zilisch met his match.

It was none other than Jesse Love, one of his good friends off the racetrack. Love outdueled Zilisch to win the 2025 championship, one of the more stunning results in the history of the series. It was a “gut-wrenching” experience for Zilisch, Tommy Baldwin said.

“It’s gut-wrenching for Connor, man,” Baldwin said on Monday’s Door Bumper Clear podcast. “Yeah, Jesse won the championship and I’m glad. But I mean, he lost the owner’s championship, the driver’s championship, he had a chance to lose rookie of the year, it’s like the most dominant driver of the year, and he’s gonna leave Phoenix on Wednesday morning with pretty much nothing in his hand. That’s gut-wrenching for him.

“… I told him yesterday, ‘I know you wanted to accomplish that leaving, but you got so many things to look forward to. Your life really starts now. Your professional career of what you’re going to be doing starts now. So, stay focused and get ready because you got a tough battle coming.'”

Connor Zilisch set to make transition to Cup in 2026

Zilisch, 19, came away empty handed in a rookie season which saw him win 10 races and set a record with 18 consecutive top five finishes. But under the current playoff format where the champion is decided in a one-race finale, Love was better. Zilisch was emotional after the race.

“We fought all day long and threw everything we had at it,” Zilisch said. “Unfortunately, our WeatherTech Chevrolet, we just didn’t quite have what we needed. But that doesn’t take away from anything we’ve done this year.

“But I guess the lights were too bright. You work all year long, and you bust your ass for 33 weeks, and I feel like we’ve done the best job we could all year long, and we just didn’t have it today. I’m so proud of this team. We have nothing to hang our heads about, but, yeah, this one’s going to sting.”

It hurts for Zilisch, but he doesn’t have too much time to dwell on it. In three short months, his Cup Series career will begin with Trackhouse Racing. It only gets more difficult from here, Regan Smith said.

“For Connor, if used the right way and channeled the right way, use that as motivation going into this offseason and use that going forward as even more motivation,” Smith said. “As bad as it feels now and it’s gonna feel for the next week or two, maybe longer, use that as motivation every day that you wake up. Get ready because that next step, it’s a lot. It’s gonna be extremely difficult next year, even as good as he is and as much talent as he has. There’s gonna be a lot of bumps in the road and it’s gonna take everything you got.”