NASCAR Xfinity Series Preview: Wawa 250

Time: 7:30 PM ET
Location: Daytona International Speedway
Broadcast: The CW Network | Streaming: Fubo (regional availability)

Race Overview

The Wawa 250 marks the 68th Xfinity Series race at Daytona and serves as the third-to-last event in the regular season. With four playoff spots still up for grabs, tonight’s drafting-track thriller could reshape the postseason picture.

Expect pack racing, last-lap drama, and the ever-present threat of the “Big One”. Since 2005, more than half of Daytona’s Xfinity races have gone to overtime, and the last nine featured 16+ lead changes.

Championship Battle

Connor Zilisch starts on the pole despite nursing a broken collarbone. He plans to hand off the car to Parker Kligerman at the first caution. Zilisch leads the standings with four wins in the last five races and a record 11 straight top-five finishes.

Sam Mayer joins him on the front row, riding a wave of momentum with three consecutive top-two finishes.

Justin Allgaier leads the series in laps led (689) and is one win away from tying Matt Kenseth for ninth all-time. With four more top-10s, he’ll become the first driver to reach 300 in Xfinity history.

Playoff Picture

Eight drivers have clinched playoff berths.

Harrison Burton sits 30 points above the cut line.

Jeb Burton trails by 30 points, the largest gap between transfer and elimination spots this season.

Carson Kvapil, Sheldon Creed, Taylor Gray, and Jeremy Clements can lock in with a win tonight.

Track Trends & Team Insights

Chevrolet has won 14 of the last 16 Daytona races, leading 77% of laps this season.

Austin Hill is the king of drafting tracks: 9 wins, 754 laps led, and victories in 9 of the last 21 drafting races.

Jesse Love has earned 6 poles in the last 10 drafting events.

JR Motorsports and Richard Childress Racing are tied at 101 career wins. RCR has won 3 of 4 drafting races in 2025.

Justin Haley returns to Kaulig Racing’s No. 11—he’s won four drafting-track races in that car, including two at Daytona.

Wildcards & Watchlist

Jeremy Clements makes his 521st career start, moving into third all-time in series history.

Sheldon Creed has quietly built a strong Daytona résumé with four straight top-10s and two runner-up finishes.

Toyota remains winless in the last 15 races, adding urgency to their campaign.

With 22 of the last 40 Daytona races going to overtime, tonight’s Wawa 250 promises chaos, strategy, and heartbreak. Whether it’s a late-race pass or a surprise winner, this one could go down to the wire.

Driver                                                   Odds