AVONDALE, Ariz. — Dale Earnhardt Jr.‘s final NASCAR victory. Justin Allgaier‘s first championship. Stunning career debuts and the closest finish in all of NASCAR history. All of these moments will forever be associated with Xfinity‘s 11-year NASCAR series title sponsorship — more than a decade of making stars and celebrating legends.
Saturday‘s NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race (7:30 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) pits the defending series champion Allgaier against a pair of his JR Motorsports rookie teammates, superstar 19-year old Connor Zilisch and second-generation star Carson Kvapil, along with Richard Childress Racing‘s Jesse Love for the final title in Xfinity‘s long and legendary sponsorship of the series.
All signs point to an intensely competitive and highly entertaining race — and that is befitting of an Xfinity-sponsored era that provided NASCAR with so many iconic moments.
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“It‘s hard to put into words how much Xfinity has meant not just to our series, but to the sport as a whole,‘‘ Allgaier said. “They‘ve been such an integral part in the successes our series has had, and they‘ve been a group that I have really enjoyed getting to know and work with over the years.
“I can‘t thank them enough for all of their support and their belief in our series. And I am really happy that they are going to still be a part of our sport (as a Premier Partner of the Cup Series). It‘s been an honor to represent them, both as a driver and a champion of the series all these years.‘‘
The now-familiar “as fast as Xfinity internet” marketing slogan that the series drivers used in television and radio interviews is embedded into the NASCAR mainstream. And how fitting it was. Fast and compelling.
The title sponsorship reigned over some of the most significant and celebrated times in the sport.
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In the 2015 title-sponsor debut season, NASCAR superstar Kyle Busch returned from massive injuries to win again in an Xfinity Series race at Michigan. A year later, the NASCAR Hall of Famer and forever Most Popular Driver, Earnhardt, claimed his final national series win at an Xfinity Series race at Richmond.
That same year, Daniel Suárez claimed the Xfinity Series title to become the first international champion in NASCAR history.
In 2017, Jeremy Clements provided the iconic vibes with a spin and win in the Xfinity Series race at the Road America road course.
In 2018, Tyler Reddick literally edged Elliott Sadler in five overtimes to claim an Xfinity Series win at Daytona International Speedway in the slimmest margin of victory — officially scored as 0.000 seconds — in NASCAR history, truly necessitating photo evidence.
At Chicago in 2023, the Xfinity Series officially became the first series in NASCAR history to compete on a city street course.
Last year, a teenage Zilisch won pole position and the race in his Xfinity Series debut at the historic Watkins Glen International road course and the season was capped off with Allgaier valiantly claiming his first major NASCAR title in 14 years of full-time competition in the series.
Future Cup Series champion Chase Elliott won his first major title in the Xfinity Series in 2014 as did two-time Daytona 500 winner William Byron three years later.
“It‘s been an honor to race in the Xfinity Series with our family-owned team,‘‘ said owner-driver Ryan Sieg, who, along with Clements, are the only two drivers to have competed in every Xfinity-sponsored race.
“Xfinity has been a tremendous title sponsor and I am proud to have been a small part of some amazing memories.”
And while Xfinity will no longer headline the series, it will still very much stay an important part of the sport — its parent company Comcast sponsors the annual Comcast Community Champion Award and has played a significant role in recognizing the good in the sport and providing money to help foster a wide range of charitable outreach. Making a difference in so many people‘s lives, well beyond the race track.
Xfinity‘s tenure has genuinely provided that perfect combination of competitive excitement on track and life-changing outreach off it. The gratitude for the series sponsorship, the stars it has fostered and celebrated, is so real and pervasive.
“I would say Xfinity has been an amazing partner of the best series in NASCAR,‘‘ Clements said. “You always see them around, and they‘re always asking what they could do to make things better as well.
“Their support has elevated the competition, the exposure and the entire racing community. I‘m grateful for everything they‘ve done to keep this series thriving. It‘s been an honor to race under their banner all these years!”
And the sentiment is shared by so many.
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