NASCAR dodged one bullet with Corey Heim's success at Phoenix Raceway on Friday night in the Truck Series, but they could not dodge two when it came to the Xfinity Series championship race on Saturday.

Rising star and soon-to-be Cup Series driver Connor Zilisch has undoubtedly been the best driver in NASCAR's second series this season, taking 10 wins, 20 top 5s, 23 top 10s and leading for 1013 laps.

Those statistics, however, despite some of them being record-breaking, were not enough to win Zilisch the Xfinity Series championship, with the JR Motorsports star finishing third at Phoenix and losing out on the chip to Richard Childress Racing's Jesse Love on Saturday night.

Once again, NASCAR's playoff format and the fact that an entire season is determined by one championship race is under heavy scrutiny.

Zilisch heartbroken after championship defeat

After such a fine season, Zilisch was clearly feeling the emotions of his defeat post-race, admitting he left it all out on the track in Phoenix.

“We did everything we could, and I left my heart out on the track, but second in the championship is all we got,” the JR Motorsports driver said.

“We fought all day long and threw everything we had at it. 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.”

The JR Motorsports driver also took to social media to address his fans directly.

"Heartbroken," he wrote on X. "We did everything we could. Nothing will take away from the year we’ve had. Onto bigger and better things. Thank you JR Motorsports."

With the chance for Xfinity Series glory gone, Zilisch must now prepare for 2026, where he will be racing full-time in the Cup Series with Trackhouse Racing.