Buddies and battlers: Love, Zilisch carry friendship into Xfinity Series Playoffs

To say Jesse Love and Connor Zilisch's friendship is as feel-good as it is humorous is an understatement. From dessert digs and concert reenactments to naptime roasts and poster remakes, you get the gist. Such a bond translates to the race track, where endless competitiveness drives both to achieve their absolute best. This friendship-competition mix will transition to the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs, beginning at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday (7:30 p.m. ET, The CW, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), where both drivers will embark on their respective quests for championship glory. RELATED: 2025 Xfinity Series Playoffs field set | Xfinity Series schedule "It's easy to blend the two together, your outside friend life and your racing job, almost, and it's easy to forget that we are different people when we put our helmets on," Zilisch, driver of the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, said during Xfinity Series Playoffs Media Day. "But thankfully, I've got a great friend group that we can go out and compete and be fierce competitors on the race track, and then come off the track and not treat each other how we do on the race track and be friendly. And it's a hard balance because you don't want to wreck your friend, you don't want to have incidents with friends of yours, but you just kind of have to expect it if you're going to race around each other. And if you're going to kind of be friends, you have to understand that on the other side of it, you're gonna have to race against each other, too. And some things could happen." Love and Zilisch's first interaction came at the Trackhouse Motorplex, where a young Love -- then a Toyota Racing Development (TRD) driver -- was learning the go-karting ropes. While Love liked Zilisch, he wasn't ready to heed advice from him; initial attempts by Zilisch to provide pointers to Love were rebuffed. That is, until Zilisch -- a well-known karting phenom -- hopped into a machine himself and turned a few laps. Such speed from Zilisch on the course resonated with Love, and following a transition from squashing to receiving advice, the two popped off. "We got along then, and then basically have hung out and realized we like the same music, talk about the same things, have the same sense of humor, like the same food," Love, driver of the No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, said during Xfinity Series Playoffs Media Day. "So yeah, we've obviously hit it off since." [caption id="attachment_487104" align="aligncenter" width="1300"]Jonathan Bachman | Getty Images[/caption] Fast forward to 2025, and both drivers aim to leave their mark in championship-clinching fashion. Entering the Round of 12 opener at Bristol, Zilisch has taken the field by storm; the 19-year-old begins postseason play 59 points above the playoff cutline, riding a four-race winning streak. The 20-year-old Love -- who won the 2025 season opener at Daytona International Speedway -- enters the playoffs eight markers to the good. Although the 2025 playoffs will be the first time both drivers have competed against each other for championship hardware in one of NASCAR's national series, neither believes the raised stakes will alter their friendship. "I don't think the playoffs really will change too much," said Zilisch, who is now one of 25 different rookies to qualify for the Xfinity Series Playoffs since its inception in 2016. "I obviously hope that we don't have any run-ins, and we're not battling for a transfer spot into the playoffs or anything like that. And that could create some tension, but we don't let what happens on the track affect our relationship and friendship off the track. It's easy to forget sometimes, but it's important for us to have each other to lean on off the track and have that friendship, but not let it get in the way of what we're doing on the track." Motivation abounds for both drivers as the postseason looms. For Zilisch, the opportunity is present to cap off an adventurous season with an Xfinity title ahead of his full-time move to the Cup Series next season with Trackhouse Racing. To Love, the opportunity is also present to not only seize an Xfinity Series title but do so against a good friend, with motivation from past competitions with Zilisch as steady fuel to continue improving. Love and Zilisch have finished inside the top five together five times, including a 1-2 finish at Pocono Raceway in June. MORE: Xfinity Series standings | Key players in 2025-26 Silly Season "Does it suck? Getting beat by your friend, yeah, it sucks," Love said. "I'm not going to try to lie about that and say it doesn't exist. It does exist. It isn't fun. I do wish I was on the other side of that coin right now. But I also know that my timing is what it is for a certain reason ... so I'm not necessarily worried about it. It does motivate me to get better. I've definitely gotten better this year as a driver, as a leader, as an athlete, because Connor's motivated me because I don't want to be second fiddle to him. That is something that gets my mood. It is something that bothers me, something that I'm not OK with, but at the same time, what's the mindset that I have to have to achieve my goal is to try to a little bit disassociate from the result and focus more on maximizing my day every weekend." And maximize every weekend, these friends and competitors are sure to do so in their next adventure.