NASCAR
Daniel Dye On NASCAR Xfinity Series Mission; Justin Allgaier Earns Top Drivers’ Championship Odds
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry, in both print and digital media. He ed the Sportscasting team in 2021 following a decade of freelancing. He spent his early career as a reporter for various newspapers in Illinois, New York, Florida, North Carolina, and Michigan, with a particular emphasis as a beat reporter for the Chicago Blackhawks. Jeff earned his bachelor's degree in journalism from Oakland University. Over the course of his career he earned several sports writing awards, including two national awards from the Associated Press Sports Editors for column writing and news reporting. One of the five prized columns included a commentary on Get to know Jeff Hawkins better
Published12 May 2025
At 21 years old and one of the youngest pilots on the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Daniel Dye’s motivation to do good with his current platform remains mature.
Since he was a late model racer at 14 year old, Dye and his father, Randy, fueled an initiative to raise awareness and combat suicide and promote May as Mental Health Awareness Month.
While advocating for the “Race to Stop Suicide,” the initiative has developed into the young driver’s off-track mission.
“Mental health wasn’t talked a lot about in the past, it was just suck it up and there wasn’t a whole lot of good talk about it for a while,” Dye said, as reported by NASCAR.com. “Now it’s recognized at this level and that it’s a real thing. Mental health is just as important as physical health. Nobody really cares much about talking about suicide until it’s too late.”
Unfortunately, Dye knows what suicide can do to a family. His cousin, Luke Dye, 23, took his life in 2022.
“There was no (warning) sign,” Daniel said. “You hear everybody say that, and it makes it so hard, but you never know. You don’t see it coming and then it’s just like boom. It’s so crazy that it could happen so quickly.
“His death was devastating, especially since we had already started Race to Stop Suicide at that point. It was all over our race cars and we were talking about it, all these things, and then one of our own does it. We never saw it coming. It just shows how important it really is because it can be so invisible at times.”
With his platform and experience, Dye plans to continue helping those who need it.
Entering a second off week, Justin Allgaier (+240) remains the circuit sports-betting favorite to earn the drivers’ championship, according to BetOnline Sportsbook. Austin Hill (+400) was tabbed with the second-best odds and Connor Zilisch (+425) the third. Dye (+12500) remains a longshot.
Four tires, fuel, track bar, and other chassis adjustments on the @KauligRacing #ChampionContainer Chevrolet. Stage 1 complete at @Rockingham1965. P11. pic.twitter.com/9VoKFFM9vi
— Daniel Dye (@danieldye43) April 19, 2025
2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series Drivers’ Championship Odds
With the circuit idle for a second week, here’s a look at the odds for the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers’ championship, according to BetOnline Sportsbook:
| Driver | NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Odds |
|---|---|
| Justin Allgaier | +240 |
| Austin Hill | +400 |
| Connor Zilisch | +425 |
| Jesse Love | +600 |
| Sam Mayer | +700 |
| Sheldon Creed | +900 |
| Sammy Smith | +1400 |
| Brandon Jones | +1400 |
| Taylor Gray | +2000 |
| Carson Kvapil | +2000 |
| Ryan Sieg | +4000 |
| Nicholas Sanchez | +5000 |
| William Sawalich | +5000 |
| Christian Eckes | +5000 |
| Harrison Burton | +6600 |
| Jeb Burton | +6600 |
| Parker Retzlaff | +12500 |
| Daniel Dye | +12500 |
| Matt DiBenedetto | +15000 |
| Josh Williams | +20000 |
| Jeremy Clements | +20000 |
| Dean Thompson | +20000 |
| Blaine Perkins | +25000 |
| Ryan Ellis | +25000 |
| Kyle Sieg | +30000 |
| Leland Honeyman Jr. | +50000 |
| Kris Wright | +50000 |
| Garrett Smithley | +50000 |
| Brennan Poole | +50000 |
*-Odds current at time of publication
