Connor Zilisch Wins Overtime Xfinity Series Thriller in Portland
Photo by David Jensen/Getty Images
PORTLAND, Ore.—A dramatic overtime pass for the win punctuated a nearly perfect afternoon for JR Motorsports driver Connor Zilisch at Portland (Ore.) International Raceway, where the 19-year old claimed his series-best eighth NASCAR Xfinity Series win of the season – the best series victory total ever for a rookie driver.
Only weeks removed from breaking his collarbone celebrating another win – at the Watkins Glen, N.Y. road course – Zilisch claimed pole position, won both stages, set fastest lap and celebrated it all in Victory Circle of the famed 1.967-mile road course in the scenic Pacific Northwest.
Zilisch led 70 of the race’s 78 laps, his No. 88 JRM Chevrolet crossing the finish line 1.572-seconds ahead of three fellow rookies, Joe Gibbs Racing driver William Sawalich, Big Machine Racing’s Nick Sanchez and Kaulig Racing’s Christian Eckes.
Veteran Austin Hill finished fifth, but the Richard Childress Racing driver was the only other competitor to lead laps (eight) on the day, running on Zilisch’s bumper throughout the bulk of the race before taking the lead on a restart with seven laps remaining in regulation.
Another late race caution shortly thereafter set up the opportunity for Zilisch to get back by Hill, which he did on the ensuing restart in OT even after having to quickly navigate a track run-off area in an intense four-wide scramble for the lead heading into Turn 1.
“To come back two weeks after collarbone surgery, it hurt, but it hurt so good,’’ said a grinning Zilisch, who now has 13 consecutive top-five finishes. “So proud of this 88-team. It’s been such a fun year. Let’s go get ourselves a championship”
Asked about reclaiming the lead even after the evasive action in Turn 1 on that restart, Zilisch said, “It’s kind of funny, I ran it in practice and I was like, ‘it’s not even that slow.
“As soon as I hit the brakes, I wheel-hopped, but kind of committed to it as soon as realized I wasn’t going to make the corner. And it worked out. I wasn’t really planning on it, but last resort you’ve gotta do what you gotta do.’’
For most of the race, Zilisch set a blistering pace. He won the first stage by nearly 15-seconds and the second stage (his eighth stage win of the season) by more than eight-seconds. All the while, Hill and Zilisch’s JRM teammate Justin Allgaier kept him honest seconds behind.
On the restart where Hill claimed the lead, the reigning series champion Allgaier was collected in a frantic four-wide restart and spun out. He pitted before the overtime restart and was able to finish 15th but it cost him dearly in the championship standings.
Allgaier took the green flag at Portland with a three-point lead on Zilisch and took the checkered flag, now trailing his young teammate by 20 points as the series heads into the regular season finale next week.
Rookie Carson Kvapil finished sixth after a solid presence up front all afternoon. Jeb Burton was seventh – an important showing for the Jordan Anderson driver who is just below the 12-driver Playoff cutoff line, 31 points behind his cousin Harrison Burton, who rallied to an impressive 12th place finish after starting at the rear of the field Saturday.
Austin Green turned in another notable road course effort with an eighth place showing, followed by Blaine Perkins and Jesse Love.
One more race remains to formalize the 12-driver field for the 2025 Playoffs. There have been eight race winners and four drivers are currently above the cutoff line on points.
The series moves to Illinois’ World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway next Saturday night (7:30 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). It will mark the series’ first race at the 1.250-mile oval since 2010 – a victory by that season’s eventual champion, Brad Keselowski.
NASCAR Xfinity Series Race Number 25
Race Results for the Pacific Office Automation 147 - Saturday, August 30, 2025
Portland International Raceway - Portland, OR - 1.97 - Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 78 Laps - 153.66 Miles
Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Saturday, 8/30/2025 @ 10:32 PM Eastern
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Stage 1 Pos Stage 2 Pos Pts Status Tms Laps Playoff Pts
1 1 88 Connor Zilisch # WeatherTech Chevrolet 78 1 1 61 Running 2 70 7
2 4 18 William Sawalich # Soundgear Toyota 78 5 4 48 Running
3 7 48 Nick Sanchez # Caroline Jones No Tellin Chevrolet 78 34 Running
4 15 16 Christian Eckes # Action Industries Chevrolet 78 9 35 Running
5 3 21 Austin Hill Bennett Transportation Chevrolet 78 2 2 50 Running 1 8
6 9 1 Carson Kvapil # Bass Pro Shops/Clarience Tech Chevrolet 78 6 6 41 Running
7 17 27 Jeb Burton Opti-Coat Chevrolet 78 30 Running
8 14 32 Austin Green 3Dimensional.com Chevrolet 78 29 Running
9 23 31 Blaine Perkins Opti-Coat Chevrolet 78 28 Running
10 10 2 Jesse Love Whelen Chevrolet 78 7 31 Running
11 26 10 Daniel Dye # Race to Stop Suicide Chevrolet 78 26 Running
12 18 25 Harrison Burton AirBox Ford 78 25 Running
13 28 44 Brennan Poole Freedom Pro Chevrolet 78 24 Running
14 13 54 Taylor Gray # Operation 300 Toyota 78 23 Running
15 2 7 Justin Allgaier BRANDT Chevrolet 78 3 3 38 Running
16 5 41 Sam Mayer Audibel Ford 78 4 5 34 Running
17 25 51 Jeremy Clements Alliance Driveway Solutions Chevrolet 78 20 Running
18 11 20 Brandon Jones Menards/Pelonis Toyota 78 8 8 25 Running
19 19 28 Joey Hand Ford Performance Ford 78 18 Running
20 6 24 Alon Day JSSI Toyota 78 17 Running
21 30 71 Ryan Ellis Classic Collision Chevrolet 78 16 Running
22 8 8 Sammy Smith Pilot Chevrolet 78 10 16 Running
23 33 91 Josh Williams OACEUS Chevrolet 78 14 Running
24 20 39 Ryan Sieg Sci Aps Ford 78 13 Running
25 31 14 Garrett Smithley Knight Fire/Dozer Winch Chevrolet 78 12 Running
26 34 53 Kyle Sieg Chevrolet 78 11 Running
27 16 00 Sheldon Creed Friends of Jaclyn Ford 78 10 11 Running
28 36 70 Thomas Annunziata CROW Credit Repair Chevrolet 78 9 Running
29 35 35 Takuma Koga Macnica Toyota 75 8 Running
30 29 4 Parker Retzlaff Ziploc Chevrolet 74 7 Electrical
31 12 19 Jack Perkins Shaw and Partners Toyota 71 9 7 12 Suspension
32 22 26 Dean Thompson # OSU/Thompson Pipe Group Toyota 71 5 Running
33 21 42 Anthony Alfredo Big Rack Spirits Chevrolet 63 4 Transmission
34 24 99 Matt DiBenedetto Viking Motorsports Chevrolet 56 3 Suspension
35 27 11 Will Brown Mobile X Chevrolet 49 2 Suspension
36 37 07 Alex Labbe Lockard Security Chevrolet 49 1 Fuel Pump
37 32 45 Vicente Salas Prime Bites Mini Muffins Chevrolet 43 1 Running
Fastest Lap Bonus: # 88 lap 2 / 74.552
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 18 Mins, 15 Secs. Average Speed: 66.688 MPH Margin of Victory: 1.572 Seconds
Stage 1 Top 10: 88, 21, 7, 41, 18, 1, 2, 20, 19, 00
Stage 2 Top 10: 88, 21, 7, 18, 41, 1, 19, 20, 16, 8
Race Comments: Connor Zilisch won the 4th running of the Pacific Office Automation 147 at Portland International Raceway, his ninth victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Prior to the start of the race, the following cars dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reasons indicated: Nos. 07, 4, 11, 25, 48, 54, 91 (unapproved adjustments), 70 (engine change).
Failed to Qualify: None.
Caution Flags: 4 for 14 laps; Laps: 26-28 (#99 Stopped On Track Turn 9/Stage 1 Conclusion [53]); 52-54 (Stage 2 Conclusion [14]); 65-68 (#42 STopped On Track Turn 2 [None]); 73-76 (#19 Stopped On Track Turn 12 [00]).
Lead Changes: 2 among 2 drivers; C. Zilisch # 1-67; A. Hill 68-75; C. Zilisch # 76-78.
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Next Race: September 6, 2025 - World Wide Technology Raceway
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CURRENT NASCAR XFINITY SERIES STANDINGS
Points Report
Portland International Raceway
Pacific Office Automation 147
UNOFFICIAL Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Saturday, 8/30/2025 @ 11:21 PM Eastern UNOFFICIAL
Rank Driver Car Starts GL Points Ldr Nxt Race Wins Stage Wins Playoff Pts
1. Connor Zilisch # 88 24 1 924 0 0 8 8 43
2. Justin Allgaier 7 25 -1 904 -20 20 3 9 24
3. Sam Mayer 41 25 0 874 -50 30 1 3 8
4. Jesse Love 2 25 0 804 -120 70 1 1 6
5. Austin Hill 21 24 0 766 -158 38 3 6 0
6. Carson Kvapil # 1 25 0 728 -196 38 0 1 1
7. Brandon Jones 20 25 0 709 -215 19 1 3 8
8. Sammy Smith 8 25 1 664 -260 45 1 3 8
9. Sheldon Creed 00 25 -1 662 -262 2 0 1 1
10. Taylor Gray # 54 25 0 657 -267 5 0 2 2
11. Harrison Burton 25 25 0 628 -296 29 0 2 2
12. Nick Sanchez # 48 25 0 603 -321 25 1 1 6
13. Jeb Burton 27 25 0 597 -327 6 0 0 0
14. Ryan Sieg 39 25 0 560 -364 37 0 0 0
15. Christian Eckes # 16 25 1 558 -366 2 0 0 0
16. Dean Thompson # 26 25 -1 536 -388 22 0 1 1
17. Daniel Dye # 10 25 1 493 -431 43 0 0 0
18. Brennan Poole 44 25 -1 491 -433 2 0 0 0
19. William Sawalich # 18 25 0 471 -453 20 0 0 0
20. Jeremy Clements 51 25 0 427 -497 44 0 0 0
NASCAR XFINITY SERIES PLAYOFF PICTURE
POS NO. DRIVER MFR +/- Wins Playoff Points
1 88 Connor Zilisch Chevrolet 8 WINS 43
2 7 Justin Allgaier Chevrolet 3 WINS 24
3 21 Austin Hill Chevrolet 1 WIN 8
4 41 Sam Mayer Ford 1 WIN 8
5 2 Jesse Love Chevrolet 1 WIN 6
6 20 Brandon Jones Toyota 1 WIN 8
7 8 Sammy Smith Chevrolet 1 WIN 8
8 48 Nicholas Sanchez Chevrolet 1 WIN 6
9 1 Carson Kvapil Chevrolet +131
10 00 Sheldon Creed Ford +65
11 54 Taylor
GrayToyota +60
12 25 Harrison Burton Ford +31
CUTOFF LINE
13 27 Jeb Burton Chevrolet -31
14 39 Ryan Sieg Ford -68
15 16 Christian
EckesChevrolet -70
16 26 Dean Thompson Toyota -92
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