XFINITY: Connor Zilisch Claws Back for Eighth Win of 2025 at Portland

There really isn't a single thing that Connor Zilisch, the 19-year-old NASCAR Cup Series-bound prodigy, can't do.

Piloting the No. 88 WeatherTech Chevrolet for JR Motorsports, Zilisch secured the pole for Saturday's 147-mile contest and clearly had a stranglehold on the entirety of the NASCAR Xfinity Series field, pulling to unfathomable margins at the end of the race's first two stages.

Then, in the race's final stage, while the pack technically stayed "closer" (but, in reality, still not that close), the Mooresville, North Carolina-native looked to have the field totally schooled. That was, until a caution was displayed inside of 10 to go.

At this point in the race, the only thing that was going to stop Zilisch from returning to Victory Lane would be a wild restart, which Portland International Raceway has been known for in its short time on the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule.

With less than 10 laps remaining, a restart had the field flying down towards the first corner, with Austin Hill outlasting Zilisch on the initial launch. However, an overzealous William Sawalich entered Turn 1 too deep, and smacked the side of the No. 88 Chevrolet.

There was damage to the right-side of Zilisch, and a significant tire rub, which plauged the eyeline of the JR Motorsports driver for several laps, as he looked to recover and close back in on Austin Hill. Then, just as he was getting within striking distance, another yellow came out.

RACE RESULTS: 2025 NXS Pacific Office Automation 147 at Portland

Believe it or not, the final restart of the afternoon was even more insane, with Connor Zilisch getting a great launch after being door slammed by Austin Hill off Turn 11 and coming down to the chicane even with the race-leader.

Zilisch decided he wouldn't be making the chicane, and chose to drive through the penalty area, but while that was happening the leaders running the original course got together and slowed dramatically, allowing the No. 88 to get away, all while maintaining a legal move.

"I just cut the track, I don't know," Zilisch said laughing after jumping out of his No. 88 Chevrolet. "Our car was as fast as Xfinity Mobile all day and to come back two weeks after collarbone surgery, it hurt, but it hurt so good. So yeah, it's awesome, man. So proud of this No. 88 team, it's been such a fun year and lets go get ourselves a championship."

All of these impressive accolades; the 13 consecutive top-fives in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (the second-longest streak ever), the six wins in the last seven races, winning the last three Xfinity Series events from the pole, is made even more impressive by the fact that Zilisch had collarbone surgery about three weeks ago, and this Spring, injured his back in a crash at Talladega Superspeedway.

William Sawalich, a fellow Rookie of The Year contender in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, earned a career-best finish at Portland, coming home second in all of the late-race madness. Following him were two additional rookies, Nick Sanchez in third, and Christian Eckes in fourth.

Austin Hill, who had a shot at winning the race on the final restart, faded to fifth after calamity graced the Turn 1 chicane of Portland International Raceway. Carson Kvapil came home sixth, with Jordan Anderson Racing teammates Jeb Burton, Austin Green, and Blaine Perkins finishing seventh through ninth.

After sustaining severe right-rear damage to his Richard Childress Racing No. 2 Chevrolet, courtesy of contact with William Sawalich in Stage 2, Jesse Love managed to round out the top-10 finishers in Saturday's event.

For Zilisch, the victory moves him back into the regular-season points lead over JR Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier heading to the regular-season finale at WWT Raceway next weekend. Sam Mayer is the only other driver in reach of the regular-season title, sitting in third place, 50 points behind Zilisch.

Coverage of the Nu Way 200 at WWT Raceway will take place on Saturday, September 6 at 7:30 PM ET on The CW, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.