There are only so many superlatives that can continue to be lauded at Connor Zilisch. The 19-year-old phenom continued his strong rookie season after corralling win number eight in the Pacific Northwest at Portland International Raceway, setting a new record for a rookie campaign in NASCAR’s secondary series.
The No. 88 for JR Motorsports spent every single lap at the front of the field without much of a challenge, en route to also reclaiming the regular-season points lead over teammate Justin Allgaier with one race left before the playoffs. It was almost not to be after Sheldon Creed, Thomas Annunziata and Anthony Alfredo simultaneously had problems with 12 laps to go, bringing out the caution.
It was complete chaos from there. Austin Hill took the lead on the successive restart with help from Carson Kvapil, before a William Sawalich dive-bomb and Allgaier contact forced Zilisch to use the a-frame runoff. Hill held on to the lead until another caution came out with four laps to go due to the stuck car of Jack Perkins.
Zilisch took the lead on the final restart as calamity broke out behind him. He has now won three races in a row and six of the last seven races.
“To come back two weeks after collarbone surgery, it hurt, but it hurt so good,” Zilisch told the CW. “So proud of the [No.] 88 team. Let’s go get ourselves a championship.”
Sawalich took home the runner-up position, with Nick Sanchez, Christian Eckes and Hill rounding out the top five. Kvapil clinched a playoff spot with a sixth-place finish while playoff hopeful Jeb Burton climbed to finish seventh. The upstart Austin Green netted another top 10 with an eighth-place finish, followed by his Jordan Anderson Racing teammate Blaine Perkins in ninth. Jesse Love rounded out the top 10.
It was far from a smooth day for many. Matt DiBenedetto was one of a few drivers who had excursions over the course of the race at Portland. After a heat buildup, a fire broke out in the foot well of the No. 99 car, forcing the veteran to park off to the side of the backstretch, where he momentarily grimaced before somehow returning to the race, albeit 21 laps down.
Supercars driver Will Brown was snakebitten in a one-off appearance for Kaulig Racing, breaking a right side trackbar mount just before the start of stage three. Allgaier and Sammy Smith were both spun out late in the race, while Harrison Burton was shelled around early yet rallied to finish inside the top 15.
Creed and Taylor Gray hold 65- and 60-point gaps to the cutline, respectively, while Harrison Burton has a 31-point lead over Jeb Burton for the final playoff spot as it stands.
One race remains in the regular season for the Xfinity Series, as they head to Gateway next week in search of the final playoff lineup. The race will be broadcasted on Sat, Sept. 6 on the CW at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Thomas is in his first year covering NASCAR at Frontstretch. A Bay Area NASCAR fan for over 15+ years, he found his love for the sport through Jeff Gordon.
Thomas has enjoyed several trips to Sonoma Raceway in his time and currently covers college football in the Bay Area, also writing about the California Golden Bears.