Before the final stage of the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Portland International Raceway on Aug. 30, it looked as if Connor Zilisch was well on his way to another dominant road course victory. The 19-year-old rookie phenom had led every lap and managed to build a sizable lead while running lap times over half a second faster than the field.
However, that comfortable lead vanished with 12 laps to go, when Anthony Alfredo’s stalled car brought out the yellow flag. On the ensuing late-race restart, Joe Gibbs Racing’s William Sawalich ran into Zilisch, resulting in damage to his No. 88 Chevrolet and forcing him to take the escape road, allowing Austin Hill to take over the race lead.
Zilisch then had to endure another restart in overtime, in which he again had to drive through the escape road while chaos reigned behind him in turn 1. However, this time the JR Motorsports driver recaptured the lead from Hill and remained in front for the final two laps en route to his eighth victory of the season.
Crossing the line behind Zilisch were fellow rookies Sawalich, Nick Sanchez, and Christian Eckes, with Hill rounding out the top five. Carson Kvapil, Jeb Burton, Austin Green, Blaine Perkins and Jesse Love rounded out the top 10.
The Winners
With Zilisch’s dominant performance, he is now credited with winning six of the last seven series races, as well as scoring a remarkable 13 consecutive top-five finishes since returning from injury in May. In addition, he took over the series points lead from teammate Justin Allgaier, with a 20-point advantage heading into the regular-season finale at World Wide Technology Raceway.
While some drivers may not be impressed with Sawalich’s late-race dive bomb move going into turn 1, there’s no doubt that the rookie has shown great speed on road courses, as he topped his previous career best finish of third at Sonoma Raceway with a runner-up result. The Minnesotan has also managed to find some consistency in recent weeks, with six finishes of 12th or better in the last seven races.
The drive of the day award goes to Sanchez, as the Big Machine Racing rookie had to drop to the rear before the green flag, but methodically worked his way through the field over the course of the race to score a third-place finish. The strong result marks Sanchez’s first top five since Sonoma on July 12.
It was also a great day for fellow Chevy rookies Eckes and Kvapil, who finished fourth and sixth, respectively. For Eckes, the result marks his best finish since Pocono on June 21, while Kvapil has scored top-10 finishes in the last four consecutive races.
While Hill may not have had the raw speed to keep pace with Zilisch, he certainly put up a fierce fight against him in the closing laps. The series veteran finished second in both of the opening stages and briefly took over the lead on the first late-race restart before getting shuffled back to fifth in overtime. Hill has now finished in the top five in five of his six road course starts this season.
Lastly, it was a massive day for Jordan Anderson Racing, as for the first time in the organization’s history, they managed to place all three of their cars inside the top 10, with Jeb Burton, Green, and Perkins finishing seventh, eighth, and ninth, respectively. For Green, the result marks his fourth top 10 in his last five road course starts, while Perkins earned his first top 10 since Talladega on April 26.
The Losers
Allgaier had run inside the top three for most of the 78-lap event, but he saw his strong run get derailed on the restart with seven laps to go, when he spun off the nose of teammate Kvapil in turn 1. Allgaier would pit for fresh tires late and managed to make up some positions in overtime, but would cross the line in 15th.
It was a similar story for Allgaier’s teammate, Sammy Smith, as on the overtime restart, he was spun out in turn one by Sanchez while running inside the top five, resulting in a disappointing 22nd-place result.
Two other drivers who saw potential top-10 finishes slip away in the closing laps were Sam Mayer and Brandon Jones, who had both shown great speed throughout the race but spun out together on one of the late-race restarts. Like Allgaier, they would pit for fresh tires before overtime, but would have to settle for 16th and 18th, respectively.
Mayer’s teammate Sheldon Creed also encountered misfortune in stage three, as he cut a left rear tire while running in 12th and spun out. Creed would end the day in 27th.
Lastly, it was an unfortunate result for Australia’s Jack Perkins, who had driven his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota up to third in the closing laps, but would run off track with four laps to go and stall his car, resulting in a 31st-place result.
Fuel for Thought
With Zilisch scoring his eighth victory of the season (and sixth in the last seven races), it’s starting to look more and more like a possibility for him to match (or even break) the modern-era record for the most wins in an Xfinity Series season. That record is currently held by Kyle Busch, who scored 13 series victories in 2010, but with just eight races left in the season (and only one of those being on a road course), Zilisch will have to continue performing at an extremely high level to have a chance at the record. Personally, I feel that the next three races on the series schedule – World Wild Technology Raceway, Bristol Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway – will be a big test for the rookie, so we will see what kind of speed he has at those three drastically different tracks.
Paint Scheme of the Week
Jeb Burton and Perkins’ Opti-Coat Chevrolets certainly caught my eye on track Saturday. The black and blue paint schemes would both go on to finish inside the top 10.
Proud to welcome Opti-Coat as primary on our 27 & 31 at Portland joined by Lake Country Manufacturing, IK Sprayers, The Rag Company, and Industrial Finishes! Let’s do this 🏁 pic.twitter.com/a0Izg1Jxc6
— Jordan Anderson Racing Bommarito Autosport (@JARnascar) August 29, 2025
Where to Next?
The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads north to World Wild Technology Raceway in Madison, Ill., for the Nu Way 200 on Sept. 6. The series last competed at the 1.25-mile track in 2010, with Brad Keselowski winning the most recent event driving for Team Penske. In addition, the race also marks the regular-season finale for the series, as the playoffs will kick off the following week at Bristol Motor Speedway. Coverage begins at 7:00 p.m. ET, with television coverage on The CW and radio coverage on the Motor Racing Network.
Jake Altmayer joined the Frontstretch team in 2025, assisting as a news writer and contributing to other weekly columns and articles, such as Friday Faceoff and Xfinity Breakdown. A 2024 graduate of DePaul University, Altmayer has closely followed NASCAR's national series (Cup, Xfinity and Trucks) for nearly a decade and has attended more than a dozen races over the course of that time. In his free time, he enjoys cycling, spending time with his loved ones, and listening to his favorite band, the Beach Boys.