The Xfinity Series race at Portland marked Connor Zilisch’s first full event since breaking his collarbone at Watkins Glen, but it seemed like the injury did little to slow him down. Zilisch started from the pole, swept both stages, led the most laps, and secured the race victory, his eighth of the season, setting a new rookie record in the series. The performance also moved him into the regular season points lead. The victory was also his 10th career win in only 28 starts.
Zilisch immediately set the pace, building a five-second lead within the first ten laps. The fight for second between Justin Allgaier and Austin Hill was the only battle near the front. The stage was marked by several spins: Garrett Smithley spun out, while William Sawalich and Vicente Salas both had near-misses in the grass, and Dean Thompson spun with two laps remaining.
The most unusual moment came when Matt DiBenedetto suddenly stopped in the grass, exited his car, removed his shoes, and sat down holding his feet, drawing attention.
DiBenedetto was okay after the incident. It was reported that he had a big fire engulfing his feet, which is why he parked the car and jumped out.
The stage finished under caution, and it secured Zilisch the stage win by 15 seconds over Hill. In the process, Zilisch surpassed Kyle Busch for fifth all-time in Xfinity Series road course laps led.
Zilisch was challenged by Hill on the restart, but he quickly pulled away again. Harrison Burton spun twice, costing him valuable points with the playoffs approaching. Jesse Love picked up right-rear damage after contact with Sawalich, while Thomas Annunziata spun off track and ignited the grass in one of the race’s strangest moments.
Zilisch once again led every lap and won the stage by eight seconds over Hill, officially taking the regular season points lead from Allgaier.
The third stage ran clean until 12 laps to go, when chaos struck: Anthony Alfredo and Annunziata had issues on the same lap Sheldon Creed’s car began smoking, ending in a spin and caution. Most leaders stayed out, preserving track position.
On the restart, Hill grabbed the lead with help from Zilisch with help from Kvapil. In turn one, Sawalich overshot the corner, shoving Zilisch off track and causing a tire rub on the No. 88. Allgaier was also turned by Kvapil in the incident. Multiple cars spun further back, but the race stayed green.
Zilisch recovered quickly as the tire rub wore off and began reeling Hill back in. A spin by Jack Perkins brought out another caution, setting up an overtime finish.
Hill controlled the restart, but Zilisch powered past him before turn one. Though he missed the corner and was forced through the runoff area, another spin slowed the field, allowing him to retain the lead. NASCAR kept the race green, and from there, Zilisch pulled away for the win, beating Sawalich by 1.5 seconds for his record-breaking eighth win of the season, sealing a dominant sweep of the weekend.
Zilisch celebrated carefully due to his collarbone but praised his JR Motorsports team, calling the win “a step toward something bigger” as the series heads into the final race of the regular season.
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Be sure to tune back in here tomorrow at DailyDownforce.com for our coverage of the Cup Series race at Darlington, kicking off the playoffs!
