The NASCAR Xfinity Series visited Portland International Raceway on Saturday evening in the Pacific Office Automation 147. Connor Zilisch started the race on the pole, and Justin Allgaier started second.
Connor Zilisch dominated the race, including winning both stages. It marked the sixth time this year that a driver has swept both stages. There were three cautions in the race. The first happened in lap 26 when Matt DiBenedetto suffered suspension damage and stopped his car near Turn 7, and it would end the first stage. The other two happened late in the race. On lap 65, Anthony Alfredo and Thomas Annunziata both spun at Turn 4.
On the restart, Carson Kvapil pushed Austin Hill to the lead. William Sawalich tried to make a move, hitting Zilisch on the right rear quarter panel. Smoke began to come out of Zilisch’s car due to a tire rub. He used the corners to fix it. The caution would come out again on lap 73 when Jack Perkins’s car suffered suspension damage. The race went to overtime.
In overtime, Zilisch got the jump on Hill for the lead. Zilisch missed the entrance at Turn, but managed to successfully navigate the maze and maintain the lead in front of the pack. Zilisch led 70 laps, including the final three laps, to win his eighth race of the season by 1.572 seconds over William Sawalich. It’s also Zilisch’s sixth win in the last seven races.
Nick Sanchez, Christian Eckes, and Austin Hill rounded out the top five. Carson Kvapil, Jeb Burton, Austin Green, Blaine Perkins, and Jesse Love rounded out the top ten.
The Xfinity Series heads to World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway next Saturday for the regular-season finale at 7:30 pm on The CW.
