Connor Zilisch just keeps winning as he continues his historic rookie season. This time, the Trackhouse Racing driver survived a wild overtime at Portland International Raceway.
Zilisch had the dominant car on Saturday evening in Oregon, which he used to easily win the first two stages. He led a race-high 70 laps, but he also had to bounce back from some unexpected issues. This included losing the lead and sustaining significant damage to the rear of the No. 88 Chevrolet on a chaotic restart on Lap 68.
It appeared that the tire rub would lead to Zilisch missing out on the win and Austin Hill celebrating at a road course for the first time in his career. This is not what happened as Jack Perkins got stuck in the grass with four laps remaining. This brought out the caution and sent the race to overtime.
Chaos ensued once the green flag waved for the two-lap dash to the checkered flag. Sammy Smith spun off the nose of Nick Sanchez while other cars nearly spun trying to avoid the incident.
Zilisch initially attempted to make the corner, but he started to lock up his tires. He aborted the move and just took the penalty weave through the A-frame signs.
The “penalty” for cutting the course and going through the maze looks way more like a shortcut if you play it right. 😬
Worked for Zilisch, who said in his CW interview “man, it’s not really that slow.” #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/WrtETC5J7o
— Ryan DeCosta (@rsdecosta) August 31, 2025
This penalty route turned out to be the fastest path through Turn 1 as Zilisch exited far ahead of the field. He continued to maintain his advantage in the final two laps before taking the checkered flag for the eighth time this season -- his seventh time as a driver.
"It's kind of funny, I ran it in practice, and I was like, 'Man, it's not really that slow,'" Zilisch told CW Sports reporter Dillon Welch. "As soon as I hit the brakes, I don't know how, I wheel hopped.
"I kinda just committed to it as soon as I knew I wasn't going to make the corner. Yeah, and it worked out. I wasn't really planning on it, but last resort, you gotta do what you gotta do."
William Sawalich crossed the line second after the chaotic overtime finish. He led Nick Sanchez in third, Christian Eckes in fourth, and Hill in fifth. Rookie Carson Kvapil crossed the line in sixth place and clinched a playoff berth on points.
Zilisch now has eight wins on his season stat sheet, which breaks Christopher Bell's rookie Xfinity Series record.
He personally drove the No. 88 to the win in seven of these events. Parker Kligerman delivered the other win, which took place at Daytona International Speedway. Zilisch started that race, so he gets credit for the win.
Zilisch has been on a heater since a back injury at Talladega Superspeedway in the spring. He has not finished worse than fifth in 13 consecutive races, and he has celebrated seven of his eight wins. He now has a 20-point advantage over Justin Allgaier in the battle for the regular-season championship.