8/31/25
(Portland, OR) The Pacific Office Automation 147 returned to Portland International Raceway for the fourth straight year. The penultimate regular-season race
Connor Zilisch sat on the pole and led the field to the green flag and jumped out to over a 10-second lead in the first stage. Zilisch will be racing for Trackhouse Racing in the Cup Series next year and has been making a name for himself this year in the Xfinity Series. Zilisch led every lap in the first stage as Matt Dibenedetto brought out the first caution on the final lap of stage one.
In Stage Two, Connor Zilisch again led every lap and pulled away to a near 10-second lead by the end of the stage. There was chaos all over the place as a great battle between Carson Kvapil, Jack Perkins, and Brandon Jones was battling it out for sixth place, and the three were nose to tail practically half of the 25-lap stage. Numerous cars went off the track, but no cautions took place, despite a patch of the grass on the infield catching fire. NASCAR officials were able to put the fire out by spraying water through the fence to put it out without having to throw the yellow flag.
The final stage ended up being the most chaotic of them all. With such little time until the playoffs, the drivers increased the intensity a few notches. With 10 laps to go, the caution flag flew for multiple spins. On the restart, Austin Hill took the lead from Zilisch, as he got hit by William Sawalich and took rear damage. With two laps left, the caution came out, sending the race to overtime. Zilisch got a massive jump on the restart and took the lead going into Turn 1, but missed the turn. He navigated through the maze and successfully rejoined the track as per NASCAR rules and maintained the lead. Zilisch went on to win the race with a 1.5 second margain.
Zilisch has won six of the last seven Xfinity Series races, and it’s his eighth win of the year. Zilisch broke his collarbone earlier this month after his win at Watkins Glen, and last week started at Daytona but had Parker Kligerman drive in relief to get the win. The final regular-season race is next week at WWT Raceway, just outside of St. Louis, Missouri. The championship race is Saturday, November 1, from Phoenix Raceway, where the final four drivers who navigate their way through the playoffs will battle it out for the title. Zilisch’s teammate, Justin Allgaier, is the defending series champion and will likely join Zilisch as two of the four drivers racing for the championship.
William Sawalich finished second, Nick Sanchez took third, Christian Eckes placed fourth, and Austin Hill, the only other driver to lead a lap in this race, rounded out the top five.
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