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Connor Zilisch wins at Portland in overtime after controversial move through 'A-frame'

JHby: Jonathan Howard08/31/25Jondean25
Connor Zilisch
Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Well…that sure was a finish in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Connor Zilisch wins the race at Portland, but not without controversy. The last two restarts in this race were sloppy and desperate for many drivers.

Connor Zilisch had his right rear fender bashed in on a restart with a few laps left in the race. William Sawalich sent a dive bomb in on Zilisch. Surprisingly, it wasn’t Austin Hill making contact; he had beaten Zilisch on the restart fair and square.

However, an overtime restart proved to be different. Austin Hill chose to put his door to Zilisch and push him wide on the final restart. It was a curious decision. Hill fell back in the running order and Zilisch took the lead.

The controversy comes with Zilisch missing the corner on the restart and going through the “A-frame” penalty area. It was supposed to slow down drivers who went through that area. Zilisch went through it twice.

On the final restart, it appeared to have given him an advantage as he missed the chaos and wrecks in Turns 1 and 2. Connor Zilisch claims another win this season.

In the month of August, Zilisch broke his collarbone, had surgery, raced at Daytona, and was swapped with Parker Kligerman, who won the race, and then won his own race at Portland. Impressive for a 19-year-old.

On the restart, you can see more than just Connor Zilisch blow the corner. This was a mess, but also kind of what makes the Xfinity Series at Portland so great. It is a shame that we won’t get to see it next season.

Zilishc led 70 laps of 78 total with the overtime period included. This race was interesting. Zilisch built up leads of 10+ seconds multiple times. It was a truly dominant win where he swept both stages and had the fastest lap. A perfect 61 points and seven playoff points added to his already series-leading total.

Connor Zilisch holds on to win at Portland

The damage to the right rear of Connor Zilisch’s car was considerable. But this driver is no stranger to willing a damaged car to a win. We have seen it multiple times now with Zilisch in the Xfinity Series alone. He beats and bangs with the best of them but with his speed advantage, it usually just evens the playing field.

It is baffling that Austin Hill was making so much contact with Zilisch on the final restart. I’m not sure if he was trying to cut his tire or just give Zilisch a hard time. What ended up happening is that Carson Kvapil and others got to Hill’s quarter panels and pulled him back from the lead.

William Sawalich is not without fault either. He is the driver who damaged Zilisch’s car in the first place with a massive dive bomb from eight car lengths back. It was a very low-percentage move, and we saw that with how it ultimately played out.

When it gets to this time in the season, the Xfinity Series can forget all etiquette. Connor Zilisch got the win today despite aggressive moves from multiple drivers in the field.