Race 24 of 33: Pacific Office Automation 147 at Portland International Raceway
Track Specs: 1.967-mile road course / 78 laps
Race Winner: Connor Zilisch
Kvapil’s finish: 6th
Allgaier’s finish:15th
Smith’s finish: 22nd
Connor Zilisch
Connor Zilisch dominated much of Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Portland International Raceway, but the driver of the WeatherTech Chevrolet had to make a thrilling pass in NASCAR’s version of overtime to secure the victory. Zilisch, who won for the eighth time in 2025, led the first 67 laps and enjoyed a sizable lead when he was bumped out of the top spot on a restart on lap 68. He was running second behind Austin Hill when the fourth and final caution on lap 73 pushed the event into overtime. Zilisch pounced on the opportunity, grabbing the lead when the race went green and scampering away over the final three laps, officially scoring the victory by 1.5 seconds. He led 70 of the 78 laps, won both stages and took the lead in the NXS driver standings over JR Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier, leading the chase for the regular-season title by 20 points. The win was the ninth in 28 career starts for Zilisch and came in his first start at Portland. Zilisch also won the pole for Saturday’s race, his sixth pole of the season.
“It was so cool to get the win here at Portland. Mardy (Lindley, crew chief) and all the guys on the WeatherTech team gave me a great car this weekend. It’s been an awesome year and we’re going to continue to try and click away and ride this momentum for as long as we can. I’m excited to keep this up and hopefully be in contention for another win in the regular-season finale next weekend. The one thing that I’ve learned is to enjoy every moment. It’s been really fun winning these races. I’m certainly blessed and fortunate.”
Carson Kvapil
Carson Kvapil headed west this weekend for his first start at Portland International Raceway. After taking the green flag in ninth, the driver of the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Clarience Technologies Chevrolet made quick work of the field, catapulting himself into sixth place within the first lap. By lap 13, he had worked his way up to fifth where he would stay until lap 23 when he dropped back one position to take the first green-and-white checkered flag in sixth. Throughout the next 25 laps, the 22-year-old held strong within the top seven to take the second green-and-white checkered flag once again in sixth. Lining up for the final stage, Kvapil jumped to fourth on the restart and, after avoiding an on-track incident, made his way up to third. Lining up there for NASCAR’s version of overtime, Kvapil narrowly missed the melee on the start and settled into fifth before ultimately taking the checkered flag in sixth. With the points earned, Kvapil officially locked himself into the NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs with one race remaining in the regular season.
“I hate that we weren’t able to compete for the win at the end, but this No. 1 team gave me a fast car and it feels good to know we’re officially locked into the playoffs. Our strategy may not have played out like we hoped, but we had a strong points day and we’re going to head to Gateway next week looking to come out on top for Johnny Morris and everyone at Bass Pro Shops and Clarience Technologies.”
Justin Allgaier
Justin Allgaier, driver of the No. 7 BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet, rallied back from a late-race spin to earn a hard-fought 13th-place finish on Saturday in the NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Portland International Raceway. Allgaier, who qualified in the runner-up position, ran up front for much of the day, earning valuable stage points in both Stages One and Two before contact on a restart with just seven laps remaining sent the JR Motorsports driver for a long slide in Turn 1. Despite the loss of track position, Allgaier surged ahead in the closing laps, utilizing a green-white-checkered restart to rejoin the top 15 and take the checkered flag in 15th. With today’s result, Allgaier enters the regular-season finale next weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway as the second seed in the NXS Playoff grid.
“We had a really fast BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet all day today. Jim (Pohlman, crew chief) and all the guys on this team gave me a really good car that let us stay up front for most of the day. I really hate that we didn’t get the chance to race for the win there at the end, but I’m proud of our recovery there at the end. We’ve got one race left in the regular season and we are going to have to give it our all for that regular-season championship.”
Sammy Smith
Sammy Smith, driver of the No. 8 Pilot Chevrolet, looked poised to score a top-five finish at Portland International Raceway in his 100th NASCAR Xfinity Series start on Saturday, but that quest was dashed when the JR Motorsports driver was caught up in an incident on an overtime restart. Smith ultimately finished 22nd after racing in the top 10 throughout the 75-lap event.
The Iowa native qualified eighth for the Pacific Office Automation 147 on Saturday afternoon and ran within the top 10 until the final laps of the opening stage when his Chevrolet started to tighten up and lose rear grip, which saw him close out the stage in 15th. The field took the green flag for Stage Two and Smith started climbing toward the top 10 again to gain a stage point.
Smith took the green flag for the final stage in 10th and when the caution flag waved after 15 laps, Smith was running fifth. The field reset for a green-white-checkered overtime restart with Smith firing off from the third row. The JRM driver had a great restart, contending for the lead by the time the field reached the first corner before contact took him out of contention for the win. After regaining control, Smith fought back on the final lap to finish 22nd.
“This No. 8 Pilot Chevrolet team put together a good car, but we struggled with being right like most of the field. We kept working at it and were in a good spot on that last restart to have a shot at the win but unfortunately that didn’t go our way. It’s tough after fighting all day but we’re in the Playoffs and we’ll head to Word-Wide Technology Raceway next weekend where we’re looking forward to a new track challenge.”