PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — For 19-year-old prodigy Connor Zilisch, Saturday night at the Pacific Office Automation 147 in Portland was just another day at work.
Earlier in the day, he put on an absolute clinic with one race to go before the Xfinity Series playoffs begin.
The race proceeded relatively smoothly until late in the final stages. Then, excitement unfolded with two late restarts for the 36-strong field, with only seven laps remaining after a restart.
Austin Hill took over the lead briefly on Zilisch, before another caution halted the race. That was right in the wheelhouse for Zilisch.
The race went into overtime to resolve the outcome, and on the final restart, the now eight-time winner reclaimed the lead and headed straight to victory lane yet again.
“I really try to savor each moment,” Zilisch remarked to Nexstar’s KOIN 6. “Previously, I was too focused on the upcoming week, forgetting to relish the past victories. I’m genuinely enjoying each win now, and it’s been a thrilling experience.”
On Saturday night, Zilisch, who has consistently placed in the top five in seven career road course events, dominated Portland International Raceway.
“I have significantly more experience than others when it comes to navigating both right and left turns,” he noted. “I’m very lucky to have grown up the way I did, and I appreciate NASCAR for allowing us to often race on road courses. I’m eager to continue this journey and hopefully secure another win at the Roval.”
He’s also now just the third driver in series history with 13 straight top five finishes. The eight wins now for Zilisch pass Christopher Bell by most wins ever by a rookie in this series.
The Xfinity Series continues on to the World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois next week.
You can catch that race on The CW Saturday, September 6th at 7:30 p.m. ET.
