Winners: Chase Briscoe (Cup); Connor Zilisch (Xfinity); Corey Heim (Trucks) plus William Sawalich (ARCA West) and Brenden Queen (ARCA Menard)
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| Recap Graphic by Rolando Ramirez - RTR Graphics |
NASCAR Cup
Chase Briscoe Wins Back-To-Back Southern 500s, Clinches Round of 12 Spot
Chase Briscoe was perfection in a world of mistakes, a no-funny-business driver in a comedy of errors.
And at the end of the final green-flag run on Sunday night at Darlington Raceway — after a 20-lap stint of unrelenting tension — Briscoe was a back-to-back winner of the Cook Out Southern 500 and a guaranteed participant in the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
“Yeah, I think this is definitely what we’re capable of doing,” said Briscoe, who led Toyota drivers to their third 1-2-3-4 finish in Cup Series history, the last coming at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2017. “We haven’t been able to go out and dominate a race like that. The potential has been there from day one.
“So cool to win two Southern 500s in a row … A great way to start our playoffs. That was a lot of fun.”
Briscoe is the first driver to win consecutive Southern 500s since Greg Biffle accomplished the feat in 2005 and 2006.
Tyler Reddick finished second; Erik Jones placed third; John H Nemechek came in fourth and AJ Allmendinger completed the top five.
It was a Briscoe beatdown!
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) September 1, 2025
His 309 laps led in last night's #Southern500 is the most since Bobby Allison's 1971 win. pic.twitter.com/zzXxB4hR4p
Pole: Denny Hamlin
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Next Race: The Cup Series will return on Sunday, September 7, 2025 at 3:00 pm ET for the ‘Enjoy Illinois 300’ at World Wide Technology Raceway.
NASCAR Xfinity
Zilisch Prevails in Overtime at Portland for Eighth Xfinity Series Win of 2025
A dramatic overtime pass for the win punctuated a nearly perfect afternoon for JR Motorsports driver Connor Zilisch at Portland International Raceway, where the 19-year-old claimed his series-best eighth NASCAR Xfinity Series win of the season – the best series victory total ever for a rookie driver.
Only weeks removed from breaking his collarbone celebrating another win at Watkins Glen International, Zilisch claimed pole position, won both stages, set fastest lap and celebrated it all in Victory Lane of the famed 1.967-mile road course in the scenic Pacific Northwest.
“To come back two weeks after collarbone surgery, it hurt, but it hurt so good,” said a grinning Zilisch, who now has 13 consecutive top-five finishes. “So proud of this 88 team. It’s been such a fun year. Let’s go get ourselves a championship.”
William Sawalich finished second; Nick Sanchez placed third; Christian Eckes came in fourth and Austin Hill completed the top five.
He was not giving this one up.
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) August 31, 2025
This how it all went down for @ConnorZilisch. pic.twitter.com/KOoXHoY8FG
Pole: Connor Zilisch
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Next Race: The Xfinity Series will return on Saturday, September 6, 2025 at 7:30 pm ET for the ‘Nu Way 200 Sauced by Blues Hog’ at World Wide Technology Raceway.
NASCAR Trucks
Business as Usual: Corey Heim Tames Darlington in Truck Series Playoffs Opener
Although the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series changed the clock from the regular season to the playoffs, it was still “Heim Time” on Saturday at Darlington Raceway.
Pulling away after a restart on Lap 134 of 147, Corey Heim won the playoff-opening Sober or Slammer 200 at the challenging 1.366-mile South Carolina track. The win was Heim’s eighth of the year, one short of Greg Biffle’s record nine-victory season in 1999.
Heim crossed the finish line 0.766 seconds ahead of fellow playoff driver Daniel Hemric to collect his first victory at the “Lady in Black” and the 19th of his career. With the win, Heim earned automatic advancement to the Round of 8.
The break at the end of Stage 2 proved fortunate for the race winner. Heim felt a tire losing air shortly before the end of the stage, but he survived the stage in second place and brought the No. 11 Tricon Garage Toyota to pit road before the tire went flat.
“Lucky it wasn’t a complete blowout — otherwise we would have been in trouble,” Heim said. “I could make a little bit of speed on the wall, but it was such a high-risk play if you scrubbed it. You saw so many people have those right-front issues.”
Daniel Hemric finished second; Grant Enfinger placed third; Ty Majeski came in fourth and Trevor Bayne completed the top five.
Round Won. @CoreyHeim_ | #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/0UgmMzvXeM
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) August 30, 2025
Pole: Layne Riggs
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Next Race: The Truck Series will return on Thursday, September 11, 2025 at 8:00 pm ET for the ‘UNOH 200 presented by Ohio Logistics’ at Bristol Motor Speedway.
ARCA West
Battle for the Win: William Sawalich Vs. Thomas Annunziata at Portland
Thomas Annunziata finished second; Alon Day placed third; Greg Biffle came in fourth and Trevor Huddleston completed the top five.
Two West Series road-course races in 2025. Two wins for @WilliamSawalich!
— ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) August 30, 2025
The @JoeGibbsRacing driver gets it done at @portlandraceway 🏁 pic.twitter.com/r7J0lstGPm
Pole: William Sawalich
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Next Race: The ARCA West Series will return on Saturday, September 13, 2025 at 7:45 p.m. PT for the ‘NAPA Auto Parts 150 presented by the West Coast Stock Car Motorsports Hall of Fame’ at All American Speedway.
ARCA Menards Series
Brenden Queen Shows off His Dirt Track Experience with Victory at Duquoin
Known for his success in Late Model Stocks, ARCA Menards Series points leader Brenden Queen also has plenty of dirt experience on his résumé including Sunday’s win at Du Quoin State Fairgrounds.
Competing at tracks across the Southeast like Dixieland Speedway and Natural Bridge Speedway provided Queen with plenty of knowledge that he could apply to the two dirt venues on the ARCA Menards Series schedule. A top five at the Springfield Mile only fueled Queen’s desire to prove he could find Victory Lane on dirt with the Pinnacle Racing Group.
“I haven’t won a dirt race since 2022 when I ran full-time,” Queen said. “I think everybody counted me out to win one of these, but that’s why you never give up. These guys went to work after Springfield. We weren’t quite where we wanted to be, but we just hung in there all night and knew we had a good car.”
Lawless Alan finished second; Kelly Kovski placed third; Isabella Robusto came in fourth and Tim Monroe completed the top five.
He loves dirt, too!
— ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) September 1, 2025
Make it 6️⃣ wins for @03Butterbean in 2025 as he conquers the Southern Illinois 100 at the @DQStateFair! pic.twitter.com/S5yJUaLdz8
Pole: Lawless Alan
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Next Race: The ARCA Menard / East Series will return on Thursday, September 11, 2025 at 5:30 p.m. ET for the ‘Bush’s Beans 200’ at Bristol Motor Speedway.
