Connor Zilisch secures season-ending ARCA West Phoenix victory
AVONDALE, Ariz. — The path to a second consecutive ARCA Menards Series West championship was much tougher for Sean Hingorani compared to the first.
Despite competing with four different organizations across the 12-race schedule, Hingorani still managed to put together an efficient campaign that saw him tally three victories. All those triumphs came with the same team that guided Hingorani to his first West Series championship, Venturini Motorsports.
A third-place finish in Venturini’s No. 15 for Hingorani during Friday’s season-ending Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 100 at Phoenix Raceway was more than enough for Hingorani to claim the West Series crown over Tyler Reif, a feat the 17-year-old competitor found both rewarding and cathartic.
“It’s been a long season with a lot of different people that have helped me get to this point,” Hingorani said. “I want to thank Venturini Motorsports for everything they’ve done for me, [along with] Jerry Pitts Racing and Sigma Performance Services. It was harder this year acclimating every week to a different team, but I can’t thank [everyone] enough.
“Two tries and two times, it’s really special.”
By fending off Reif, Hingorani joins an elite group of drivers that have won back-to-back West Series championships, with Jesse Love being the most recent to do so from 2020-21.
Phoenix was where Hingorani’s pursuit of a second championship began back in March behind the wheel of the No. 61 Toyota for Hattori Racing Enterprises. Finishing fifth in a 40-car field provided Hingorani some optimism about his outlook for the rest of the year.
The deal with Hattori only ended up lasting one race for Hingorani, which left him scrambling to ascertain how he would keep his hopes of another West Series championship alive. Hingorani found salvation over the next three races by piecing together deals with Jerry Pitts Racing and Sigma Performance Services, albeit with mixed results.
A reunion at Irwindale Speedway with Venturini proved to be the turning point of Hingorani’s 2024 season. Two consecutive victories across Irwindale’s doubleheader weekend during Independence Day galvanized Hingorani and gave him the momentum needed to keep the West Series championship within reach.
Hingorani did not record a single finish outside the top five following his clean sweep of Irwindale. He tallied three straight runner-up finishes piloting the No. 5 Toyota for Pitts before closing out the year with Venturini, earning his final victory with the organization at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway.
Despite the consistency Hingorani displayed, all he could do at Phoenix was control his own destiny while Connor Zilisch pulled away with the victory.
Once he managed to wrestle the lead away from polesitter William Sawalich, Zilisch faced no resistance from the field up until the final restart with four laps remaining. A valiant charge by Sawalich was not enough to usurp Zilisch, who secured his seventh victory on the ARCA Menards Series platform this year and his first in the West Series.
“We’ve struggled in the past at tracks like this such as [The Milwaukee Mile],” Zilisch said. “This is a brand new car we haven’t run this year before. I’m so proud of all these guys, because when we struggled at a track, they work so hard to bring me a fast car the next time we go to a track.
“It’s been an awesome year with this team and it’s great to cap it off with a win.”
Although Sawalich earned an ARCA Menards Series East title and had more victories between the two, Zilisch got the last laugh over his burgeoning rival with Friday’s victory. Both are set to continue their on-track excursions when they join the NASCAR Xfinity Series full-time in 2025.
For Hingorani, his future is more fluid compared to Zilisch and Sawalich. Heading into 2025, Hingorani does not have any plans currently solidified, which is one reason why bringing home a second West Series championship meant so much to him.
Hingorani looks to have a more coherent vision for his racing future at the start of the new year. Until then, Hingorani plans to take pride in everything he accomplished in 2024 knowing that so many different people came together to ensure he could hoist a second West Series championship trophy.
“We had a couple of things fall apart coming into this year, and it put us in a bad spot,” Hingorani said. “We were lucky to find some people who were willing to help us out so that we could be in a position to do this again.”
With Hingorani balancing out his 2024 schedule across four different teams, Tyler Reif comfortably obtained the ARCA Menards Series West owner’s championship for Central Coast Racing. Long-time car owners Todd and Kelly Souza enjoyed two victories with Reif behind the wheel, their first in the West Series since 2008.
Rounding out the top five in the Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 100 were Hingorani’s Venturini Motorsports teammates in Gio Ruggiero and Brent Crews. Kaden Honeycutt, Jake Finch, Reif, Kole Raz and Kyle Keller comprised the rest of the top 10.
RESULTS
Pos. No. Name Sponsor Laps Diff.
1 28 Connor Zilisch Pristine Auction Chevrolet 100 —
2 18 William Sawalich * Starkey/Sound Gear Toyota 100 1.308
3 15 Sean Hingorani Fidelity Capital Toyota 100 2.524
4 20 Giovanni Ruggiero * JBL Toyota 100 3.301
5 22 Brent Crews * Mobil 1 Toyota 100 3.692
6 23 Kaden Honeycutt SPS/GMS Fabrication Chevrolet 100 4.613
7 55 Jake Finch * Phoenix Construction Toyota 100 4.844
8 13 Tyler Reif Central Coast Cabinets Toyota 100 5.393
9 76 Kole Raz * Cyclum Renewables Truck Stops Ford 100 5.518
10 9 Kyle Keller Jans Towing/Jans’ Racing/Argus Const Ford 100 5.877
11 16 Jack Wood NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet 100 7.295
12 6 Lavar Scott Chevrolet Perfomance/Max Siegel Inc Chevrolet 100 7.594
13 50 Trevor Huddleston High Point Racing/Racecar Factory Ford 98 2 Laps
14 3 Todd Souza Central Coast Cabinets Toyota 98 2 Laps
15 19 Eric Johnson Jr. * Pacific Office Automation Chevrolet 98 2 Laps
16 2 Sebastian Arias Brady Plus Chevrolet 98 2 Laps
17 25 Marco Andretti * Rich Mar Florist Toyota 98 2 Laps
18 05 David Smith Shockwave Marine Suspension Seating Toyota 97 3 Laps
19 7 Takuma Koga MACNICA Toyota 97 3 Laps
20 71 Rip Michels * Jan’s Towing Ford 96 4 Laps
21 4 Eric Nascimento Jr. Impact Trans/Nascimento-Joiner Mtrpsrts Chevrolet 57 43 Laps
22 21 Alex Malycke * Jokeland.com Toyota 15 85 Laps
23 27 Bobby Hillis Jr. First Impression Press/LT&T Lawn/RV Nerd/Camping World Chevrolet 2 98 Laps
24 0 Tony Huffman * First Impression Press Chevrolet 1 99 Laps
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