Connor Zilisch is perfect with another ARCA win at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park on Friday afternoon in the Circle City 200.
BROWNSBURG, Indiana — Entering Friday’s Circle City 200 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, Connor Zilisch had won both races he attempted with the ARCA Menards Series.
Connor Zilisch is Perfect with Another ARCA Win at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park
The status quo remained on Friday evening with Zilisch prevailing for his third consecutive victory on the main platform. Doing so required precision from Zilisch during several late-race restarts as he fended off his East Series championship rival William Sawalich.
“This Silver Hare Racing/Pinnacle Racing [Group] Chevrolet was so fast,” Zilisch said. “I kind of messed up two restarts in a row, but luckily I got a third shot at it. I could just hear Scott Speed and Josh Wise in the back of my head telling me what to do. We’ve prepped for this race for weeks now and it feels good to have that prep pay off and get my team a win.”
Zilisch’s triumph continues what has already been an amazing 2024, with his other accomplishments including LMP2 class victories in the Rolex 24 and 12 Hours of Sebring and a CARS Tour win at Hickory Motor Speedway.
Although he comes from a road racing background, it has not taken long for Zilisch to find his comfort zone with the ARCA Menards Series. A three-win season in the ARCA Menards Series East has helped Zilisch build a 17-point advantage on Sawalich in the series standings before Friday’s combination event.
Zilisch showed confidence early in the 200-lap race with a bold, but clean pass on Lavar Scott that gave him the lead until the halfway break. A poor restart forced Zilisch to follow Sawalich for most of the second half as he patiently waited for an opportunity to make another run at the top spot.
It took three restart attempts, but Zilisch performed the same move that worked on Scott earlier in the day to overtake Sawalich for the final time with 21 laps remaining. Zilisch then executed a flawless restart in overtime on the bottom line to earn another victory with Pinnacle Racing Group.
The Circle City 200 Results
Sawalich’s stumble on the last restart allowed Andres Perez to pass him for second, bolstering his ARCA Menards Series points lead. Even though he is still searching for his first victory, every strong performance gets Perez closer to the ARCA Menards Series title.
“We’re happy with the result in the end,” Perez said. “It was a tough race and we lacked pace in the beginning. We had to get as much as we could during the last restarts, but I think we’re happy with second. We’ll keep pushing hard.”
With Zilisch turning 18 on Monday, he is expected to embark on a busy schedule to close out the 2024 season. That will include more events in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut with JR Motorsports at Watkins Glen International
Every start in the ARCA Menards Series allows Zilisch to test himself and observe his limitations. Past excursions with Sawalich gave Zilisch insight into his approach in the final restarts Friday evening.
Zilisch never planned on giving up the bottom line to Sawalich.
“I just wanted leverage,” Zilisch said. “When I’m on the bottom, I have more control than when I’m up top. As long as I beat [Sawalich] to the start-finish line and got a good run, I knew I could slide myself and get clear off [turn] two. It’s all about leverage in these games and me and [Sawalich] have a little bit of history, so I didn’t want to take a chance.”
The ARCA East Series Point Standings
With another victory on his growing resume, Zilisch is setting himself up to claim the East Series title with two races left in the season at The Milwaukee Mile and Bristol Motor Speedway.
Sawalich settled for third after dominating the second half of the Circle City 200, with Scott and Gio Ruggiero completing the top five. The remaining top ten include Kris Wright, Marco Andretti, Greg Van Alst, Dean Thompson, and Isaac Johnson.
Next Up
The ARCA Menards Series returns to action next Saturday, July 27 for the Salem ARCA 200 at Salem Speedway. The event will be available live on FS1 starting at 8 p.m. ET.
The East Series will take the next month off before reuniting with the ARCA Menards Series for another combination event, the Sprecher 150, at The Milwaukee Mile on Aug. 25. That event will also air live on FS1.