William Sawalich cruises to another ARCA Menards Series Victory at the Milwaukee Mile on Sunday afternoon in the Sprecher 150.
WEST ALLIS, WI. — Entering the Sprecher 150 at the Milwaukee Mile, William Sawalich had lost every head-to-head matchup with Connor Zilisch in the national ARCA Menards Series.
William Sawalich Cruises to Another ARCA Menards Series Victory at Milwaukee
Sawalich was intent on changing the status quo on Sunday with a dominant performance that has become a theme for him and Joe Gibbs Racing over the past two months.
No one could match the pace displayed by Sawalich as he cruised to his seventh ARCA Menards Series victory of 2024 and his ninth overall on the platform. The young prospect has grown comfortable with perfect outings this year. After his win, he emphasized the importance of the strenuous work displayed by everyone in the shop.
“We put in a lot of work to be good at places like this,” Sawalich said. “We’ve been good here in the past and had a really good Toyota Camry today, so I can’t thank my guys enough. I think we led everything but one lap maybe, so I’m really proud to do that. I love this team.”
Although Sunday only served as his second appearance at the Milwaukee Mile in an ARCA Menards Series car, Sawalich has seemingly mastered the legendary facility. He led 141 laps there last year before fending off a late charge from Jesse Love for the win.
No such instance occurred for Sawalich on Sunday, who maintained a healthy gap over Zilisch after every restart and through lapped traffic. The next closest competitor to the duo was Lavar Scott, who was 29 seconds behind Sawalich when the checkered flag waved.
The Sprecher 150 Results
With Sawalich enjoying a mistake-free afternoon, Zilisch focused on gaining as much experience as possible during his first trip to the Milwaukee Mile. He was surprised at how dynamic the facility could be and hopes to have another opportunity to turn laps at the track.
“If I ever come back here, I’ll have some notes to look back on,” Zilisch said. “This track is really cool, because there’s a lot you can do to move around, change the way you slow the car down and how you exit the corner. I had fun out there for 150 laps trying to learn. There’s just some days where you’re not going to be able to contend for the win.”
The ARCA Menards Series East Point Standings
Despite seeing his perfect four-race record in the national ARCA Menards Series end on Sunday, Zilisch still had plenty to cherish following the Sprecher 150. Unofficially, Zilisch holds a 16-point lead over Sawalich in the ARCA Menards Series East standings with one race remaining.
Sawalich admitted Zilisch gave him a decent challenge for the lead right after the halfway break, but he was not letting his burgeoning rival see Victory Lane again with him on track.
“[Zilisch] got a good jump on me and was on my door,” Sawalich said. “He had good momentum going down the backstretch, but I just had to fire it off in there and get position off the corner to get a little side draft on him. Then we were clear into one.”
Sawalich may have best Zilisch on Sunday, but plenty more battles remain between the two prospects as the 2024 season winds down.
The ARCA Menards Series Point Standings
The top five behind Sawalich, Zilisch, and Scott were Kris Wright and Lawless Alan. They were also the last two cars on the lead lap. Andres Perez, the ARCA Menards Series points leader, Dean Thompson, Christian Rose, Gio Ruggiero, and Marco Andretti round out the top ten.
Up Next
The next race up for the national ARCA Menards Series will be the second and final dirt event on the calendar; the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds. Next Sunday’s Southern Illinois 100 will commence at 8:30 p.m. ET and air on FS1 and FloRacing.
For the ARCA Menards Series East, their final race of the 2024 season will take place at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sept. 19 in a combination event with the national series. FS1 has live coverage of the on-track action that evening starting at 5 p.m. ET.