Sean Hingorani earns his second ARCA West title; Connor Zilisch wins at Phoenix Raceway on Friday night in the Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 100
The path to a second consecutive ARCA Menards Series West championship was much tougher for Sean Hingorani than the first.
Sean Hingorani Earns His Second ARCA West Title at Phoenix
Despite competing with four separate organizations across the 12-race schedule, Hingorani 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.
A Challenging 2024 Season for Sean Hingorani
Phoenix was where Hingorani’s pursuit of a second championship began 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 lasted 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.
Connor Zilisch Wins the ARCA West Race at Phoenix
Despite Hingorani’s consistency, all he could do at Phoenix was control his destiny while Connor Zilisch pulled away with the victory.
Once he wrestled the lead away from polesitter William Sawalich, Zilisch faced no resistance from the field until the final restart with four laps remaining. A 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 a win at Phoenix Both are set to continue their on-track excursions when they join the NASCAR Xfinity Series full-time in 2025.
The Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 100 Results
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.”
The ARCA West Series Point Standings
Connor Zillisch Captures the Owner’s Title for Central Coast Racing
With Hingorani balancing his 2024 schedule across four separate 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 Gio Ruggiero and Brent Crews. Kaden Honeycutt, Jake Finch, Reif, Kole Raz, and Kyle Keller comprised the rest of the top ten.