PENSACOLA, Fla. — Gio Ruggiero battled past reigning East Series champion William Sawalich en route to winning Saturday night’s ARCA Menards Series East main event at Five Flags Speedway.
Making just his third ARCA start, the 19-year-old driver raced from fourth starting spot to victory in the Pensacola 150 aboard the No. 20 Venturini Motorsports Toyota.
“It was kind of like Phoenix in reverse,” Ruggiero said. “The first half there we were kind of behind him saving. Then that restart came. I needed to work on my restarts, so I was studying my restarts there all week, and I got better there, and that’s how we beat him.”
Ruggiero was three-wide multiple times as he sliced his way passed slower traffic, but he never put a tire out of line and comfortably crossed the finish line first.
The victory Saturday evening also gives Ruggiero a unique opportunity to secure an extra $5,000 should he also win Sunday’s ASA STARS National Tour event at Five Flags.
“It’s going to be a great race tomorrow. I’m ready to win again,” Ruggiero said.
Sawalich admitted his team took a swing in the wrong direction with adjustments during the halfway break, which prevented him from challenging Ruggiero when it mattered most.
“We just made the wrong adjustment during the break,” Sawalich said. “We kind of swapped balances, I guess. He had a really good car in the second half, I had a really good car in the first half.”
Bubba Pollard, making his ARCA Menards Series East debut as part of his preparations ahead of his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut next weekend at Richmond Raceway, finished third.
Connor Zilisch, who finished fourth in Saturday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event at Circuit of The Americas before flying to Florida to compete at Five Flags, overcame mechanical issues in his No. 28 Pinnacle Racing Group Chevrolet to finish fourth.
Hunter Wright, the 2024 World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing Pro Late Model champion, finished fifth in his ARCA Menards Series East debut.
The finish:
Gio Ruggiero, William Sawalich, Bubba Pollard, Connor Zilisch, Hunter Wright, Mike Basham, Jake Finch, Zachary Tinkle, D.L. Wilson, Cody Dennison, Colton Collins, Michael Maples, Rita Goulet, Presley Sorah, Tyler Cofield, Nate Moeller.