AVONDALE, Ariz. — William Sawalich started from the pole and won Friday’s season finale for the ARCA Menards Series West division at Phoenix Raceway, while Sean Hingorini secured the series championship.
Despite managing to briefly lead the Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 100, Hingorani had to settle for third behind his teammate Dean Thompson and race-winner Sawalich.
Hingorani was confident he had a car capable of taking home a checkered flag but said the big picture of the West Series title mattered more in the end.
“We were just as fast as [Sawalich], if not faster I think,” Hingorani said. “We could have raced him for the win there, but unfortunately we got into a racing incident with [Thompson] and weren’t able to get there. This was still a strong, third place finish and we got the championship.”
Like Hingorani, Friday’s West Series finale at Phoenix also served as proper redemption for Sawalich.
The debut race for Sawalich on the ARCA platform nearly saw him claim a victory at Phoenix until he was turned on a late-race restart by Bradley Erickson. No such problems plagued Sawalich, who won this year’s ARCA East title, as he executed a near-flawless race to end his great season on a positive note.
“This was very special,” Sawalich said. “We finished where we should have left off in the first race of the year [at Phoenix]. We capitalized on every opportunity and had a couple of good restarts. I worked on a few things myself and I think I’m ready for next year.”
The final race on the ARCA platform featured two of its three champions inside the top three with Sawalich in first and Hingorani in third.
A lot has changed for Hingorani since he made his West Series debut with Eric Nascimento’s program at Evergreen Speedway in 2022. While his rookie year featured a learning curve at times, Hingorani credited everyone at Venturini Motorsports for making him the driver he is today.
Now that he is a West Series champion, Hingorani wants to keep the momentum going and is eager to get a head start on 2024, regardless if that involves defending his title or branching out elsewhere.
“It’s so great [to win the West Series title],” Hingorani said. “This was our first try at it and we got it done on our first try. I can’t wait to see what we do next year.”
Hingorani’s efficient year gives Venturini Motorsports another championship on the ARCA platform and their first on the West Coast. They will now have a brief winter to regroup and keep their ARCA dynasty strong in 2024 on both sides of the country.
Taking home the owner’s championship in the West Series was the No. 17 of MMI Racing with Kaden Honeycutt behind the wheel. Despite having to overcome a flat tire, Honeycutt kept control of the owner’s title by salvaging a ninth place run.
Jack Wood and Tyler Reif finished fourth and fifth.
Hingorani’s ARCA Menards West title marks the first for Venturini Motorsports in the category, adding another championship to the famed-team’s mark in ARCA competition.
This championship is also the fourth in five years for Toyota drivers in the ARCA Menards Series West, joining Jesse Love (2021 and 2020) and Derek Kraus (2019).
The finish:
William Sawalich, Dean Thompson, Sean Hingorani, Jack Wood, Tyler Reif, Landen Lewis, Bradley Erickson, Tanner Reif, Kaden Honeycutt, Sebastian Arias, Toni Breidinger, Justin Johnson, Ethan Nascimento, Kyle Keller, Dylan Smith, Takuma Koga, Lavar Scott, Robbie Kennealy, Eric Nascimento Jr., Trevor Huddleston, Johnny Borneman III, Kris Wright, David Smith, Ryan Roulette, Joey Iest, Todd Souza, Nick Joanides, Bobby Hillis Jr.