Using lessons learned from the ASA STARS National Tour event earlier this year, ARCA Menards Series East points leader William Sawalich put on a clinic in Sunday’s Sprecher 150, leading 141 of 150 laps.
The victory, his third of the season in the ARCA Menards Series East, came over a stacked field, as the ARCA Menards Series and ARCA East Series contested their third of four combination events in the 2023 season.
“It really makes it easy when they give me such a great racecar,” the 16-year-old driver said about keeping his focus on scoring the victory.
In reality, things weren’t super easy for Sawalich, though, after a late-race restart left him to deal with Jesse Love, the championship points leader in the ARCA Menards Series, who has shown his strength on restarts all season long.
With five laps remaining in Sunday’s 150-lap contest, Sawalich got to the rear bumper of Love heading into the first corner, muscling the No. 20 Venturini Motorsports Toyota Camry out of the way, allowing him to run away with the victory.
“I don’t know. Just trying to get him out of my way… It was just a matter of time before I’d get there and pass him,” he added in victory lane.
Despite finishing in second place, Love believes that he and Venturini Motorsports were lacking the raw pace that Sawalich and Joe Gibbs Racing had at The Milwaukee Mile this weekend.
“He ran me hard, but he ran me clean so I’m fine with everything that transpired. Hats off to him,” the ARCA Menards Series points leader said.
For Venturini Motorsports, Sean Hingorani rebounded from a late-race pit stop to finish in third, while Conner Jones finished fourth in the No. 25 Toyota Camry. Grant Enfinger, the polesitter for Sunday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event, finished in fifth.
Luke Fenhaus, Andres Perez de Lara, Lavar Scott, Jake Finch, and Gus Dean rounded out the top-10 finishers.
Looking ahead now for the ARCA Menards Series, Jesse Love leads by 120 points, now over Perez de Lara with five races to go in the 2023 season. Third in points is rookie Frankie Muniz. He and the No. 30 from Rette Jones Racing once again faced electrical issues. The Scottsdale native ended up 12th, two laps down.
POINTS – #ARCA (After 15/20):
1. Jesse Love 794pts
2. Andres Perez de Lara (-120)
3. Frankie Muniz (-133)
4. Christian Rose (-146)
5. Jon Garrett (-210)
6. AJ Moyer (-267)
7. Brad Smith (-291)
8. William Sawalich (-414)
9. Toni Breidinger (-418)
10. Jack Wood (-509)— Joseph Srigley (@joe_srigley) August 27, 2023
As for the East Series, with his third East win of the 2023 season, William Sawalich now leads the points by 19 over fellow ARCA rookie Luke Fenhaus heading into the East Series finale a few weeks at Bristol.
POINTS – #ARCA (After 15/20):
1. Jesse Love 794pts
2. Andres Perez de Lara (-120)
3. Frankie Muniz (-133)
4. Christian Rose (-146)
5. Jon Garrett (-210)
6. AJ Moyer (-267)
7. Brad Smith (-291)
8. William Sawalich (-414)
9. Toni Breidinger (-418)
10. Jack Wood (-509)— Joseph Srigley (@joe_srigley) August 27, 2023
Official Race Results of the Sprecher 150:
| Fin | St | No | Driver | Laps | Diff | Status | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 18 | William Sawalich | 150 | Running | 49 | |
| 2 | 2 | 20 | Jesse Love | 150 | 2.125 | Running | 43 |
| 3 | 5 | 15 | Sean Hingorani | 150 | 4.243 | Running | 41 |
| 4 | 4 | 25 | Conner Jones | 150 | 6.424 | Running | 40 |
| 5 | 3 | 97 | Grant Enfinger | 150 | 6.753 | Running | 39 |
| 6 | 7 | 28 | Luke Fenhaus | 150 | 7.037 | Running | 38 |
| 7 | 6 | 2 | Andres Perez de Lara | 150 | 7.784 | Running | 37 |
| 8 | 8 | 6 | Lavar Scott | 150 | 8.457 | Running | 36 |
| 9 | 12 | 1 | Jake Finch | 150 | 9.01 | Running | 35 |
| 10 | 9 | 55 | Gus Dean | 150 | 10.37 | Running | 34 |
| 11 | 11 | 32 | Christian Rose | 149 | 1 laps | Running | 33 |
| 12 | 10 | 30 | Frankie Muniz | 147 | 3 laps | Running | 32 |
| 13 | 14 | 11 | Zachary Tinkle | 147 | 3 laps | Running | 31 |
| 14 | 16 | 48 | Rick Redig Tackman | 146 | 4 laps | Running | 30 |
| 15 | 17 | 12 | Tim Monroe | 144 | 6 laps | Running | 29 |
| 16 | 20 | 06 | AJ Moyer | 141 | 9 laps | Running | 28 |
| 17 | 19 | 31 | Rita Goulet | 137 | 13 laps | Running | 27 |
| 18 | 13 | 10 | Ron Vandermeir Jr. | 133 | 17 laps | Accident | 26 |
| 19 | 22 | 98 | Dale Shearer | 104 | 44 laps | Mechanical | 25 |
| 20 | 23 | 69 | Brad Smith | 24 | 126 laps | Mechanical | 24 |
| 21 | 15 | 66 | Jon Garrett | 12 | 138 laps | Mechanical | 23 |
| 22 | 18 | 01 | Dallas Frueh | 12 | 138 laps | Mechanical | 22 |
| 23 | 21 | 03 | Alex Clubb | 2 | 148 laps | Mechanical | 21 |
Up next, the ARCA Menards Series hits the dirt and heads to the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds and the Southern Illinois 100. You can watch the race live on FS2 at 9 PM ET/8 PM CT.
