Hingorani (Third) Collects ARCA West Championship; Sawalich Holds Off Thompson for Win

In what turned out to be a fun battle to the finish between William Sawalich and Dean Thompson, it was the 17-year-old Sawalich who held on to score the race win in the Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 100 at Phoenix Raceway.

The win was sweet redemption for the Minnesota native, who back in March won the pole, and led 94 laps before being involved in a couple of crashes on his way to a 13th-place finish at Phoenix Raceway.

“I feel like what happened in March was a really good race for me, a good first race. I learned a lot for this race in general. I knew in coming here that I wanted to make up for it,” Sawalich explained.

He wanted to make up for it, and he sure did. Sawalich started from the pole, and led all but seven of the laps in Friday’s ARCA West season finale.

It was the first-career ARCA Menards Series West win for Sawalich, who won the ARCA Menards Series East championship and recorded four wins in ARCA Menards Series Main and East companion events this season.

“It was a good run with the Joe Gibbs Racing team,” Sawalich said of his run. “We had a really fast Sound Gear Toyota Camry, and really proud of what we did all year, and to close it out like this, it was a really good way to close it out.”

Sawalich has been really stellar this season and has raced with the maturity of a grizzled veteran. Even with his solid performance, the young racer says he has identified some areas that he needs to improve for next season, and he looks forward to racing with Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota again.

“For next year, I feel like doing the same thing, but a little bit better,” Sawalich stated. “I feel like I, personally, have a few things to work on. For us to grow as a team, I feel like that’s already been done. Not much to do except win races.”

For Thompson, a full-time competitor in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, it was another near-miss at a win in the ARCA ranks this season. In five starts in the ARCA Menards Series this year, Thompson recorded three top-five finishes and five top-10s. Friday’s race was his first ARCA West start of 2023, and it resulted in a runner-up finish.

While it was a great battle for the overall race win, the attention was on Sean Hingorani in the No. 15 Venturini Motorsports Toyota, who was looking to secure the 2023 ARCA Menards Series driver championship.

Hingorani was the only driver not named William Sawalich to lead during the race, as he held the top spot for a seven-lap stint after snatching the lead from Sawalich on a restart at Lap 26.

On Lap 33, Sawalich would get back by Hingorani on another restart, and from there, Hingorani was on the defense.

Despite some tight battles with his Venturini Motorsports teammates Dean Thompson and Kris Wright with 50 laps to go.

Saves! Saves everywhere!@FloRacing | @phoenixraceway pic.twitter.com/Leadbltysu

— ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) November 3, 2023

Hingorani held on and closed out the race strong with a third-place finish.

“Wish we would have won the race today, but we got into trouble, fell back to 10th, drove back up to third,” Hingorani said. “So, we executed pretty good today.”

Hingorani had a 30-point advantage coming into the day, so the podium finish was more than enough to secure the title for the 17-year-old.

“It felt great to get the championship,” Hingorani said after the race. “We had a lot of ups and downs throughout the year. But me and the VMS guys powered through it and here we are today 2023 ARCA Menards Series West Champions.”

Jack Wood and Tyler Reif rounded out the top five finishers in the race.

With his fifth-place finish, and Trevor Huddleston suffering a 20th-place finish after a spin early in the event, Reif was able to finish second in the overall ARCA Menards Series driver standings.

Landen Lewis, who was one of the main championship contenders in the ARCA West Series driver standings, before losing his ride with four races remaining, made his return to the series in the No. 97 CR7 machine and finished a solid sixth.

Bradley Erickson, Tanner Reif, Kaden Honeycutt, and Sebastian Arias were the finishers in positions seven through 10.

Here is the final top-10 rundown of the 2023 ARCA Menards Series West Driver Point Standings:

FINAL STANDINGS – 2023 ARCA West:

1. Sean Hingorani 626pts
2. Tyler Reif (-36)
3. Trevor Huddleston (-48)
4. Bradley Erickson (-54)
5. Tanner Reif (-59)
6. Todd Souza (-73)
7. Eric Nascimento (-78)
8. Kyle Keller (-78)
9. Takuma Koga (-110)
10. David Smith (-117)#ARCA

— Joseph Srigley (@joe_srigley) November 3, 2023

With the ninth-place effort, Honeycutt secured the 2023 ARCA Menards Series Owners Championship for the Cook Racing Technologies and team owner Bruce Cook.

The No. 17 team, which had great performances all season long between Landen Lewis and Honeycutt, ended the season with an 11-point advantage over the No. 15 Venturini Motorsports group.

ARCA Menards Series West Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 100 Race Results