Since making his debut in the ARCA Menards Series in the final races of last season, 17-year-old Connor Zilisch has been a major force to be reckoned with.
Friday at Indianapolis Raceway Park, Zilisch continued to assemble an impeccable racing resume, earning his third victory in the ARCA Menards Series, in his fourth career start.
As it has many times throughout the season, the battle for the victory came down to heavy hitters and ARCA Menards Series East title contenders Zilisch and William Sawalich, who drives for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Zilisch and Sawalich would combine to lead 161 of the race’s 205 laps, and as several late-race cautions and restarts came to fruition, it came down to a battle of execution between the two 17-year-old drivers.
With 26 laps to go, the second-to-last restart allowed the Pinnacle Racing Group driver to dive inside and take away the race lead. From that point forward, the Trackhouse development driver never looked back, even despite the race moving into Overtime.
ARCA Menards Series points leader Andres Perez was able to snatch the runner-up spot away from William Sawalich on the race’s final restart, coming home second place and extending his points lead.
Sawalich tagged along just behind in third, with Lavar Scott, the race’s early leader, finishing fourth. Scott led a career-high 44 laps in Friday’s race at IRP, driving for REV Racing.
Gio Ruggiero rounded out the top five for Venturini Motorsports. Kris Wright, Marco Andretti, Greg Van Alst, Dean Thompson, and Isaac Johnson rounded out the top-10.
Entering Friday’s event inside the top-five in point standings, Toni Breidinger was having a stellar run, consistently fighting for a position just outside the top five, until a pair of issues led to the end of her afternoon.
The first came when Jackson McLaren spun on the racetrack, forcing Breidinger to slam on the brakes and lock the tires up, lightly tapping the outside wall. Then, on the subsequent restart, contact from Lawless Alan sent her into the fence. Breidinger finished 24th, and the accident took Alan, Christian Rose, and McLarren out, as well.
Leaving IRP, Andres Perez holds a 46-point advantage over Greg Van Alst, with Lavar Scott just behind in third. In the ARCA Menards Series East, Zilisch continued to extend his lead over Sawalich, now at 23.
Race Results — Circle City 200:
| Fin | St | Car | Driver | Team | Laps | Diff | Status | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 28 | Connor Zilisch * | Pinnacle Racing Group Chevrolet Performance Chevrolet | 205 | -- | Running | 48 |
| 2 | 3 | 2 | Andres Perez | Rev Racing Max Siegel Inc Chevrolet | 205 | 0.903 | Running | 42 |
| 3 | 1 | 18 | William Sawalich * | Joe Gibbs Racing Starkey / Sound Gear Toyota | 205 | 1.123 | Running | 43 |
| 4 | 2 | 6 | Lavar Scott * | Rev Racing Max Siegel Inc Chevrolet | 205 | 1.363 | Running | 41 |
| 5 | 5 | 20 | Giovanni Ruggiero * | Venturini Motorsports JBL Toyota | 205 | 1.732 | Running | 39 |
| 6 | 8 | 15 | Kris Wright | Venturini Motorsports FNB Corporation Toyota | 205 | 2.158 | Running | 38 |
| 7 | 12 | 17 | Marco Andretti * | Cook Racing Technologies Group 1001 Chevrolet | 205 | 2.597 | Running | 37 |
| 8 | 11 | 35 | Greg Van Alst | Van Alst Motorsports Zaki Ali Personal Injury Attorney Ford | 205 | 2.84 | Running | 36 |
| 9 | 9 | 55 | Dean Thompson | Venturini Motorsports Thompson Pipe Group Toyota | 205 | 3.077 | Running | 35 |
| 10 | 14 | 34 | Isaac Johnson * | Van Alst Motorsports George E Booth Co / Endress + Hauser Ford | 204 | 1 lap | Running | 34 |
| 11 | 16 | 11 | Zachary Tinkle | Fast Track Racing Racing For Rescues Toyota | 202 | 3 laps | Running | 33 |
| 12 | 13 | 95 | Andrew Patterson * | MAN Motorsports Carrier / Habegger / Winsupply Toyota | 202 | 3 laps | Running | 32 |
| 13 | 15 | 22 | Amber Balcaen | Venturini Motorsports Icon Toyota | 201 | 4 laps | Running | 31 |
| 14 | 21 | 01 | Cody Dennison * | Fast Track Racing Timcast.com Toyota | 200 | 5 laps | Running | 30 |
| 15 | 22 | 99 | Michael Maples * | Fast Track Racing Don Ray Petroleum LLC / Maples Motorsports Chevrolet | 199 | 6 laps | Running | 29 |
| 16 | 18 | 39 | D.L. Wilson | CW Motorsports Heart O' Texas Speedway / ETR Toyota | 199 | 6 laps | Running | 28 |
| 17 | 20 | 93 | Tyler Tomassi * | CW Motorsports Tomassi Law Ford | 198 | 7 laps | Running | 27 |
| 18 | 23 | 10 | Jayson Alexander * | Fast Track Racing Constant Contact Ford | 197 | 8 laps | Running | 26 |
| 19 | 24 | 06 | Brayton Laster * | Peterson Motorsports @Cyber_Fox_ on X.com / AC-Cages.com / Cain’s Tree Service Toyota | 194 | 11 laps | Running | 25 |
| 20 | 25 | 31 | Rita Goulet | Rise Motorsports NationalPolice.org Chevrolet | 192 | 13 laps | Running | 24 |
| 21 | 26 | 03 | Alex Clubb | Clubb Racing INC Race Parts Liquidators Ford | 189 | 16 laps | Running | 23 |
| 22 | 10 | 32 | Christian Rose | AM Racing West Virginia Department Of Tourism Ford | 173 | 32 laps | Out | 22 |
| 23 | 6 | 33 | Lawless Alan | Reaume Brothers Racing AutoParkIt Ford | 173 | 32 laps | Out | 21 |
| 24 | 7 | 25 | Toni Breidinger | Venturini Motorsports Toyota | 172 | 33 laps | Out | 20 |
| 25 | 31 | 96 | Jackson McLerran * | MAN Motorsports Firemark Property Mgt / Arylco / Midsouth Electric Toyota | 166 | 39 laps | Out | 19 |
| 26 | 28 | 86 | Casey Carden * | Clubb Racing INC Race Parts Liquidators Ford | 124 | 81 laps | Out | 18 |
| 27 | 19 | 85 | Becca Monopoli * | City Garage Motorsports Orlando Health Ford | 121 | 84 laps | Out | 17 |
| 28 | 30 | 0 | Nate Moeller * | Peterson Motorsports Peterson Motorsports Toyota | 79 | 126 laps | Out | 16 |
| 29 | 17 | 12 | Presley Sorah * | Fast Track Racing HDFive / Tatanka Sauce / PresleySorah.com Toyota | 48 | 157 laps | Out | 15 |
| 30 | 29 | 98 | Dale Shearer | Shearer Speed Shearer Speed Toyota | 28 | 177 laps | Out | 14 |
| 31 | 27 | 48 | Brad Smith | Brad Smith Motorsports Copraya.com Ford | 2 | 203 laps | Out | 13 |
