It was redemption day for the hot shoe of Connor Zilisch as he managed to take home the trophy at Watkins Glen for the General Tire 100. Bettering his second place run from last year’s ARCA Menards Series debut.
“This is a cool one. My first race with Red Bull on my helmet. This Pinnacle Racing Group man they’ve worked hard and this was one that we wanted this year…It means a lot to get redemption on our second-place finish last year,” the 18-year-old said post-race.
The Mooresville native’s win kicks off an exciting weekend as he’s set to make his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut for JR Motorsports tomorrow.
“Every time I show up to the track these guys bring me a fast car and I can count on them. It’s been a lot of fun this year. I’m super proud of everyone a part of this team. I got a big day tomorrow making my Xfinity debut…It’s truly a blessing to be here and I’m looking forward to the future,” he added.
There's domination, and then there's what @ConnorZilisch did at @WGI on Friday ?
What. A. Run. pic.twitter.com/cjtAUMeK2J
— ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) September 13, 2024
Coming up short was the 18 team and William Sawalich.
“I could stick with him on restarts and turn one. That’s about it…We brought it home in one piece..I think just second-place car overall,” the Eden Prarie, MN native said.
Zilisch’s JRM teammate tomorrow Brandon Jones managed a third place in a one-off start with Cook Racing Technologies. ARCA Menards Series points leader Andres Perez and Connor Mosack in the Sigma Performance machine rounded out the top five.
Trans-Am driver Thomas Annunziata managed a seventh place, and Ryan Gemmell came home just behind in eight in his ARCA Menards Series debut.
Issues fell to a few of the Venturini cars. Amber Balcaen wasn’t able to turn a lap after an issue with her Toyota, and Toni Breidinger had to have a relief driver come in after an injury that occurred previously.
She ran as hard as she could for as long as she could. Tough day at @WGI for @ToniBreidinger. pic.twitter.com/DjJIa8vZU8
— ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) September 13, 2024
Up next, the ARCA Menards Series heads to the hills of Tennessee and Bristol Motor Speedway to crown an ARCA Menards Series East champion. You can catch that race live on FS1 at 5 PM.
Official Results from the General Tire 100 at The Glen
| Fin | St | No. | Driver | Team | Laps | Diff | Status | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 28 | Connor Zilisch | Pinnacle Racing Group Silver Hare Development / Chevrolet Performance Chevrolet | 41 | -- | Running | 49 |
| 2 | 2 | 18 | William Sawalich | Joe Gibbs Racing Starkey/SoundGear Toyota | 41 | 12.778 | Running | 43 |
| 3 | 6 | 42 | Brandon Jones | Pinnacle Racing Group Lyons Bathtubs & Showers / Menards Chevrolet | 41 | 17.561 | Running | 41 |
| 4 | 4 | 2 | Andres Perez | Rev Racing Max Siegel Inc. Chevrolet | 41 | 22.935 | Running | 40 |
| 5 | 8 | 23 | Connor Mosack | Sigma Performance Services Chevrolet | 41 | 31.336 | Running | 39 |
| 6 | 5 | 20 | Gio Ruggiero | Venturini Motorsports First Auto Group Toyota | 41 | 33.524 | Running | 38 |
| 7 | 3 | 44 | Thomas Annunziata | Ferrier McClure Racing Bayshore Mortgage Funding Ford | 41 | 36.683 | Running | 37 |
| 8 | 10 | 29 | Ryan Gemmell | NEMCO Motorsports Diamond Brite / TC3 Turf Toyota | 41 | 39.582 | Running | 36 |
| 9 | 9 | 6 | Lavar Scott | Rev Racing Max Siegel Inc. Chevrolet | 41 | 40.93 | Running | 35 |
| 10 | 12 | 30 | Dylan Lupton | Rette Jones Racing Lupton Excavation Ford | 41 | 40.935 | Running | 34 |
| 11 | 13 | 4 | Dale Quarterley | 1/4 Ley Racing Van Dyk Recycling / ACI / Fire Rover Chevrolet | 41 | 49.424 | Running | 33 |
| 12 | 7 | 15 | Kris Wright | Venturini Motorsports FNB Corporation Toyota | 41 | 53.343 | Running | 32 |
| 13 | 15 | 73 | Andy Jankowiak | KLAS Motorsports Whelen Engineering Company Chevrolet | 41 | 62.804 | Running | 31 |
| 14 | 11 | 17 | Marco Andretti | Cook Racing Technologies Group 1001 Chevrolet | 41 | 63.184 | Running | 30 |
| 15 | 14 | 55 | Jake Finch | Venturini Motorsports Phoenix Construction Toyota | 41 | 68.832 | Running | 29 |
| 16 | 18 | 32 | Christian Rose | AM Racing West Virginia Department of Tourism Ford | 40 | 1 lap | Running | 28 |
| 17 | 16 | 25 | Toni Breidinger | Venturini Motorsports Rudebusch Toyota | 40 | 1 lap | Running | 27 |
| 18 | 17 | 3 | Alex Quarterley | Mullins Racing Van Dyk Recycling Solutions Chevrolet | 39 | 2 laps | Running | 26 |
| 19 | 19 | 71 | Christopher Werth | Werth Racing Chevrolet | 39 | 2 laps | Running | 25 |
| 20 | 23 | 99 | Michael Maples | Fast Track Racing Don Ray Petroleum LLC / Maples Motorsports Chevrolet | 35 | 6 laps | Running | 24 |
| 21 | 26 | 03 | Alex Clubb | Clubb Racing Inc. Wallis Farms / Misfit Productions Ford | 32 | 9 laps | Running | 23 |
| 22 | 22 | 10 | Ed Pompa | Fast Track Racing Hy-Torc of NY / Double H Ranch Toyota | 24 | 17 laps | Running | 22 |
| 23 | 25 | 06 | Nate Moeller | Wayne Peterson Racing Peterson Motorsports Toyota | 15 | 26 laps | Out | 21 |
| 24 | 21 | 11 | Cody Dennison | Fast Track Racing TimCast.com Toyota | 12 | 29 laps | Out | 20 |
| 25 | 29 | 31 | Rob Pellosie | Rise Motorsports Chevrolet | 9 | 32 laps | Out | 19 |
| 26 | 20 | 27 | Tim Richmond | Richmond Motorsports Immigration Law Center Toyota | 8 | 33 laps | Out | 18 |
| 27 | 24 | 12 | Brayton Laster | Fast Track Racing AC-Cages.com / UTI Toyota | 8 | 33 laps | Out | 17 |
| 28 | 27 | 48 | Brad Smith | Brad Smith Motorsports Copraya.com Ford | 0 | 41 laps | Out | 16 |
| 29 | 28 | 22 | Amber Balcaen | Venturini Motorsports Icon Toyota | 0 | 41 laps | Out | 15 |
