Sawalich Tops Zilisch In Milwaukee ARCA Romp

William Sawalich celebrates in victory lane Sunday at the Milwaukee (Wis.) Mile. (ARCA Racing photo)

WEST ALLIS, Wis. – William Sawalich made a loud statement Sunday afternoon at the Milwaukee Mile: fellow teenager Connor Zilisch is not, in fact, unbeatable in the ARCA Menards Series.

In their fourth duel against one another on the national ARCA platform, Sawalich finally got the measure of Zilisch, dominating the Sprecher 150 by leading 148 of the 150 laps at the one-mile oval.

Sawalich went virtually unchallenged during the 15th race of the season, winning for the seventh time in 10 starts and taking the checkered flag in front by a comfortable 4.675-second margin.

In all for the 18-year-old native of Eden Prairie, Minn., Sunday was his 11th ARCA Menards Series victory, as well as his fourth in a row. He’s now won back-to-back ARCA events at Milwaukee.

“We put in a lot of work to be good at places like this,” said Sawalich, whose No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry won from the pole for the fifth time this year. “We’ve been good here in the past and were really good last year. Had a really strong Soundgear/Starkey Toyota that I can’t thank my guys enough for.

“I led, I think, everything but [two laps], so I’m really proud to be able to do that and I love this team.”

Sunday was a combination event for the ARCA Menards Series and the regional ARCA Menards Series East, with Zilisch maintaining the ARCA East point lead by 16 despite a runner-up finish to Sawalich.

William Sawalich en route to victory with the ARCA Menards Series Sunday at the Milwaukee (Wis.) Mile. (Toyota Racing photo)

Zilisch’s only challenge to the eventual race winner came during the restart following the halftime break, when he hung on Sawalich’s outside and led laps 81 and 82 by a fender.

Once Sawalich dove his car deep into turn one to retake command on the 83rd lap, Zilisch could only watch as his title rival drove away into the distance.

“[Zilisch] just got a good jump on me … was on my door, and then he had good momentum going down the backstretch,” Sawalich said in recalling the final restart. “I just made sure to fire it off in there and get position off the corner so I could get a little side draft on him, and once we were clear into [turn] one, we were on our way.”

Milwaukee marked the first time in five national ARCA races this year that Zilisch hadn’t celebrated in victory lane, but the 18-year-old from Mooresville, N.C., didn’t hang his head too far.

“[Races like this are] just a lot to learn from, and if I ever come back here, I’ll have some notes to look back on,” Zilisch explained. “This track’s really cool. There’s a lot you can do to move around and change the way you [drive the car and] exit the corner. I had fun out there for 150 laps just trying to learn, but I’ll admit it was pretty boring and got a little slow there throughout the race with not a whole lot going on.

“There’s a lot to take away from today. Some days are going to be like this and you’re not going to be able to contend for the win, but I’m still thankful for my entire Pinnacle Racing Group team and everyone at Chevrolet [and] Silver Hare Racing that supports me,” he continued. “It’s been a really good year and we’ve still got a few races left to go get some more wins.”

Rev Racing’s Lavar Scott was “best of the rest,” finishing a massive 29.892 seconds behind at the checkered flag as Sawalich and Zilisch were in a class of their own.

Venturini Motorsports’ Kris Wright crossed fourth ahead of Reaume Brothers Racing’s Lawless Alan, who battled engine issues in the second half of the race but still posted his career-best ARCA finish.

Only the top five were on the lead lap at the race’s conclusion, a testament to Sawalich’s dominance.

Sixth-place Andres Perez maintained his grip on the ARCA Menards Series national point lead with five races left, exiting Milwaukee with a 46-point edge over his teammate Scott.

Third generation Indy car driver Marco Andretti continued his transition to stock cars with a 10th-place finish Sunday in his eighth ARCA appearance of the year. It’s his fourth top 10 in his last five starts.

The national ARCA Menards Series season continues Sunday, Sept. 1 with the Southern Illinois 100 at the DuQuoin (Ill.) State Fairgrounds dirt mile. Jesse Love was the winner of last year’s DuQuoin event.

Meanwhile, the ARCA East championship will be decided Sept. 19 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in the Bush’s Beans 200, a combination event with the national platform.

The finish:

1. 18-William Sawalich, 2. 28-Connor Zilisch, 3. 6-Lavar Scott, 4. 15-Kris Wright, 5. 33-Lawless Alan, 6. 2-Andres Perez, 7. 55-Dean Thompson, 8. 32-Christian Rose, 9. 20-Gio Ruggiero, 10. 17-Marco Andretti, 11. 25-Toni Breidinger, 12. 11-Zachary Tinkle, 13. 10-Cody Dennison, 14. 39-D.L. Wilson, 15. 93-Tyler Tomassi, 16. 95-Andrew Patterson, 17. 12-Ryan Roulette, 18. 99-Michael Maples, 19. 03-Alex Clubb, 20. 22-Amber Balcaen, 21. 06-Nate Moeller, 22. 48-Brad Smith, 23. 31-Rita Goulet, 24. 86-Brian Clubb.

Lap Leader(s): William Sawalich 1-80, Connor Zilisch 81-82, William Sawalich 83-150.