IRWINDALE, Calif. — Sean Hingorani took the lead on the opening lap and never looked back en route to winning the NAPA Auto Parts 150 presented by West Coast Stock Car Motorsports Hall of Fame for the ARCA Menards Series Thursday night at Irwindale Speedway.
Hingorania fended off a charge from Venturini Motorsports teammate Isabella Robusto for his first win of 2024.
Hingorani admitted it took every piece of knowledge about racing to prevent Robusto from overtaking him in the closing stages. He commended Robusto for her spirited drive but also his Venturini crew members for making his No. 15 Fidelity Capital Toyota so efficient.
“[The car] was really fast,” Hingorani said. “I had to work for it there at the end, so congrats to Isabella. She was rolling, [but we] were dominant all race, so I’m thankful for all my guys.”
It was a welcomed reunion for Hingorani and Venturini in their first official race together on the 2024 West Series season.
Hingorani opened the year at Phoenix Raceway driving for Hattori Racing Enterprises, and he started his title defense with a fifth-place finish. After his deal with Hattori fell through, Hingorani spent the next three races bouncing between Sigma Performance Services and Jerry Pitts Racing, all while staying within striking distance of the points lead.
Venturini welcomed Hingorani back into the program during the Berlin ARCA 200 last Saturday, placing third behind race-winner William Sawalich.
The cohesion Hingorani displayed in a Venturini car throughout 2023 was apparent at Irwindale all day Thursday. No one in the field could match Hingorani’s efficiency on corner entry and drive off, with his only real opposition in Robusto materializing after his car started to get loose.
Robusto utilized every part of Irwindale’s unique layout to gain ground on Hingorani but could not find a way around for the lead.
“This was my first time coming to Irwindale Speedway,” Robusto said. “It’s a really cool race track. I definitely learned on every lap today, so coming back on Saturday, I think we’ll have a good baseline to fire off and hopefully get this JBL Toyota Camry on the pole and [get] the win.”
Hingorani found plenty to be sentimental about as he climbed the fence and celebrated with Irwindale’s crowd.
Hingorani envisions more victories if he is able to maintain the speed he displayed Thursday, but the most pressing matter in the moment was to cherish his win at a renowned track that has meant so much to him and the racing community over the years.
“I wanted to thank all the fans,” Hingorani said. “[There were] packed stands [on Thursday], and this is a great show [track operator] Tim [Huddleston] puts on. I’m really excited to be at Irwindale, my home track, and to get back to Victory Lane here.”
Jake Finch successfully completed a sweep of the top three positions for Venturini on Thursday at Irwindale. Trevor Huddleston came home fourth in his hometown race, with Reif fading from the pole to complete the top five.
The finish:
Sean Hingorani, Isabella Robusto, Jake Finich, Trevor Huddleston, Tyler Reif, Jaron Giannini, Nick Joanides, Kyle Keller, Takuma Koga, Todd Souza, Eric Johnson Jr., Garrett Zacharias, Michael Killen, Jack Wood, David Smith, Bobby Hillis Jr., Kole Raz, Robbie Kennealy, Rick Goodale.