WEST ALLIS, Wisc. — Entering Sunday’s Sprecher 150 at the Milwaukee Mile, William Sawalich had lost every head-to-head matchup with Connor Zilisch in the ARCA Menards Series this year.
Sawalich made sure to change the status quo with a dominant performance that has become a theme for him and Joe Gibbs Racing over the past two months.
No one could match the pace displayed by Sawalich as he cruised to his seventh ARCA Menards Series victory of 2024 and his ninth overall on the platform this year. The young prospect has grown used to perfect outings this year but emphasized the importance of the strenuous work displayed by everyone in the shop.
“We put in a lot of work to be good at places like this,” Sawalich said. “We’ve been good here in the past and had a really good Toyota Camry today, so I can’t thank my guys enough. I think we led everything but one lap maybe, so I’m really proud to do that. I love this team.”
Although Sunday was only his second appearance at the Milwaukee Mile in an ARCA Menards Series car, he has seemingly mastered the legendary facility. He led 141 laps there last year before fending off a late charge from Jesse Love for the win.
Sawalich faced no such challenge Sunday. He maintained a healthy gap ahead of Zilisch after every restart and through lapped traffic. The next closest competitor to the duo was Lavar Scott, who was 29 seconds behind Sawalich when the checkered flag waved.
With Sawalich enjoying a mistake-free afternoon, Zilisch focused on gaining as much experience as possible during his first trip to the Milwaukee Mile. He was surprised at how dynamic the facility could be and hopes to have another opportunity to turn laps there again soon.
“If I ever come back here, I’ll have some notes to look back on,” Zilisch said. “This track is really cool, because there’s a lot you can do to move around, change the way you slow the car down and how you exit the corner. I had fun out there for 150 laps trying to learn. There’s just some days where you’re not going to be able to contend for the win.”
Despite seeing his perfect four-race record in the national ARCA Menards Series come to an end on Sunday, Zilisch still had plenty to cherish following the Sprecher 150. He still holds a comfortable lead on Sawalich in the ARCA Menards Series East standings with one race remaining next month at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.
Sawalich admitted Zilisch gave him a decent challenge for the lead right after the halfway break, but he was not going to let his East Series title rival see victory lane again with him on track.
“[Zilisch] got a good jump on me and was on my door,” Sawalich said. “He had good momentum going down the backstretch, but I just had to fire it off in there and get position off the corner to get a little side draft on him. Then we were clear into one.”
Sawalich may have bested Zilisch Sunday, but more battles between the two prospects are ahead as the 2024 season begins to wind down.
Rounding out the top five behind Sawalich, Zilisch and Scott were Kris Wright and Lawless Alan. Andres Perez, Dean Thompson, Christian Rose, Gio Ruggiero and Marco Andretti completed the top 10.
The next race up for the ARCA Menards Series will be the second and final dirt event on the calendar, the Southern Illinois 100 at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds next Sunday, Sept. 1. The race will begin at 8:30 p.m. ET and air live on both FS1 and FloRacing.
The ARCA Menards Series East season will conclude with the running of the Bush’s Beans 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sept. 19. The event, a combination race with the ARCA Menards Series, will air live on FS1 starting at 5 p.m. ET.