Seventeen-year-old Zilisch wins Atlas 150 in Iowa – Newton Daily News

The resurfacing of Iowa Speedway’s 7/8-mile oval track did not result in any major changes to the top three positions in Friday night’s ARCA Menards Series Atlas 150.

Connor Zilisch, William Sawalich and Giovanni Ruggiero were in the top four in both practice and qualifying before the race.

All three 17-year-olds finished in the top three after 25 and 50 laps, and each up-and-comer finished in the top three after 200 km, with Zilisch surviving several late starts to win in front of a strong crowd at Iowa Speedway.

“I can’t say enough about my entire Pinnacle Racing Group team. It’s a real team effort to get these wins and it means a lot to come and win these races,” Zilisch said. “I wouldn’t be able to do it without them, so hopefully we can keep that momentum going for the rest of the year.”

Zilisch earned his second victory in three ARCA Menards Series starts and third in five East Series appearances in his No. 28 Chevrolet.

But there was some drama. Zilisch and Sawalich forced a caution with less than 10 laps remaining when both drivers came into contact with each other.

However, this was only one of the few cautions late in the match as Zilisch rose to the challenge on every restart.

“It definitely took a lot of effort,” said Sawalich, the 2023 ARCA East champion. “I can’t thank them enough for trying everything to get us there. We had speed, but it wasn’t enough at the end. At first, something happened to the right front. I’m not sure what it was. I tried everything I could.”

The top three finishers were all ARCA Series East drivers. Ruggiero, who was sitting on pole, finished third despite forcing a caution on lap 84 when he lost control of the car in turn four.

Iowa native Mason Mitchell started sixth and finished fourth despite finishing 11th during practice laps.

Andy Jankowiak started ninth but managed to finish inside the top five in fifth. The remaining ten included ARCA Menards Series points leader Andres Perez, Gus Dean, Toni Breidinger, Lavar Scott and Chris Tate.

There were no Fords in the top ten. Zilisch, Mitchell, Perez and Scott drove Chevrolets, while Sawalich, Ruggiero, Jankowiak, Dean, Breidinger and Tate drove Toyotas.

Zilisch admitted he was surprised by the way Sawalich raced against him in the final stages of the race.

“Honestly, I don’t know what I could have done differently,” Zilisch said. “We were going into one of the corners there and it felt like he just drove onto the track and tried to take me down. Almost immediately he tried to attack me from behind. I need to talk to him and ask what he thinks I should do differently.

“I don’t think I’ve ever raced him this dirty.”

Mitchell, who won his career at ARCA in Iowa, finished in the top five after 25 laps. Dean was in the top four after 25 and 50 laps, and with 35 laps to go he was fifth.

Kris Wright qualified fifth and was fourth on lap 100 and with 35 laps remaining. However, he was eliminated from contention with 28 competitors remaining when he and Cody Dennison made contact between the first and second turns.

Wright finished 16th after completing just 121 laps. Only 12 cars completed all 150 laps of the race.

Christian Rose and DL Wilson finished 11th and 12th, respectively. Rose was the only Ford to complete all 150 laps.

Notes: Zilisch became the first multiple winner of the ARCA Series this season after six different winners won the first six events. … Former IndyCar Series driver Marco Andretti qualified 14th but finished 22nd after completing just 24 laps. … The only driver to finish in the top 10 but not start there was Tate, who started the race in 19th position. …Greg Van Alst and Amber Balcaen started 11th and 12th respectively, but both completed just 23 laps after hitting the wall and forcing a caution early in the race. … In the ARCA Menards Series, mandatory pit stops are on lap 50 and 100. Zilisch and Sawalich had a 1-2 record in both stops.