Elko, Minn. – Under a lightning-filled sky in southern Minnesota, local driver William Sawalich got around Lavar Scott at Elko Speedway for the win in the most recent ARCA Menards Series event.
Sawalich led much of the early portion of the race but had to recover from a mid-race spin to get back around Scott on the white flag. So, how do Scott and Sawalich stack up on this week’s edition of Frontstretch’s ARCA power rankings?
1. William Sawalich
Sawalich is fresh from an exciting win at his home track, nudging Scott and Kris Wright at the start-finish line in a three-wide finish. But, it’s a part of a bigger story for Sawalich. He’s won back-to-back short track races and has done so both times as the dominant car.Â
Sawalich led much of the early half of the race at Elko, only 45 minutes or so from his native Eden Prairie, Minn. However, contact with lapped driver Michael Maples sent Sawalich around, sending him to the rear of the seven-car lead lap pack.
Challenged by the lack of passing on the track, it took Sawalich until the last caution, which was thrown with under 10 laps to go, to catch back up to Scott, eventually passing him for the win on the white flag.Â
Sawalich will sit out the next race at Michigan International Speedway due to age restriction rules but will return the same weekend at the Illinois State Fairgrounds, as the series endures its annual doubleheader weekend.
Sawalich finished fifth last season on the dirt.
2. Lavar Scott
If there’s been any driver that’s turned up the heat in the middle portion of the 2024 schedule, it’s been Scott. While he’s yet to visit victory lane, he has clicked off four consecutive top-four finishes, including two runner-up results.Â
Scott was the car to beat after Sawalich’s spin at Elko. He held the lead until a Ryan Roulette spin grouped the field back up with under 10 laps to go. When a light sprinkle began to fall from a daunting-looking sky above, all seemed to be falling Scott’s way, but the race restarted, and the 20-year-old lost the race in a photo finish on the final lap.Â
Scott now heads to two tracks for the first time in his career in Michigan and Springfield.
3. Andres Perez
Steady and consistent as ever, Andres Perez left Elko as the points leader, with a commanding lead of over 40 points on second place and teammate Scott.
Perez was quiet at Elko, but still had top-five speed throughout, finishing in fifth. He, like his teammate, kept a four-race top-five streak alive by doing so. Coupled with the consistency at Elko, Perez also started from the rear of the field before the green flag due to unapproved adjustments the team made after qualifying, making the fifth-place effort all the more impressive.Â
Perez now goes back to Michigan for the first time since he was the dominant car in 2023 before a late-race mechanical failure took him out of contention. He also returns to Springfield that weekend, a track where he finished runner-up last season.Â
4. Kris Wright
Wright had perhaps his best short track race of the season at Elko, acting as the best running Venturini Motorsports entry of the race for much of the running.
Wright remained inside of the top five for much of the race and was inside the top two with under 30 laps to go. Sawalich ended up getting around Wright, but when the two leaders battled after the final restart, Wright kept close and nearly timed his move perfectly at the start-finish line, spinning to finish third when the checkered flag waved.Â
As for the doubleheader weekend, Wright has no ARCA experience on dirt but ran last year’s race at Michigan, finishing 11th.
5. Isabella Robusto
Isabella Robusto is fresh off an eventful fourth-place finish at Elko, the best in her two-race ARCA national career. While she doesn’t run full-time in any of the three ARCA divisions, Robusto has shown prowess in nearly all her starts this season.Â
Elko proved to be eventful for Robusto.
The speed was evident, but a few different points of contact beat up her No. 55 VMS entry. Despite this, the car still had speed and Robusto piloted it to a fourth-place finish, her best in the national division since her debut at Phoenix Raceway, where she finished sixth.Â
Robusto’s next ARCA race is at Kansas Speedway at the end of September. Until then, she’ll spend time running the zMAX CARS Tour.Â
Paint Scheme of the Race:
Christian Rose’s West Virginia Tourism scheme is by far the prettiest on the race track every time it runs and Elko was no exception. The car had stiffer competition this week with the debut of Sawalich’s white-based scheme and Toni Breidinger’s No. 25 Sunoco Toyota scheme.
However, the sunset-esque colors on the AM Racing No. 32 take the cake.Â
ARCA is off until Friday, Aug. 16 when the series heads to Michigan. Meanwhile, the ARCA Menards Series West will be on track next Saturday evening, Aug. 10, at Tri-City Speedway.Â
About the author
Josh joined Frontstretch in 2023 and currently covers the ARCA Menards Series. Born and raised in Missouri, Josh has been watching motorsports since 2005. He currently is studying for a Mass Communication degree at Lindenwood University
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Isabella should be in the 55 in every arca race not washed up has been gus dean. Robusto and Sawalich are headed for cup the rest pauluka ville except toni $$$