Following an outstanding Watkins Glen International weekend that included dominant victories in both the ARCA Menards Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series, Connor Zilisch has taken the top spot in the ARCA power rankings.
The full-time ARCA Menards Series East competitor drove his No. 28 for Pinnacle Racing Group into victory lane on Friday, Sept. 13, earning his fifth victory in six main-series appearances in 2024.
He once again outdueled William Sawalich, who came home second, followed by Brandon Jones, Andres Perez and Connor Mosack.
Some of those drivers make our latest power rankings — read on to find out who.
1. Connor Zilisch
Zilisch earned a convincing win in ARCA on Friday, as he was nearly untouched on the afternoon.
The win marked the fifth of the season for Zilisch in only six starts, with the only start in which he didn’t win resulting in a second-place finish.
Although his appearances have been few, Zilisch has made enough of a mark in those appearances by winning almost all of them.
2. William Sawalich
While Zilisch has been sensational in limited appearances, Sawalich has been nearly as impressive in a larger sample size. Despite lately being outshone (and often out-finished) by Zilisch, Sawalich still has an impressive seven wins of the season in only 12 starts.
In addition to winning seven times, Sawalich has also finished in the top five in all but one of his 12 starts. Even with Zilisch bursting on the scene and stealing the spotlight, Sawalich is putting together a quality resume that still makes him one of ARCA’s hottest prospects.
At Watkins Glen, Sawalich was outwitted by Zilisch yet again, finishing second.
3. Andres Perez
A campaign defined by consistency finds Perez atop the points and third in our power rankings.
Carrying the banner for Rev Racing, Perez has scored nine top fives and 15 top 10s across all seventeen of this season’s races. Perez has also contended for several wins at short tracks, with 19 laps led on the season.
While nobody has been more consistent than Perez (he snagged another top five by finishing fourth at Watkins Glen), he seems to be lacking some of the speed that those above him have on a week-to-week basis.
4. Lavar Scott
Slotting in right behind points leader Perez is his Rev Racing teammate, Lavar Scott.
Scott’s 2024 seasons has been quite similar to that of his teammate, as he has collected eight top fives and 12 top 10s across this season’s seventeen races.
Scott’s season has been highlighted by several solid short-track runs, including runner-up efforts at Berlin Raceway and Elko Speedway. While he has not been quite as consistent as his Rev counterpart, his showings of excellent speed at several short tracks may suggest that a breakthrough victory is around the corner.
Watkins Glen, however, was a bit more ho-hum for Scott; he came home ninth, albeit on the lead lap.
5. Gio Ruggiero
After finishing Watkins Glen as Venturini Motorsports’ highest-finishing entry, Gio Ruggiero rises to fifth in these power rankings.
Ruggiero’s impressive streak of scoring top-10 finishes in nearly each of his ARCA starts was extended with his sixth-place finish at Watkins Glen. He only finished outside the top 10 at Sonoma Raceway in the ARCA Menards Series West earlier this year.
Add a pole and five top fives to his top-10 streak, and Ruggiero’s debut season has been a reasonably successful one to this point. Ruggiero’s consistency has been impressive, but he, like Perez and Scott above him, is also searching for that breakthrough win in ARCA’s national series.
Paint Scheme of the Race
Zilisch’s No. 28. This sleek design featuring flashes of orange, black and silver on a white base surely made an impression on fans in attendance as it ran away with the race victory.
The ARCA Menards Series returns to action Thursday, Sept. 19, for the Bush’s Beans 200 from Bristol Motor Speedway with TV coverage starting at 5 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1.
