PHOENIX, Ariz. — Sean Hingorani, driving Venturini Motorsports’ Fidelity Capital Toyota captured his second consecutive ARCA Menards Series West driver championship Friday at Phoenix Raceway.
Despite competing with four different organizations across the 12-race schedule, Hingorani still managed to put together an efficient campaign that saw him tally three victories. All those triumphs came with the same team that guided Hingorani to his first West Series championship, Venturini Motorsports.
A third-place finish in Venturini’s No. 15 for Hingorani during Friday’s season-ending Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 100 at Phoenix Raceway was more than enough for Hingorani to claim the West Series crown over Tyler Reif, a feat the 17-year-old competitor found both rewarding and cathartic.
“It’s been a long season with a lot of different people that have helped me get to this point,” Hingorani said. “I want to thank Venturini Motorsports for everything they’ve done for me, [along with] Jerry Pitts Racing and Sigma Performance Services. It was harder this year acclimating every week to a different team, but I can’t thank [everyone] enough.
By fending off Reif, Hingorani joins an elite group of drivers that have won back-to-back West Series championships, with Jesse Love being the most recent to do so from 2020-21.
Phoenix was where Hingorani’s pursuit of a second championship began back in March behind the wheel of the No. 61 Toyota for Hattori Racing Enterprises. Finishing fifth in a 40-car field provided Hingorani some optimism about his outlook for the rest of the year.
The deal with Hattori only ended up lasting one race for Hingorani, which left him scrambling to ascertain how he would keep his hopes of another West Series championship alive. Hingorani found salvation over the next three races by piecing together deals with Jerry Pitts Racing and Sigma Performance Services, albeit with mixed results.
A reunion at Irwindale Speedway with Venturini proved to be the turning point of Hingorani’s 2024 season. Two consecutive victories across Irwindale’s doubleheader weekend during Independence Day galvanized Hingorani and gave him the momentum needed to keep the West Series championship within reach.
Hingorani did not record a single finish outside the top five following his clean sweep of Irwindale. He tallied three straight runner-up finishes piloting the No. 5 Toyota for Pitts before closing out the year with Venturini, earning his final victory with the organization at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway.
For Hingorani, his future is more fluid compared to Zilisch and Sawalich. Heading into 2025, Hingorani does not have any plans currently solidified, which is one reason why bringing home a second West Series championship meant so much to him.
Hingorani looks to have a more coherent vision for his racing future at the start of the new year. Until then, Hingorani plans to take pride in everything he accomplished in 2024 knowing that so many different people came together to ensure he could hoist a second West Series championship trophy.
“We had a couple of things fall apart coming into this year, and it put us in a bad spot,” Hingorani said. “We were lucky to find some people who were willing to help us out so that we could be in a position to do this again.”
