AVONDALE, AZ. – With their recent dominance on the ARCA Menards Series platform, it only made sense for Venturini Motorsports to expand their empire westward.
BY BRANDON WHITE
The driver Venturini Motorsports tasked for this quest was 17-year-old Sean Hingorani from Newport Beach, California. Hingorani more than proved himself in a Venturini Motorsports car with a stellar debut season that saw him take the ARCA Menards Series West championship crown.
Even though he did not grab a victory in the season-ending Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 100 at Phoenix Raceway, Hingorani was elated to see the hard work put in by himself and Venturini Motorsports culminate with a West Series title.
“This was such a great season with Billy Venturini,” Hingorani said. “We fought so hard today and really wanted to win this race, but these guys brought me a fast car everywhere. This was such a great opportunity over here [at Venturini Motorsports] and I’m so thankful for it.”
The turnaround from their first Phoenix race together to Friday afternoon encapsulated the growth Hingorani and Venturini Motorsports experienced together in 2023.
Multiple issues hindered Hingorani during the entire night at Phoenix in March, which relegated him to a finish of 16th, three laps off pace of the winner Tyler Reif. Disappointed with his first outing in a Venturini Motorsports car, Hingorani worked closely with his team to ensure they could be a title contender when they returned to Phoenix in the fall.
Hingorani immediately responded by tallying his first two West Series victories at Irwindale Speedway and Kern County Raceway Park. He then cemented himself as a championship favorite during the summer with two more triumphs at Shasta Speedway and Evergreen Speedway.
By the time the West Series reached their season finale at Phoenix, the driver’s championship was almost fully in Hingorani’s control. The only item left on Hinograni’s agenda was to make one more trip to Victory Lane at the track where his journey with Venturini Motorsports began.
Despite managing to briefly lead the Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 100, Hingorani had to settle for third behind his teammate Dean Thompson and race-winner William Sawalich. Hingorani was confident he had a car capable of taking home a checkered flag but said the big picture of the West Series title mattered more in the end.
“We were just as fast as [Sawalich], if not faster I think,” Hingorani said. “We could have raced him for the win there, but unfortunately we got into a racing incident with [Thompson] and weren’t able to get there. This was still a strong, third place finish and we got the championship.”