18-year-old Connor Zilisch saw the ARCA Menards Series East Championship slip through his fingers on Thursday in Bristol. The Pinnacle Racing Group driver was poised to finish inside the top 12 and beat William Sawalich to the title but he got wrecked as a result of an inconsequential battle between Logan Misuraca and Amber Balcaen. And needless to say, the fans didn’t love the female drivers for it.
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Misuraca had been spun early in the race by Balcaen and went a lap down as a result. During Lap 65 of the Bush’s Beans 200, she attempted to retaliate, made contact with Balcaen, and slid down the hill into the way of Zilisch who was the race leader at the time. His No. 28 car wrecked hard into the crash and knocked him out of contention. Zilisch had nowhere to go when she spun.
Sawalich finished the race in 11th place and grabbed the title for the second consecutive time. While Zilisch himself restrained from voicing out against Misuraca or Balcaen for their faults, the fans did not. They made their feelings clear by responding to a tweet from reporter Matt Weaver on X. One fan wrote, “Misuraca should be parked for that. That move just affected the championship.”
The move did affect the championship but it might just have affected her career more. Bristol was her first scheduled start of 2024 and her performance in the race mattered a lot in regards to her future. Another fan wrote, “What a joke. Two women drivers who both shouldn’t be anywhere near a racecar is why Zilisch won’t win the race and the championship.”
What a joke. Two women drivers who both shouldn’t be anywhere near a racecar is why Zilisch won’t win the race and the championship
— Austin Windric (@PhillipAaron14) September 19, 2024
Strong and meaningful words considering how illustrious the championship would’ve looked on the young driver’s resume. One more response came, “The contrast in talent between Connor and the 2 Female non drivers is insane.” The contrast in talent between Connor and other “male” drivers in itself is insane. It is questionable if this can be faulted on Misuraca or Balcaen.
Yet another follower seethed in anger, “But it’s our fault that we tell people they are dogshit useless.” That might not be the most fair of comments but an argument could be made for the frustration being justified. Drivers making cameo appearances hurting regulars is just impalpable. But that’s racing. And Zilisch knows it only too well.
He spoke to the press and admitted his fate to the nature of the sport. He also wrote on his X handle, “Lot of things I want to say right now that I’ll bite my lip on, but more important than anything I’m so proud of @RacePRG. This year has been an absolute blast and 1 race doesn’t define us. Still have a truck race tonight to look forward to.”
Zilisch went on to start the Truck Series race in pole position and led 41 laps. However, a wreck near the end of Stage 2 obliterated his chances of victory and settled him in 19th place. Overall, the weekend outing to Bristol was one to forget for the young prodigy.
