NASCAR has a history of great rivalries. Some start in the Cup Series, while some start at NASCAR’s Developmental level. One of these developmental rivalries may be starting right now in ARCA. William Sawalich and Connor Zilisch are both stellar prospects for Toyota and Chevrolet, but what else is painting the picture for these two to duke it out for years to come?
Connor Zillisch is one of NASCAR’s most popular young stars after springing onto the national stock car racing scene last year at Watkins Glen in ARCA.
This year, Zilisch has had a whirlwind racing in the ARCA Menards Series, Craftsman Truck Series, and now the NASCAR Xfinity Series. First in the Trucks Series, Zilisch made his Truck Series debut at Circuit of the Americas.
At COTA, Zilisch broke the track qualifying record and looked like the winning truck early on before being a little over-eager heading into turn one. However, in his Xfinity Series debut at Watkins Glen, Zilisch Dominated, leading 45 of 90 laps and bringing home his first career victory in his first career start.
Zillisch really performed this year in the Xfinity Series. In six starts, Connor has won five races at five very different tracks.
William Sawalich is one of Toyota Racing Development’s most promising prospects.
Sawalich burst into ARCA last season, winning four of eight races in the ARCA Menards Series East, including two crossover races with the ARCA Menard Series, in which Swalich also won two races last year.
Swalich also made his debut in the Craftsman Truck Series at age 16 with Tricon Garage at Martinsville. While Sawalich is yet to win in the Truck Series, making five more starts this season, he has dominated in ARCA.
In the 12 ARCA races he has entered this season, Sawalich won 7 and finished in the top ten 11 times.
These two special talents have made a knack for finding each other on the track. This year, the two have gone head to head in ARCA and the ARCA Menards Series East.
It’s easy to see why Sawalich and Zilisch could be a longtime rivalry in NASCAR. Both are the same age, leading the next generation of NASCAR stars.
That generation includes drivers like Rajah Caruth and Corey Heim and is reminiscent of the generation that brought us names like Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, and Kyle Larson.
The two also represent the future of fierce rivals Toyota and Chevrolet. With Zilisch going to the fresh face of Chevy’s lineup, Trackhouse Racing, and Sawalich headed to Toyota staple Joe Gibbs Racing.
While these two are on the same track through NASCAR, with many championship battles ahead, this year’s ARCA battle has been one for the record books. The two have almost traded wins, and in races that they have gone head to head, Zilisch has three wins to Sawalich’s one.
They are currently in a fierce battle for the ARCA Menards Series East championship, with Zilisch up by 16 points and two races left.
While Zilisch is currently leading this battle, this will likely be a career-long war between these two prospects.
What do you think about this? Let us know your opinions on Discord or X, and don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
A few years ago, I looked at the racetracks preserved on iRacing that no longer exist in real life. After digging deeper, I expected to find one common reason they all shut down. Instead, each one tells a completely different story — from booming cities and land value spikes to ownership changes, broken promises, and even mysteries that still don’t have clear answers.
Some tracks were pushed out by urban development. Some lost the one person fighting to keep them alive. Others faded due to declining support — or were never meant to last forever in the first place. No two closures are the same, and that’s what makes this deep dive so fascinating.
Watch Also:
NASCAR’s documentary series “Full Speed,” which used to live on Netflix, had its first two seasons look back at entire playoff runs. But now, NASCAR is shifting the series to Amazon Prime Video for its third season, and the scope of the series will also shift to new storylines.
Dropping on March 5, the new season is aimed at zooming in on one event: the 2026 Daytona 500. Instead of a multi-episode run, this time it’s a single-episode documentary that goes all in on one race.
The film will follow big names and storylines from the Daytona 500. It will spotlight the winner, Tyler Reddick, and lean into driver storylines around the weekend. That includes Kyle Busch trying to get his groove back, Brad Keselowski clawing his way back after a broken leg, Connor Zilisch being pushed as the next big thing, and Noah Gragson bringing chaos wherever he goes.
Some fans might question the move away from Netflix, especially after Season 1 pulled in 3.4 million views in the first half of 2024. Then in 2025, the docuseries clocked 900,000 views after its early May release and added another 200,000 between July and December.
But with Prime Video stepping in as one of NASCAR’s broadcast partners, moving the series lines up with a bigger play to keep content under one roof.
Amazon has already dipped into NASCAR storytelling with projects like the docuseries Earnhardt about Dale Earnhardt. Moving Full Speed to Prime follows the same playbook. And for fans who still haven’t seen previous installments, the first two seasons are also heading over to Prime Video.
However, Reddit fans are divided in their opinions about the decision. Some fans actually get why NASCAR changed the format and platform, while a chunk of fans think leaving Netflix is risky because Netflix is where casual viewers stumble into shows. Others push back, pointing out that Prime actually has a massive reach in the U.S. and strong marketing muscle.
While one fan commented, “Makes sense. I highly doubt they were gonna make a new season around a points format they don’t use anymore,” another stated, “Idk the semantics and numbers and everything behind it so I’m probably talking out of my ass….buttttttt….at what point does nascar take the less money for the exposure. You need to be on Netflix, people watch Netflix. People don’t watch Amazon video as much. Who’s gonna watch this that isn’t a nascar fan already. You have a higher chance of getting people lost on Netflix than lost on Amazon Prime Video.”
One fan commented on the news, saying, “100%. I have Amazon Prime and Netflix. AP is a train wreck for videos especially now with their ad program with videos. I steer clear because Netflix is still ad free.” Another fan supported NASCAR’s move, saying, “Prime actually has slightly more subscribers in the USA and in my opinion is better at marketing. It’s a lateral move.”
Another backed NASCAR, stating, “Most NASCAR fans will find some way to be on prime in the month of June. I think they are counting on people watching it then if they have not already seen it. Similar to the Earnhardt documentary that dropped in June last year.”
Another fan comment implied something less glamorous yet very real, pointing out that the Netflix seasons didn’t see a surge in viewership. The first season did okay, but later numbers dipped: “Netflix didn’t seem to work that well for the 2 playoff seasons.”
Will you be watching on Prime Video? Let us know your opinion on Discord or X. Don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
NASCAR driver/owner Brad Keselowski says that he plans to race the entirety of Sunday’s DuraMax Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas, despite his ongoing recovery from an injury suffered this past offseason.
What do you think about this? Let us know your opinion on Discord or X. Don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
