NASCAR Roots Power Rankings: A championship battle and a season finale

Teams and drivers who compete in the ARCA Menards Series, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series make up the backbone of NASCAR. Here are the top-10 NASCAR Roots level competitors as chosen by the NASCAR.com Roots Editorial team.

10. Trevor Ward

Sometimes the underdog wins. That’s what happened in the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 when Trevor Ward came out on top of a tremendous battle with Landon Huffman to win the biggest NASCAR Late Model Stock Car event of the season at Martinsville Speedway. The victory also allowed him to capture the Virginia Late Model Triple Crown for the first time.

9. Sean Hingorani

With the ARCA Menards Series West having the weekend off, Sean Hingorani joined the ARCA Menards Series field at Toledo Speedway. He earned a third-place finish, which equaled his career-best ARCA Menards Series result. The West Series championship leader is back in action this Friday when he joins the rest of the West Series field at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

8. Jacob Goede

At LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway, they often say ‘Fest is Best’ when referring to the annual Oktoberfest race weekend. Last weekend during Oktoberfest the saying could have been changed to ‘Goede is Best’ after Jacob Goede won four features in two days. They included the Super Late Model ‘Knights’ race as well as three 20-lap NASCAR Late Model features. This year he also claimed his record 10th-straight track championship at Elko Speedway as well as the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Midwest Region championship.

7. Matt Hirschman

Despite missing a month of competition after suffering a broken arm in a crash at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, Matt Hirschman hasn’t missed a beat. The driver from Northampton, Pennsylvania started second, led the most laps and won the inaugural NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event at North Wilkesboro Speedway. It was his third Whelen Modified Tour victory of the season.

6. Justin Bonsignore

The pursuit of a fourth NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship for Justin Bonsignore got a lot harder following a 12th-place finish Sunday at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park. The five-time race winner this year will need a lot to go his way if he hopes to win his fourth championship when the series heads to Martinsville Speedway for the season finale on Oct. 26.

5. Matt Sheppard

So close, yet so far. When the final NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Division I national standings were released, Matt Sheppard was only a few points behind Connor Hall in the battle for the national championship. Still, Sheppard’s season included 13 wins in 21 starts as well as the track title at Utica-Rome Speedway and the Division I Northeast Region championship.

4. Connor Hall

The 2023 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Division I national champion added another accolade to his already stellar 2023 season by officially securing the Langley Speedway Late Model track championship on Saturday. He had 18 victories in Weekly Series competition this year as well as one CARS Tour win. He also claimed the Southeast Region Division I title.

3. Jesse Love

He didn’t win the ARCA Menards Series finale on Saturday at Toledo Speedway, but a runner-up finish was still a great end to a fantastic season for Jesse Love. He closed the year with 10 victories and a 50 percent winning percentage. The runner-up finish also helped Venturini Motorsports clinch the ARCA Menards Series owners championship.

2. Ron Silk

Needing a strong performance to keep himself in the hunt for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship, Ron Silk got exactly what he needed with a win on Sunday at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park. His fifth victory of the year, combined with an error by Justin Bonsignore late in the race, gave Silk the championship lead heading into the season finale at Martinsville Speedway later this month.

1. William Sawalich

ARCA platform rookie William Sawalich continued his impressive season for Joe Gibbs Racing on Saturday by winning the Shore Lunch 200 presented by CGS Imaging at Toledo Speedway. The victory was his fourth ARCA Menards Series triumph of the year and his sixth ARCA platform victory overall this season.