NASCAR driver issued one-race suspension after Mid-Ohio

After Friday’s race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, lower-division NASCAR driver Sean Hingorani has been suspended for a race in which he wasn’t initially planning on competing anyway.

ARCA Menards Series driver Sean Hingorani intentionally wrecked Venturini Motorsports teammate Dean Thompson at the end of Friday’s race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

The last-lap retaliation stemmed from an incident which had taken place earlier in the 42-lap Zinsser SmartCoat 150 around the 13-turn, 2.258-mile (3.634-kilometer) Lexington, Ohio road course.

Hingorani, a 16-year-old part-time driver in his fourth ever start in the series which is three levels below the NASCAR Cup Series, attempted to take the lead from Thompson and was run off the track, resulting in a spin.

Thompson, a full-time NASCAR Truck Series driver for TRICON Garage who is also competing part-time in the ARCA Menards Series, ended up falling to second place behind Hattori Racing Enterprises’ Tyler Ankrum by the time the white flag flew.

Hingorani, now completely out of contention, decided to fall a full lap down just to wait for his teammate, at which point he drove into Thompson’s No. 55 Toyota, sending both the No. 55 Toyota and his own No. 15 Toyota off the track.

Thompson, whose first two starts of the season had resulted in second place finishes, ended up finishing in 10th place. Hingorani was scored in 13th, ending a two-race streak of third place finishes.

As a result of the clear act of retaliation, Hingorani has been suspended for one race by ARCA Menards Series officials and will not be allowed to compete in this coming Saturday’s Calypso Lemonade 150 at Iowa Speedway.

However, this suspension doesn’t really mean all that much for the Newport Beach, California native, who wasn’t planning on competing in the ARCA Menards Series race this weekend anyway.

There are three starts remaining on Hingorani’s 2023 ARCA Menards Series schedule. He is set to compete at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park on Friday, August 11; the Milwaukee Mile on Sunday, August 27; and Bristol Motor Speedway on Thursday, September 14.

Hingorani, who has also been placed on probation for the remainder of the 2023 season, competes full-time for Venturini Motorsports in ARCA Menards Series East and ARCA Menards Series West as well. He sits in third place in the standings through four races in the former and second in the standings with two wins in six races in the latter.

Despite Hingorani’s recent success, Bill Venturini was obviously not a happy team owner after his driver’s antics this past weekend, which also included a separate incident over which he was called to meet with series officials.