William Sawalich (born October 3, 2006) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the ARCA Menards Series East, part-time in the ARCA Menards Series and ARCA Menards Series West, driving the No. 18 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing, part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 1 Toyota Tundra for Tricon Garage, and part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 19 Toyota Supra for JGR. He is the 2023 ARCA Menards Series East champion.
Sawalich began racing at the age of nine, running various midget races, including Sr. Animal's and World Formula. From 2017 to 2019, he won several track championships at Little Elko Speedway. [1]
He moved into legends cars in 2020, winning the INEX Young Lions State Championship in Minnesota. He scored multiple top fives and podiums during his legends car efforts. [1] [2] He won an INEX sanctioned Legends division feature race at Elko Speedway (MN) on August 22, 2020. [3]
Sawalich made the transition to late models in 2021, running nearly a full season in the Carolina Pro Late Model Series. Despite missing two races, he finished fourth in the standings, with one win at Carteret County Speedway, [4] and seven top fives. Along with that, he continued to run in select legend car races. He made his CARS Tour debut at Tri-County Motor Speedway in September, in which he started on the pole. He finished 17th after being involved in a late-race accident.
In 2022, Sawalich increased his late model schedule, running in the CARS Tour, the Champion Racing Association, the ARCA Midwest Tour, the Southern Super Series, and the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing. In the CARS Tour, Sawalich ran nine races, earning six wins, four of them in row. [5] [6] [7] [8] His streak came to an end at Tri-County in September, after he got spun on the last lap by Jake Garcia. [9]
In 2023, Sawalich won the All American 400 in a controversial ending, after the top eight drivers were eliminated due to fluid on the racetrack, causing them to slip up and hit the wall. He also became the youngest driver to win the All American 400. [10]
On December 9, 2022, it was announced that Sawalich will join Joe Gibbs Racing to run 20 races in the ARCA Menards Series. This included a full season in the ARCA Menards Series East, along with select races in the main and West Series. [11] Swawlich would make his debut at Phoenix on March 10, 2023, winning the pole and finishing 13th. In his first East Series start at Five Flags Speedway, Sawalich won the pole, and led every lap to earn his first career ARCA win. [12] At Nashville, Sawalich was in contention to win his second race, until the caution came out on the final lap. He would spin his tires on the final restart, ultimately giving the win to Luke Fenhaus. [13] He earned his second win of the season at ARCA's return to Flat Rock Speedway, leading the final 50 laps of the race. [14] He scored his third win of the season at Berlin Raceway, after passing Jesse Love for the lead with two laps to go. [15] Following the Bristol race, Sawalich clinched the ARCA Menards Series East championship. [16]
On December 13, 2023, it was announced that Sawalich would run a more expanded ARCA Menards Series and West Series schedule, along with a full-time East Series schedule. He will run the No. 18 for the 14 races in the ARCA Menards Series, and the No. 18 as well in the East and the West Series. Tanner Gray will be the driver of the No. 18 for the six tracks in the ARCA Menards Series that Sawalich is too young to race at. [17] He would start his season in the ARCA Menards Series along with the ARCA Menards Series West with a victory at Phoenix after leading 66 laps in a weather shortened race. [18] In the East Series first race of the season, Sawalich would lead the most laps at Five Flags, but he would end up finishing second to Gio Ruggiero. [19] At Dover, Sawalich won the pole and once again led the most laps, [20] before being involved in a late race incident, unable to complete the race and finished 17th, the first DNF in his career. [21] In the following race at Nashville, Sawalich rebounded and led 145 of the 150 lap race to score the dominating win. [22]
On January 19, 2023, it was announced that Sawalich will join Tricon Garage for six races in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, making his debut in the series. [23] He made his debut at Martinsville Speedway, finishing ninth after running near the top ten for most of the race. [24]
After earning three top tens in 2023, Tricon announced that Sawalich would returning to the No. 1 team in 2024, this time with an expanded nine race schedule. [25] Sawalich would start his season with a 21st place finish at Bristol, along with a 26th place finish at Martinsville.
On December 13, 2023, it was announced that Sawalich would run the No. 19 for Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series part-time in 2024, starting in the fall. He will be sharing the ride with Ryan Truex, Joe Graf Jr., Taylor Gray, Aric Almirola, and Ty Gibbs. [26]
William's father, Brandon Sawalich, is the president of Starkey Hearing Technologies, the largest hearing aid manufacturer in the United States. Starkey sponsors his racing efforts. Brandon is the stepson of businessman William F. Austin. [27] He has a sister, Amelia, who is in a relationship with fellow NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Sam Mayer.
He is currently an online student at Liberty University Online Academy, and is a client of KHI Management. [28]
(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
NASCAR Xfinity Series results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | NXSC | Pts | Ref | ||
2024 | Joe Gibbs Racing | 19 | Toyota | DAY | ATL | LVS | PHO | COA | RCH | MAR | TEX | TAL | DOV | DAR | CLT | PIR | SON | IOW | NHA | NSH | CSC | POC | IND | MCH | DAY | DAR | ATL | GLN | BRI | KAN | TAL | ROV | LVS | HOM | MAR | PHO | -* | -* |
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | NCTC | Pts | Ref |
2023 | Tricon Garage | 1 | Toyota | DAY | LVS | ATL | COA | TEX | BRI | MAR 9 | KAN | DAR | NWS | CLT | GTW | NSH | MOH 27 | POC | RCH 10 | IRP 6 | MLW 26 | KAN | BRI 30 | TAL | HOM | PHO | 30th | 138 | [29] |
2024 | DAY | ATL | LVS | BRI 21 | COA | MAR 26 | TEX | KAN | DAR | NWS | CLT | GTW | NSH | POC | IRP | RCH | MLW | BRI | KAN | TAL | HOM | MAR | PHO | -* | -* | [30] |
(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led. ** – All laps led.)
ARCA Menards Series results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | AMSC | Pts | Ref |
2023 | Joe Gibbs Racing | 18 | Toyota | DAY | PHO 13* | TAL | KAN | CLT | BLN 1 | ELK 2 | MOH 2 | IOW 2* | POC | MCH | IRP 4 | GLN 4 | ISF 5 | MLW 1* | DSF 5 | KAN | BRI 1 | SLM 6 | TOL 1* | 8th | 558 | [31] |
2024 | DAY | PHO 1* | TAL | DOV 17* | KAN | CLT | IOW | MOH | BLN | IRP | SLM | ELK | MCH | ISF | MLW | DSF | GLN | BRI | KAN | TOL | -* | -* | [32] |
ARCA Menards Series East results | ||||||||||||||
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Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | AMSEC | Pts | Ref |
2023 | Joe Gibbs Racing | 18 | Toyota | FIF 1** | DOV 4 | NSV 2 | FRS 1 | IOW 2* | IRP 4 | MLW 1* | BRI 1 | 1st | 420 | [33] |
2024 | FIF 2* | DOV 17* | NSV 1* | FRS 2 | IOW | IRP | MLW | BRI | -* | -* | [34] |
ARCA Menards Series West results | ||||||||||||||||||
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Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | AMSWC | Pts | Ref |
2023 | Joe Gibbs Racing | 18 | Toyota | PHO 13* | IRW | KCR | PIR 4 | SON 5 | IRW | SHA | EVG | AAS | LVS | MAD | PHO 1* | 15th | 162 | [35] |
2024 | PHO 1* | KER | PIR 1* | SON | IRW | IRW | SHA | TRI | MAD | AAS | KER | PHO | -* | -* | [36] |
Brandon Alexander Jones is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro for JR Motorsports, as well as part-time in the ARCA Menards Series and ARCA Menards Series West, driving the No. 42 Chevrolet SS for Cook Racing Technologies. He has also competed in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and ARCA Menards Series East in the past.
Tanner Sean Gray is an American professional racing driver who has competed in drag racing and stock car racing. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 15 Toyota Tundra for Tricon Garage and part-time in the ARCA Menards Series, driving the No. 18 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. Gray is the youngest professional driver to win a national event in NHRA history, and the youngest driver to win a solo NHRA season championship.
Tricon Garage, formerly known as David Gilliland Racing, DGR-Crosley, and Team DGR, is an American professional stock car racing team that competes in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. The team was founded in early 2017 when racing team owners David Gilliland and Bo LeMastus came together to form a collaborative effort from their respective teams, David Gilliland Racing and Crosley Sports Group, known as DGR-Crosley. DGR-Crosley fielded Toyotas in 2018 and 2019 before announcing its switch to Ford starting in 2020. The team reverted to the David Gilliland Racing name in 2021 as Johnny Gray became a co-owner. Former co-owner and driver Bo LeMastus remained with the team in a marketing and sponsorship capacity.
Samuel Adam Mayer is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro for JR Motorsports. His father is the founder of QPS Employment Group, and former IndyCar Series driver, Scott Mayer.
Tyler Randal Gibbs is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 54 Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing. Gibbs was the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion and 2021 ARCA Menards Series champion. He is the grandson of former NFL coach and NASCAR team owner Joe Gibbs.
Corey David Heim is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 11 Toyota Tundra for Tricon Garage, part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 26 Toyota Supra for Sam Hunt Racing, and part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 43 Toyota Camry XSE for Legacy Motor Club as their reserve driver for Erik Jones, as well as the No. 50 Toyota Camry XSE for 23XI. He also serves as a reserve driver for 23XI Racing in the Cup Series. He has previously competed in the ARCA Menards Series, East Series, and West Series.
Taylor Gray is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 17 Toyota Tundra for Tricon Garage and part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 19 Toyota Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Jesse Hammer Love Jr. is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 2 Chevrolet Camaro for Richard Childress Racing.
Kristofer Cole Wright is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the ARCA Menards Series, part-time in the ARCA Menards Series East and ARCA Menards Series West, driving the No. 15 Toyota Camry for Venturini Motorsports, and part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 1 Toyota Tundra for TRICON Garage. He has also previously competed in sports car racing, open-wheel racing, the Euroformula Open Championship, and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Wright is also the 2018 IMSA Prototype Challenge LMP3 class champion.
The Music City 150 is a 89.400-mile (143.875 km) annual ARCA Menards Series East race held at the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway in Nashville, Tennessee. The event has been part of the ARCA Menards Series and ARCA Menards Series East schedules and has come and gone from both throughout its history. It was originally held in 1992 in what was then known as the ARCA SuperCar Series, brought back in 2007 and 2008 as an East Series race, brought back in 2015 as an ARCA Racing Series race, and then moved back to the East Series after NASCAR's acquisition of ARCA.
Samuel L. Smith is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro for JR Motorsports, and part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado for Spire Motorsports.
Dean K. Thompson is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 5 Toyota Tundra for Tricon Garage, and part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 26 Toyota Supra for Sam Hunt Racing. He has previously competed in the ARCA Menards Series and ARCA Menards Series West.
Connor Charles Mosack is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro for JR Motorsports, part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 45 Chevrolet Silverado for Niece Motorsports and the No. 7 Silverado for Spire Motorsports, and part-time in the ARCA Menards Series, driving the No. 28 Chevrolet SS for Pinnacle Racing Group.
The 2023 ARCA Menards Series East was the 37th season of the ARCA Menards Series East, a regional stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. The season began on March 25 with the Pensacola 200 at Five Flags Speedway and ended on September 14 with the Bush's Beans 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
The 2023 ARCA Menards Series West was the 70th season of the ARCA Menards Series West, a regional stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. The season began on March 10 at Phoenix Raceway with the General Tire 150 and ended with the Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 100, also at Phoenix Raceway, on November 3.
Nathan Moeller is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the ARCA Menards Series East, driving the No. 0 Ford Fusion for Wayne Peterson Racing. He has previously competed in the ARCA Menards Series.
The 2024 Pensacola 150 was the first stock car race of the 2024 ARCA Menards Series East season, and the 5th running of the event. The race was held on Saturday, March 23, 2024, at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida, a 0.5 mile (0.80 km) permanent asphalt oval shaped short track. The race took the scheduled 150 laps to complete. In a thrilling race that featured an intense battle between Gio Ruggiero and William Sawalich, Ruggiero, driving for Venturini Motorsports, would take the lead from Sawalich on the final restart following the race break, and held him off for the final 70 laps to earn his first career ARCA Menards Series East win. Sawalich, who started on the pole, dominated the first half of the race, leading a race-high 80 laps before losing the lead on the final restart and ultimately finished 2nd. To fill out the podium, Bubba Pollard, driving for Phoenix Racing, would finish 3rd, respectively.
The 2024 General Tire 150 was the fourth stock car race of the 2024 ARCA Menards Series season, the second race of the 2024 ARCA Menards Series East season, and the inaugural running of the event. The race was held on Friday, April 26, 2024, at Dover Motor Speedway in Dover, Delaware, a 1-mile (1.6 km) permanent asphalt oval shaped speedway. The race took the scheduled 150 laps to complete. In an action-packed race, Connor Zilisch, driving for Pinnacle Racing Group, would survive the chaos that occurred with the leaders, and dominated the final stages of the race, leading the final 42 laps to earn his first career ARCA Menards Series win, his first career ARCA Menards Series East win, and his first career win in total. Pole-sitter William Sawalich and Gio Ruggiero dominated the majority of the race, with Sawalich leading a race-high 67 laps and Ruggiero leading 41 laps. Sawalich was involved in an incident with under 50 laps to go, and was unable to continue the race, finishing 17th. Ruggiero rebounded from a late-race penalty to finish in 2nd. To fill out the podium, Carson Kvapil, driving for Pinnacle Racing Group, would finish in 3rd, respectively.
The 2023 Pensacola 200 was the first stock car race of the 2023 ARCA Menards Series East season, and the 4th running of the event. The race was held on Saturday, March 25, 2023, at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida, a 0.5 mile (0.80 km) permanent asphalt oval shaped short track. The race took the scheduled 200 laps to complete. In his first career start, William Sawalich, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would go on to obliterate the competition, winning the pole and leading every lap of the race to earn his first career ARCA Menards Series East win. To fill out the podium, Luke Fenhaus, driving for Pinnacle Racing Group, and Jake Finch, driving for Venturini Motorsports, would finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
The 2024 Music City 200 was the 3rd stock car race of the 2023 ARCA Menards Series East season, and the 3rd iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, May 13, 2023, at the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway in Nashville, Tennessee, a 0.596 mile (0.959 km) permanent asphalt oval shaped short track. The race was originally scheduled to be contested over 200 laps, but was increased to 205 laps, due to a NASCAR overtime finish. In an action packed finish, Luke Fenhaus, driving for Pinnacle Racing Group, would steal the win from the dominating William Sawalich, taking the lead on the final restart and leading the final lap to earn his first career ARCA Menards Series East win. Sawalich had dominated the entire race, leading all but three laps, but eventually lost the lead on the final restart, finishing 2nd. To fill out the podium, Sean Hingorani, driving for Venturini Motorsports, would finish in 3rd, respectively.