Tag: William Sawalich

NASCAR Xfinity Series starting lineup for championship race at Phoenix in 2024

Check out the NASCAR Xfinity Series starting lineup for the 2024 Championship 4 event at Phoenix this weekend!

Phoenix Raceway is the final race for the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and Joe Gibbs Racing will lead the field to the green flag. [autotag]William Sawalich[/autotag] won the pole for the 2024 Championship 4 event at Phoenix this weekend. Sheldon Creed will join Sawalich on the front row for Saturday evening’s event. It is Sawalich’s first pole position of the 2024 NASCAR season.

Riley Herbst and Chandler Smith will follow the two drivers on the second row. Most notably, Sammy Smith, Shane van Gisbergen, Connor Zilisch, Ryan Sieg, Parker Kligerman, Brandon Jones, Justin Allgaier, and Aric Almirola all qualified 15th or worse for Saturday’s event. Allgaier, who will start in 37th place, is the worst of the Championship 4 drivers after wrecking in practice.

The full starting lineup is available below.

NASCAR Xfinity Series starting lineup, 2024 Championship 4 event at Phoenix:

  1. No. 19 William Sawalich
  2. No. 18 Sheldon Creed
  3. No. 98 Riley Herbst
  4. No. 81 Chandler Smith
  5. No. 21 Austin Hill (P)
  6. No. 2 Jesse Love
  7. No. 00 Cole Custer (P)
  8. No. 1 Sam Mayer
  9. No. 16 A.J. Allmendinger (P)
  10. No. 31 Parker Retzlaff
  11. No. 38 Matt DiBenedetto
  12. No. 5 Anthony Alfredo
  13. No. 10 Daniel Dye
  14. No. 45 Stefan Parsons
  15. No. 8 Sammy Smith
  16. No. 27 Jeb Burton
  17. No. 97 Shane van Gisbergen
  18. No. 26 Jeffrey Earnhardt
  19. No. 11 Josh Williams
  20. No. 43 Ryan Ellis
  21. No. 88 Connor Zilisch
  22. No. 51 Jeremy Clements
  23. No. 28 Ryan Sieg
  24. No. 15 Dylan Lupton
  25. No. 29 Blaine Perkins
  26. No. 42 Leland Honeyman
  27. No. 92 Dawson Cram
  28. No. 44 Brennan Poole
  29. No. 39 Kyle Sieg
  30. No. 07 Patrick Emerling
  31. No. 48 Parker Kligerman
  32. No. 91 Josh Bilicki
  33. No. 9 Brandon Jones
  34. No. 35 Joey Gase
  35. No. 14 Greg Van Alst
  36. No. 53 Garrett Smithley
  37. No. 7 Justin Allgaier (P)
  38. No. 20 Aric Almirola

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William Sawalich joins Joe Gibbs Racing full-time in NASCAR Xfinity for 2025

William Sawalich will drive the No. 18 car full-time for Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series starting in 2025.

[autotag]Joe Gibbs Racing[/autotag] has almost finalized its 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series driver lineup. On Monday afternoon, Joe Gibbs Racing announced that [autotag]William Sawalich[/autotag] will drive the No. 18 Xfinity car full-time starting in 2025. Sawalich has won the last two ARCA Menards Series east championships and earned a series-high nine wins in the ARCA Menards Series in 2024.

The 18-year-old driver will make his Xfinity Series debut at Homestead-Miami Speedway this weekend, driving the No. 19 car for Joe Gibbs Racing. Sawalich is one of several Toyota Racing drivers to skip the NASCAR Truck Series and go straight to the Xfinity Series. However, the Toyota Racing driver has made several starts for TRICON Garage in 2023 and 2024.

Sawalich is now the third full-time driver for Joe Gibbs Racing’s Xfinity Series program in 2025, joining Brandon Jones and Taylor Gray. As of now, Chandler Smith’s future with Joe Gibbs Racing is uncertain, and Sheldon Creed will move to Haas Factory Team. Sawalich hopes he takes the Xfinity Series world by storm, and it all starts this weekend at Homestead.

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Why William Sawalich is NASCAR’s next up-and-coming star driver

William Sawalich is only 16 years old but it is obvious that he is NASCAR’s next up-and-coming star driver. Find out more about Sawalich!

[autotag]William Sawalich[/autotag] may not be the most well-known competitor to some in the NASCAR world but it is time to recognize the Joe Gibbs Racing driver. Sawalich has been all over the map in 2023 with starts in the ARCA Menards Series and NASCAR Truck Series; however, the young driver clinched a championship at only 16 years old at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Not only did Sawalich win his first ARCA Menards East Series championship, but he also won his third ARCA Menards Series race of the 2023 season in only his 11th start. In fact, if Sawalich was a full-time driver in the main ARCA series, he would have the best average finishing position, even over points leader Jesse Love.

Needless to say, Sawalich is a rare talent and one that is poised to make noise in NASCAR for a long time. The Minnesota native has also run in select Truck Series races during the 2023 season and it has been a major success. At only 16 years old, Sawalich finished in ninth place on his debut at Martinsville Speedway. He has three top-10 finishes in six starts.

Sure, Sawalich has experienced some rough moments in the Truck Series but this should be expected for a driver at his age. If the driver of the No. 1 truck for TRICON Garage was racing the entire season, he would be on pace for 10 top-10 finishes through 20 races, which would rank 10th overall. It has been a great season for Sawalich but it represents the beginning.

The first time that Sawalich will be able to compete in one of NASCAR’s top 3 levels on a full-time basis is in 2025. There won’t be a massive jump to full-time competition in the Xfinity or Truck Series next year because it is not possible but it gives him more time to develop as a race car driver. If Sawalich is taking ARCA by storm now, just wait until next year.

Sawalich may be the most talented driver that no one is talking about and that is OK for now. Many wait until a driver makes it to the Xfinity or Truck Series to make a determination. However, this is going to translate and Sawalich is a driver that people need to start watching now because he could represent the future of NASCAR if he continues to grow as a competitor.

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