William Sawalich Bio
William Sawalich (born October 3, 2006) is an American professional stock car racing driver from Eden Prairie, Minnesota. He last competed full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 18 Toyota GR Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing, while also running part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series with Tricon Garage and select ARCA Menards Series events. A two-time ARCA Menards Series East champion in 2023 and 2024, Sawalich has emerged as one of the youngest rising talents in the Toyota development pipeline.
Early Life and Background
Born and raised in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, William Sawalich grew up surrounded by motorsports influences that helped shape his early career. His father, Brandon Sawalich, is the president of Starkey Hearing Technologies, the largest hearing aid manufacturer in the United States, and the company has served as a primary sponsor of his racing efforts. Brandon is also the stepson of businessman William F. Austin, further tying the family to the business world that supports William’s racing path.
Sawalich began racing at the age of nine, competing in various midget classes including Sr. Animal and World Formula events. From 2017 to 2019, he won several track championships at Little Elko Speedway in Minnesota, establishing a foundation of winning at a young age. He later transitioned into legends cars in 2020, capturing the INEX Young Lions State Championship in Minnesota and earning an INEX sanctioned Legends division feature win at Elko Speedway on August 22, 2020.
Path to NASCAR
In 2021, Sawalich moved into late model competition, 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 and seven top-five finishes, while also making his CARS Tour debut at Tri-County Motor Speedway. The following year, he expanded his late model schedule across the CARS Tour, the Champion Racing Association, the ARCA Midwest Tour, the Southern Super Series, and the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing, earning six wins in nine CARS Tour starts, including four consecutive victories.
His strong results in 2022 also included the SCCA Trans-Am TA2 ProAM Series Rookie of the Year award and the series championship. That success, combined with the Rumble by the River 125, Throwback 276, and Orange Blossom 100 wins, positioned him for a move into the ARCA Menards Series and beyond. On December 9, 2022, Joe Gibbs Racing announced that Sawalich would join their driver development program, opening the door to NASCAR’s national series.
William Sawalich Career
Early Career (2020-2022)
Sawalich’s earliest documented success came in Minnesota short tracks, where he collected multiple track championships at Little Elko Speedway between 2017 and 2019. He built on that base in 2020 with a move into legends cars, immediately winning the INEX Young Lions State Championship and an Elko Speedway feature event. These results signaled his readiness for heavier, more advanced stock cars.
The 2022 season marked his most diverse year to date, with late model racing, the SCCA Trans-Am TA2 ProAM Series title, and the Rookie of the Year award. He also captured major late model victories in the Rumble by the River 125, the Throwback 276, and the Orange Blossom 100. That body of work made him a prime candidate for a factory-supported ride, leading to his Joe Gibbs Racing deal.
ARCA Menards Series Breakthrough (2023-2024)
Sawalich debuted in the ARCA Menards Series in 2023 with Joe Gibbs Racing, scoring his first main-series victory at Berlin Raceway after passing Jesse Love for the lead with two laps to go. In 2024, he ran an expanded 14-race ARCA Menards Series schedule in the No. 18 Toyota, opening the year with a win at Phoenix in a weather-shortened race after leading 66 laps. Across 14 starts that season, he earned nine wins, 13 top-fives, and helped the No. 18 team secure the ARCA owner’s championship, despite finishing tenth in driver points.
Parallel to his main-series effort, Sawalich dominated the ARCA Menards Series East. In 2023, he won the pole and led every lap at Five Flags Speedway for his first ARCA victory, added a second win at Flat Rock Speedway, and clinched the East championship following the Bristol race. In 2024, he returned full-time in the East, rebounding from a Dover DNF to lead 145 of 150 laps at Nashville for a dominant win, finishing the year with three wins and seven top-three results to secure a second consecutive East title.
Sawalich has also run select ARCA Menards Series West races, debuting at Phoenix in 2023. In 2024, he won at Phoenix and added a road course victory at Portland after taking the lead from Brandon Jones mid-race. He returned to the West Series in 2025, sweeping the road course program with wins at Sonoma, where he led all 65 laps and won by 0.066 seconds over Christian Eckes, and at Portland for the second straight year.
Joe Gibbs Racing Xfinity Era (2024-2025)
On December 13, 2023, Joe Gibbs Racing announced that Sawalich would run part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2024, starting in the fall. Driving the No. 19 Toyota, he ran the final three races of the year at Homestead, Martinsville, and Phoenix, scoring his first career Xfinity pole in his third start at Phoenix. On October 21, 2024, the team elevated him to a full-time Xfinity ride for 2025 in the No. 18 Toyota GR Supra.
Sawalich’s 2025 Xfinity campaign opened with a 28th-place DNF at Daytona, but he quickly found consistency with top-ten finishes at Atlanta, Circuit of the Americas, Mexico City, Sonoma, Dover, Indianapolis, and the Charlotte Roval. He earned his second career pole at Nashville and recorded his best finishes of the season with runner-up efforts at Portland and St. Louis. His season was interrupted by a multi-car wreck during the second stage of the Talladega fall race with Connor Mosack and Dean Thompson, which kept him in a local hospital overnight. He later missed the Martinsville race and the season finale at Phoenix with concussion-like symptoms, with Justin Bonsignore substituting in both events.
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (2023-2024)
On January 19, 2023, Tricon Garage announced that Sawalich would make his Craftsman Truck Series debut with a six-race schedule in the No. 1 Toyota Tundra. He debuted at Martinsville Speedway and finished ninth after running near the top ten for most of the race. Across his 2023 Truck starts, he earned three top-ten finishes.
Following that rookie season, Tricon expanded his Truck schedule to ten races in 2024. He opened with a 21st-place finish at Bristol and a 26th-place result at Martinsville before scoring his first career Truck pole at Talladega, one day after his eighteenth birthday. He continued to split his time between the Truck Series and the ARCA platform throughout the year.
Driving Style and Strengths
Sawalich has shown a particular strength on road courses and short tracks, highlighted by back-to-back ARCA West wins at Portland and a 65-lap sweep at Sonoma in 2025. He has also demonstrated race-leading pace on ovals, evidenced by his 145-of-150 lap domination at Nashville in 2024 and multi-win ARCA East seasons on a variety of track types. His comfort in traffic and ability to capitalize on late-race restarts have been central to his development with Joe Gibbs Racing.
Notable Races and Milestones
Sawalich became the youngest driver ever to win the All American 400 in 2023 after a dramatic late-race incident took out the leaders. He also joined an elite group of repeat ARCA East champions with back-to-back titles in 2023 and 2024. His first Xfinity pole at Phoenix in 2024 and his first Truck pole at Talladega in 2024 marked major milestones during his transition to NASCAR’s national series.
William Sawalich Career Wins
William Sawalich has built an extensive late model and ARCA resume, highlighted by two ARCA Menards Series East championships, an SCCA Trans-Am TA2 ProAM Series title, and a record-setting All American 400 victory. His win totals span late model touring series, three ARCA platforms, and a growing list of top performances in NASCAR’s national series.
ARCA Menards Series Highlights
In 14 ARCA Menards Series starts in 2024, Sawalich earned nine wins and 13 top-fives, helping the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing entry secure the series owner’s championship. He opened the year with a Phoenix win in a weather-shortened race and added additional victories throughout the season, including late-race comebacks and dominant performances that established him as one of the top young drivers in the ARCA ladder.
In 2023, he won the Berlin Raceway event after taking the lead from Jesse Love with two laps to go, marking his first main-series ARCA victory. Across the ARCA Menards Series East, he collected his first win at Five Flags Speedway in 2023 by leading every lap and added dominant wins at Flat Rock and Nashville, while in the ARCA Menards Series West he earned his first road course victory at Portland in 2024 and consecutive Portland-Sonoma wins in 2025.
Other Wins and Performances
Beyond ARCA, Sawalich won the 2022 SCCA Trans-Am TA2 ProAM Series championship, was named the 2022 series Rookie of the Year, and captured the All American 400 in 2023, becoming the youngest winner in event history. He also won the Rumble by the River 125, Throwback 276, and Orange Blossom 100 in 2022, and earned six wins across nine CARS Tour starts that same year, including four consecutive victories.
William Sawalich Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
William Sawalich is the son of Brandon Sawalich, president of Starkey Hearing Technologies, the largest hearing aid manufacturer in the United States. Brandon is also the stepson of businessman William F. Austin, giving the family deep ties to the hearing technology industry. Starkey Hearing Technologies has served as a sponsor of William’s racing program, linking his family business directly to his career on track.
Personal Life
Sawalich is currently an online student at Liberty University Online Academy, balancing his education with a demanding national racing schedule. He is also a client of KHI Management, a well-known motorsports management group. Sponsorship and family business ties have allowed him to focus on development at Joe Gibbs Racing while continuing his studies remotely.
2025 Season Performance
William Sawalich’s 2025 season has been defined by his transition into a full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series role with Joe Gibbs Racing in the No. 18 Toyota GR Supra, alongside a part-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule with Tricon Garage and select ARCA Menards Series West starts. His Xfinity campaign began with a Daytona DNF but quickly turned consistent, with top-ten runs at Atlanta, Circuit of the Americas, Mexico City, Sonoma, Dover, Indianapolis, and the Charlotte Roval, plus a second career pole at Nashville.
Outside of the Xfinity Series, Sawalich continued to deliver on road courses in the ARCA Menards Series West, sweeping the West road course events with a Sonoma win, where he led all 65 laps and beat Christian Eckes by 0.066 seconds, and a Portland victory for the second consecutive year. His best Xfinity results of 2025 came with runner-up finishes at Portland and St. Louis, reinforcing his road course strength. The Talladega fall race, however, became a setback after a multi-car wreck in the second stage sent him to a local hospital overnight.
Sawalich later missed the Martinsville Xfinity race and the season finale at Phoenix with concussion-like symptoms, with Justin Bonsignore substituting in both events. His rookie Xfinity campaign still showcased clear progression, multiple poles, and a series of top-ten finishes that established a strong foundation heading into 2026, while his ARCA West road course sweep highlighted his continued development as a young Toyota prospect.