Joe Gibbs Drops Heart-Warming Verdict on JGR’s 17-Yo ARCA East Champ

A compliment from Joe Gibbs is hard to earn. The former NFL coach-turned-NASCAR owner has been a mainstay on the trackside for decades. His team, Joe Gibbs Racing, has been a lucrative destination for NASCAR stars, and over the years, some of the sport’s best drivers have raced in a JGR jumpsuit. Teenage NASCAR sensation William Sawalich is set on making that elusive list.

The 17-year-old sensation has been nothing short of dominant in 2023. After joining JGR for 20 races in the ARCA circuit, Sawalich received his first breakthrough after a first win in ARCA East and went on to win four races out of a possible eight. Owing to this, team owner Joe Gibbs has been starstruck by his ability behind the wheel.

Joe Gibbs commends Sawalich’s hard-to-find talent

On Sunday, William Sawalich stole the headlines yet again. The 2023 ARCA East champion became the youngest winner of the All-American 400. After a painful car accident in the 2022 version of the race that ruined his dream of racing in the Snowball Derby last year, he is ready to make some history. A week before the win, Sawalich had already returned to winning ways with a victory at Phoenix Raceway in ARCA Menards Series West.

Sawalich’s blooming and promising career has piqued the interest of MAVTV, which is a big promoter of the abundant talent present in the country’s grassroots. As this week’s episode of ‘On the Rise‘ covers William Sawalich’s life, a snippet of team owner Joe Gibbs kicks off the video. Mr Gibbs claimed, “It’s rare to have people with that kind of talent. William, everybody saw it, and everybody was after him.”

Last week’s victory in Phoenix was a statement of intent from the youngster. With the Snowball Derby approaching, Sawalich is everything but underprepared, with seven wins in ARCA competitions this year. He has been particularly impressive in the Eastern championship and has never crossed the finish line behind P4 this season.

Well, praise from Joe Gibbs goes a long way in building a driver’s confidence. With the final day of November marking the start of the Snowball Derby, Sawalich will hope to bank on his recent exploits in the ARCA Menards Series.

William Sawalich can’t stop winning!

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With the conclusion of his conquest in the East, Sawalich has now begun to wander into the ARCA Menards West Series. While Sean Hingorani claimed the 2023 championship, Sawalich won at Phoenix again. The 17-year-old star has secured his maiden victory in the Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 100. That makes him the only driver in 2023 to start and win in all three ARCA tourneys.

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A partnership with Toyota has also been beneficial for the youngster, and he has developed at a rapid rate with the manufacturers. The Minnesota native has already garnered experience in a national-level competition. Sawalich has 6 Truck Series starts with Tricon Garage, in which he has produced three top-10 finishes as well.

Alongside that, he has spread his feet toward Super Late Model races as well. The CARS Tour was where the world came to know of him. In 2022, Sawalich had 14 feature wins, 14 poles, 27 podium finishes, and a whopping 35 top-five finishes. Wilson Motorsports and Getzer Racing have availed their services in the Super Late Model and Late Model Stock divisions and received many wins in return.

After gaining experience with different teams in different competitions and an affiliation with Joe Gibbs Racing already on his plate, the future surely looks bright for Sawalich. To watch him race alongside Denny Hamlin in a JGR car and compete for the Cup Series championship could be interesting to see.

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