{"id":57171,"date":"2026-04-04T21:27:40","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T02:27:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=57171"},"modified":"2026-04-04T21:27:40","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T02:27:40","slug":"william-sawalich-gets-breakthrough-victory-at-rockingham","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/04\/william-sawalich-gets-breakthrough-victory-at-rockingham\/","title":{"rendered":"William Sawalich gets breakthrough victory at Rockingham"},"content":{"rendered":"
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ROCKINGHAM, NORTH CAROLINA – APRIL 04: William Sawalich, driver of the #18 Soundgear Toyota, and crew celebrate in victory lane after winning the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series North Carolina Education Lottery 250 Presented by Black’s Tire at Rockingham Speedway on April 04, 2026 in Rockingham, North Carolina. (Photo by Meg Oliphant\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service<\/em><\/p>\n

ROCKINGHAM, N.C. \u2014 Grabbing the lead and control of the race after a restart on Lap 172, William Sawalich pulled away over the final 79 laps to win Saturday\u2019s North Carolina Education Lottery 250 Presented by Black\u2019s Tire at Rockingham Speedway.<\/p>\n

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ROCKINGHAM, NORTH CAROLINA – APRIL 04: William Sawalich, driver of the #18 Soundgear Toyota, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series North Carolina Education Lottery 250 Presented by Black’s Tire at Rockingham Speedway on April 04, 2026 in Rockingham, North Carolina. (Photo by James Gilbert\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

The victory was the first in the NASCAR O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts Series for the 19-year-old Sawalich, the youngest driver to win at the 0.94-mile track in any of NASCAR\u2019s top three series.<\/p>\n

Sawalich, who led 80 laps, crossed the finish line 0.863 seconds ahead of Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Brandon Jones to end the five-race winning streak of JR Motorsports and preserve the series record of six straight victories for JGR.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means everything,\u201d said Sawalich, who gained three positions to 11th in the series standings. \u201cHonestly, it was a tough year last year and a tough start to the year this year. Gosh, it feels good to get it done here at Rockingham in front of an awesome crowd.<\/p>\n

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ROCKINGHAM, NORTH CAROLINA – APRIL 04: William Sawalich, driver of the #18 Soundgear Toyota, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series North Carolina Education Lottery 250 Presented by Black’s Tire at Rockingham Speedway on April 04, 2026 in Rockingham, North Carolina. (Photo by James Gilbert\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cOur Supra was on rails today, obviously. Good in Stage 1 (fifth), Stage 2 (second) and obviously amazing in clean air. Lapped traffic took me out last year (in a 25th-place finish), so that was running through my head a little bit, but, man, I just studied the race last year, calmed down\u2014and everything\u2019s fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the win, Sawalich earned eligibility for the first Dash 4 Cash race next Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway. The top four finishers at Rockingham\u2014Sawalich, Jones and third- and fourth-place finishers Justin Allgaier and Rajah Caruth\u2014will compete for a $100,000 bonus in that event, with the top finisher among them claiming the prize.<\/p>\n

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ROCKINGHAM, NORTH CAROLINA – APRIL 04: William Sawalich, driver of the #18 Soundgear Toyota, leads the field during the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series North Carolina Education Lottery 250 Presented by Black’s Tire at Rockingham Speedway on April 04, 2026 in Rockingham, North Carolina. (Photo by James Gilbert\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Caruth, in fact, made a spectacular three-wide pass of both Sheldon Creed and Carson Kvapil with nine laps left to grab the last Dash 4 Cash position. Kvapil finished fifth and Creed sixth, followed by Taylor Gray, Parker Retzlaff, Ryan Sieg and pole winner Corey Day.<\/p>\n

For the first half of the race, Day appeared to have the dominant car. The 20-year-old led a race-high 118 of the 250 laps and swept the first two stages\u2014the first stage wins of his career.<\/p>\n

But Day lost five positions on a slow pit stop during the second stage break and never recovered. On Lap 174, he pitted out of sequence for a loose lug nut and charged from 24th over the final 70 laps to post his seventh straight top 10.<\/p>\n

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ROCKINGHAM, NORTH CAROLINA – APRIL 04: Jesse Love, driver of the #2 Whelen Chevrolet, and Rajah Caruth, driver of the #88 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, race during the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series North Carolina Education Lottery 250 Presented by Black’s Tire at Rockingham Speedway on April 04, 2026 in Rockingham, North Carolina. (Photo by Meg Oliphant\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cWe had a couple of bad pit stops,\u201d Day said. \u201cWe got behind there, and it was hard to dig ourselves out of the hole.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones was pleased with the progress his runner-up finish represents.<\/p>\n

\u201cI left Martinsville a little frustrated at myself last week (after finishing 18th),\u201d Jones said. \u201cWe weren\u2019t quite aggressive enough at times, so today, I was super adamant on being super aggressive. I am going to take all of the runs I can get. I\u2019m going to put people in bad situations, if I can, and just move forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we did a really good job of it. We kept fighting both sides of it with balance today. Sam (McAuley, crew chief) did a great job taking all of my feedback and making a car, I think, capable of winning. It was just a matter of trying to get some track position, and he (Sawalich) got such a big restart on that last restart (after the seventh caution on Lap 206) that it was hard to catch him.\u201d<\/p>\n

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ROCKINGHAM, NORTH CAROLINA – APRIL 04: Corey Day, driver of the #17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, Brandon Jones, driver of the #20 Menards\/Pelonis Toyota, William Sawalich, driver of the #18 Soundgear Toyota, Justin Allgaier, driver of the #7 Jarrett Logistics Chevrolet, Brent Crews, driver of the #19 Mobil 1 Toyota, Jesse Love, driver of the #2 Whelen Chevrolet, and Rajah Caruth, driver of the #88 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, race during the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series North Carolina Education Lottery 250 Presented by Black’s Tire at Rockingham Speedway on April 04, 2026 in Rockingham, North Carolina. (Photo by James Gilbert\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Allgaier had the consolation of leaving Rockingham with a lead of 126 points over second-place Jesse Love in the O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts standings. Love hit the outside wall after a shove from Caruth, lost track position on a subsequent unscheduled pit stop on Lap 153 and finished 27th, two laps down.<\/p>\n

Notes: Sawalich is the first Minnesota-born driver to win a race in any of NASCAR\u2019s top three national series. \u2026 Caruth\u2019s fourth-place finish in the No. 88 JRM Chevrolet was a career-best. He\u2019ll be driving the No. 32 Jordan Anderson Racing Chevrolet at Bristol while Kyle Larson takes a turn in the No. 88 Camaro. \u2026 JR Motorsports put three drivers (Allgaier, Caruth and Kvapil) in the top 10, extending the organization\u2019s streak of at least one driver in the top 10 to 65 races\u2014second in the series all-time to Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing (79 straight top 10s).<\/p>\n

Interview: NOAPS Race Winner – William Sawalich (Joe Gibbs Racing) – Press Conference –<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Race – North Carolina Education Lottery 250 Presented by Black’s Tire<\/b><\/p>\n

Rockingham Speedway<\/b><\/p>\n

Rockingham, North Carolina<\/b><\/p>\n

Saturday, April 4, 2026<\/b><\/p>\n

                1. (14)  William Sawalich, Toyota, 250.<\/p>\n

                2. (8)  Brandon Jones, Toyota, 250.<\/p>\n

                3. (4)  Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 250.<\/p>\n

                4. (13)  Rajah Caruth, Chevrolet, 250.<\/p>\n

                5. (5)  Carson Kvapil, Chevrolet, 250.<\/p>\n

                6. (9)  Sheldon Creed, Chevrolet, 250.<\/p>\n

                7. (6)  Taylor Gray, Toyota, 250.<\/p>\n

                8. (3)  Parker Retzlaff, Chevrolet, 250.<\/p>\n

                9. (12)  Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 250.<\/p>\n

                10. (1)  Corey Day, Chevrolet, 250.<\/p>\n

                11. (11)  Austin Hill, Chevrolet, 250.<\/p>\n

                12. (19)  Sammy Smith, Chevrolet, 250.<\/p>\n

                13. (16)  Harrison Burton, Toyota, 250.<\/p>\n

                14. (24)  Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 250.<\/p>\n

                15. (20)  Lavar Scott #, Chevrolet, 250.<\/p>\n

                16. (26)  Nathan Byrd, Chevrolet, 250.<\/p>\n

                17. (29)  Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, 250.<\/p>\n

                18. (30)  Alex Labbe, Chevrolet, 250.<\/p>\n

                19. (25)  Josh Williams, Chevrolet, 250.<\/p>\n

                20. (28)  JJ Yeley, Ford, 250.<\/p>\n

                21. (31)  Andrew Patterson, Chevrolet, 250.<\/p>\n

                22. (32)  Ryan Ellis, Chevrolet, 249.<\/p>\n

                23. (27)  Blaine Perkins, Chevrolet, 249.<\/p>\n

                24. (15)  Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet, 249.<\/p>\n

                25. (17)  Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 249.<\/p>\n

                26. (10)  Brent Crews #, Toyota, 248.<\/p>\n

                27. (2)  Jesse Love, Chevrolet, 248.<\/p>\n

                28. (18)  Dean Thompson, Toyota, 248.<\/p>\n

                29. (38)  Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, 246.<\/p>\n

                30. (37)  Blake Lothian, Chevrolet, 245.<\/p>\n

                31. (36)  Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 245.<\/p>\n

                32. (35)  Cleetus McFarland, Chevrolet, 244.<\/p>\n

                33. (23)  Austin Green, Chevrolet, 243.<\/p>\n

                34. (22)  Patrick Staropoli #, Chevrolet, 242.<\/p>\n

                35. (34)  Dawson Cram, Chevrolet, 241.<\/p>\n

                36. (33)  Josh Bilicki, Chevrolet, 241.<\/p>\n

                37. (21)  Kyle Sieg, Chevrolet, Electrical, 201.<\/p>\n

                38. (7)  Sam Mayer, Chevrolet, Engine, 154.<\/p>\n

Average Speed of Race Winner:  98.878 mph.<\/p>\n

Time of Race:  2 Hrs, 22 Mins, 36 Secs. Margin of Victory:  0.863 Seconds.<\/p>\n

Caution Flags:  7 for 44 laps.<\/p>\n

Lead Changes:  8 among 6 drivers.<\/p>\n

Lap Leaders:   C. Day 1-50;T. Gray 51-56;C. Day 57-124;J. Allgaier 125;J. Love 126-129;W. Sawalich 130;J. Love 131-141;B. Crews # 142-171;W. Sawalich 172-250.<\/p>\n

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Corey Day 2 times for 118 laps; William Sawalich 2 times for 80 laps; Brent Crews # 1 time for 30 laps; Jesse Love 2 times for 15 laps; Taylor Gray 1 time for 6 laps; Justin Allgaier 1 time for 1 lap.<\/p>\n

Stage #1 Top Ten: 17,54,20,7,18,2,8,19,88,99<\/p>\n

Stage #2 Top Ten: 17,18,7,19,20,88,99,00,51,1<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service ROCKINGHAM, N.C. \u2014 Grabbing the lead and control of the race after a restart on Lap 172, William Sawalich pulled away over the final 79 laps to win Saturday\u2019s North Carolina Education Lottery 250 Presented by Black\u2019s Tire at Rockingham Speedway. The victory was the first in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":676,"featured_media":57175,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[11],"tags":[16,1147,1003,1162],"class_list":["post-57171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-nascar","tag-nascar-oreilly-auto-parts-series","tag-rockingham-speedway","tag-william-sawalich"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2269839278-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-eS7","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57171","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/676"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57171"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57171\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57190,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57171\/revisions\/57190"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}