William Sawalich opens up after missing the playoffs despite finishing second at WWT Raceway

William Sawalich fell short of bagging his first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory at World Wide Technology Raceway on Saturday, September 6. He finished second, marking his second straight runner-up finish behind JR Motorsports driver Connor Zilisch, who won the race.

Despite his impressive run, Sawalich will not make the playoffs this year. However, the rookie remains hopeful about qualifying next year. Expressing his feelings, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver told PRN,

“Didn't make the playoffs but we certainly gave them a run for their money. We had long-run speed, short-run speed. They gave me a really good car. There's always next year."

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William Sawalich is the runner-up but doesn't qualify for the playoffs: "Didn't make the playoffs but we certainly gave them a run for their money. We had long-run speed, short-run speed. They gave me a really good car. There's always next year."

Christian Eckes, Brandon Jones, and Jesse Love made the top-5 spots after Zilisch and Sawalich. Former NASCAR Cup Series driver Aric Almirola, Daniel Hemric, Parker Retzlaff, Corey Day, and Daniel Dye rounded up the top 10.

William Sawalich is currently ranked 17th in the driver standings with 521 points to his name. In 26 races this season, the 2023 ARCA Menards Series East champion owns three top-fives and eight top-10s besides a pole at Nashville Superspeedway on June 1, 2025. He has led 49 laps so far with an average finish of 19.692.

Sawalich still has seven races to log his maiden win of the season as well as his Xfinity career. Next up for the Eden Prairie, Minnesota native is the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Scheduled for next Friday, September 12, the 300-lap event will be televised on CW (7:30 pm ET), with exclusive radio coverage on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

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When William Sawalich revealed his plans beyond full-time Xfinity racing

Like every Xfinity Series rookie, William Sawalich wants to pursue a full-time career in the NASCAR Cup Series. Well, the 18-year-old speedster doesn’t want to rush it. But at the same time, he thinks it’s not a good idea to remain stuck in the Xfinity Series forever.

Sawalich gave his take on the matter during an interview with The Daytona Beach News Journal last year.

“The biggest thing is you don’t want to rush it. But whenever you feel ready or the opportunity comes up, you definitely want to take it; you don’t want to pass it up,” William Sawalich explained. “You don’t want to spend too much time in the Xfinity Series because you can become stuck there.”

“That’s happened to a few people so you want to avoid that. You want to get to your goal as fast as possible but also take the right steps,” he added.

Initially signed with Joe Gibbs Racing in 2022, William Sawalich is expected to drive the #18 Toyota through the 2025 season. He also races part-time in the ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East, and the ARCA Menards Series West for the Charlotte-based race team.