PENSACOLA, Fla. — William Sawalich arrived at Five Flags Speedway for the Pensacola 200 with redemption on his mind.
Sawalich lost a potential ARCA Menards Series victory thanks to a late-race incident at Phoenix Raceway on March 10.
No such obstacle plagued Sawalich in his inaugural ARCA Menards Series East appearance Saturday, as he led every lap from the pole to continue a pattern of success that’s followed the No. 18 on the ARCA platform over the past few years.
“I can’t thank this Joe Gibbs Racing team enough,” Sawalich said. “We had a really fast Toyota Camry here, and the team worked hard to make this car as good as it [was].”
Sawalich had high expectations to live up to in the No. 18, as Ty Gibbs and Sammy Smith both earned ARCA and ARCA East championships, respectively, utilizing that number.
With plenty of late model victories to his name, Sawalich had plenty of confidence in his ability to carry on the efficiency of the No. 18 in ARCA.
Sawalich’s only real challenge came in the form of Luke Fenhaus, who was also making his East Series debut driving for Pinnacle Racing Group. Fenhaus successfully chased down Sawalich during the final 50 laps but ultimately could not get the run he needed to make the race-winning pass.
“Potential is a big word,” Fenhaus said. “We’ve been getting [cars] ready for the season for the last couple of months. It’s good to come in second, but it’s hard to be that close [to a victory]. These guys worked so hard and I’m proud of the effort. We’ll keep learning and move on.”
Fenhaus added that Sawalich and Joe Gibbs Racing set the benchmark on where he and Pinnacle Racing Group need to be moving forward.
Sawalich wanted to temper his own expectations about finding success in the No. 18 knowing he would have to adapt to the heavier cars. Now that he has an ARCA East win on his resume, Sawalich is determined to duplicate that performance over his 18 remaining ARCA races in 2023, seven of which encompass the rest of the East Series schedule.
“The championship is in play,” Sawalich said. “I think we can dominate everywhere we go.”
Jake Finch managed to bring home a third-place finish, while driving for Venturini Motorsports. Finch’s teammate Sean Hingorani came home fourth with Lavar Scott rounding out the top five.