Joe Gibbs Racing driver William Sawalich, 19, has made NASCAR history by winning his first career race at Rockingham Speedway.
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The driver of the No. 18 Toyota GR Supra actually made history twice. He first became the youngest driver to ever win at the historic North Carolina track. He also became the first driver from the state of Minnesota to win a national series event.
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Sawalich achieved this feat by making his move at the right time. Hendrick Motorsports driver Corey Day dominated the race by sweeping the stage wins and leading 118 laps, but he fell back into the pack after a slow pit stop.
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Brent Crews then took control of the race and led 30 laps, but he lost the lead to Sawalich on a late restart. Crews then had to make an unscheduled pit stop due to a tire going flat. This dropped him one lap down and led to him finishing 26th.
Once Sawalich got clean air at Rockingham Speedway, he did not look back. He led 80 laps and built up a lead of more than 1 second over teammate Brandon Jones. He cruised through lapped traffic and never faced any threats.
19-year-old @WilliamSawalich claims victory No 1 and becomes the youngest driver ever to win at Rockingham! pic.twitter.com/LLAo84IE90
— The CW Sports (@TheCW_Sports) April 4, 2026
This win marked a turnaround for Sawalich, who has dealt with struggles early in his second full season. He started the year with a DNF at Daytona International Speedway and then he finished 23rd at EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta).
Sawalich scored his first top-10 finish at Circuit of the Americas and added another at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. However, he finished 37th at Phoenix Raceway due to a crash, 17th at Darlington Raceway, and 20th at Martinsville Speedway.
These early races dropped Sawalich to 14th in the standings and below the Chase cutline, but his win helped him move to 11th. He is now in contention for a spot in the Chase with an opportunity to gain more in the coming weeks.
"It means everything," Sawalich told CW Sports' Dillon Welch. "It was obviously a tough year last year and a tough start to the year this year.
"I mean, these boys mean everything to me. They were here with me through everything, and my family. Gosh, it feels good to get it done here at Rockingham in front of an awesome crowd."
