NASCAR
William Sawalich Earns First NASCAR O’Reilly Victory in Rockingham
ROCKINGHAM, N.C. – Saturday saw a new name made into a NASCAR winner from Rockingham Speedway. 19-year-old past ARCA East Champion William Sawalich is now an O’Reilly Series victor. Following a struggle of a 2025 rookie campaign, Sawalich looked as deft as a veteran on the tricky oval. JR Motorsports’ win streak is finally stopped, with Joe Gibbs Racing back in victory lane.
From his first career pole, rookie Corey Day converted prime starting position into a maiden stage win with the opening run. The Hendrick Motorsports No. 17 remained on rails, the 20-year-old swept both stages. A series of slow pit stops, however, set the phenom back in the pack for the rest of the day.
Slow pit stop on today’s dominant driver @corey_day_ after sweeping both stages in the @Hendrick17Team Chevy. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/YgPPBKWuza
— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) April 4, 2026
Day’s issues paved the way for another young driver to take command–William Sawalich. Joe Gibbs Racing’s sophomore star would lead 80 laps and pull away late for a first career triumph. Sawalich was challenged at times by Jesse Love and teammate Brent Crews, but the 18 was not to be denied a Rockingham triumph.
“It means everything,” Sawalich said. “Honestly, tough year last year and tough start to the year this year. 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 in Rockingham, in front of an awesome crowd. Thank you to everyone for coming out. Our SoundGear GR Supra was on rails today. Good in stage one and stage two, and obviously amazing in clean air.”
“Funny enough, lapped traffic took me out last year, so it was running through my head a little bit. I just studied the race last year and just calmed down and everything was fine.”
Behind Sawalich at the finish was teammate Brandon Jones, Justin Allgaier, Rajah Caruth, and Carson Kvapil. The rest of the Rockingham top-10 were: Sheldon Creed, Taylor Gray, Parker Retzlaff, Ryan Sieg, and Corey Day. Hear from a few of these drivers below.
.@BrandonJonesRac came home 2nd from Rockingham but is thrilled for @JoeGibbsRacing teammate @WilliamSawalich on his maiden win. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/yycHpQtknN
— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) April 4, 2026
.@J_Allgaier’s win streak ends with a 3rd-place Rockingham result, but he’s as confident as ever, touching on Cleetus McFarland and William Sawalich too. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/V5loeB85dl
— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) April 4, 2026
.@rajahcaruth_ continues to impress and believes his breakout first win is coming.
The @JRMotorsports 88 was 4th from Rockingham. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/aDw22RNRae
— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) April 4, 2026
.@corey_day_ was the fastest man in town through this race’s first half, but pit road issues plagued him to finish 10th. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/k1tbw2MRGw
— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) April 4, 2026
Also notable from Rockingham was the highly-anticipated O’Reilly debut of Cleetus McFarland. After getting squirrelly early and being involved in a few more solo-spins, the YouTube star ended his first start in 32nd-place, six laps down. Hear his post-race reaction below too.
Cleetus McFarland fresh out of the car and his full post-race comments.
He reiterated that he learned a lot today, the @RCRracing 33 came home 32nd, 6 laps down. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/UWTsczAfcM
— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) April 4, 2026
Thanks to the win, Sawalich is a contender in next week’s first Dash4Cash race of 2026. Sawalich, Jones, Allgaier, and Caruth will all race for a $100,000 bonus next week from Bristol Motor Speedway. The Suburban Propane 300 goes green Saturday, April 11 at 7:30 p.m. ET on The CW, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo credit to James Gilbert/Getty Images
