William Sawalich makes history, wins Truck Series pole at Talladega Superspeedway
At 18 years and 1 day old, William Sawalich made history at Talladega Superspeedway this afternoon. Could he make more later tonight? Sawalich is the youngest NASCAR pole winner ever at Talladega.
William Sawalich is racing his first big oval race. He just turned 18 and can now race on ovals that are larger than a mile in length. That might be bad news for the Truck Series.
Driving the Tricon Garage No. 1, Sawalich earned the pole award. His ARCA rival Connor Zilisch is also in this race but will start further back in the field. Sawalich is the real deal.
What a way to earn your first career Craftsman Truck Series pole award.
With his birthday being just a day ago, this is one youngest pole winner record that will likely never be broken. We are seeing a young crop of drivers start to come up through the ranks with a ton of talent. Sawalich, Zilisch, Corey Day, Carson Kvapil, and more are showing that they can compete on a high level now.
Sawalich bested the defending Truck Series champion, Ben Rhodes. Rhodes is no longer in the playoffs, but he is still searching for a win this season. Ty Majeski, Grant Enfinger, Taylor Gray, Chase Purdy, Tyler Ankrum, Matt Mills, Corey Heim, and Jake Garcia make up the rest of the top-10.
The Truck Series race coverage begins tonight at 4:30 PM EST on FS1. There is a lot on the line for these playoff drivers. One mistake and they could find themselves in a must-win situation at Homestead or Martinsville.
Top 10
- 1New
Tuscaloosa Turmoil
Damien Harris rips Moore, DeBoer
- 2Hot
Arkansas fined $250k
Hogs upset of Vols proves costly
- 3
AP Top 25
College Football Rankings released after Week 6 following slew of upsets
- 4Trending
Joel Klatt calls out ESPN
FOX analyst calls out ESPN over SEC bias
- 5
Coaches Poll shake up
Coaches Poll Top 25 sees big movement
William Sawalich searching for first top-10 of 2024
When it comes to the 2024 Craftsman Truck Series season, William Sawalich is looking for his first top-10 this season. In 2023, when Sawalich made his Truck Series debut at just 16 years old, he earned a top-10 at Martinsville.
Later that season he finished top-10 at both Richmond and IRP. However, this season he has not had the same success on the track. P26 at Martinsville, P12 at IRP, P22 at Richmond. He raced at Milwaukee and Bristol as well, and improved his results from last year, but still no top-10s. P11 at Bristol is his season-best.
For a driver who has shown so much promise this season in ARCA and in the Truck Series a year ago, this is strange to see. There are times when circumstances get in the way of a driver. That could be the case here.
Starting on his first superspeedway, William Sawalich will have a great view of Talladega. He starts up front and leads the field to green later this evening. Can he pull off the win in his big oval debut?