William Sawalich wins pole award, lineup set for Xfinity Series championship at Phoenix

The lineup for tonight’s NASCAR Xfinity Series championship race is set and William Sawalich is sitting on the pole. He isn’t even a full-time rookie in the series yet and Sawalich has his first career pole award.

While Sawalich is on the pole, the Championship 4 are slated into their own positions. Austin Hill leads the group at P5 with Cole Custer at P7, AJ Allmendinger P9, and Justin Allgaier P37 after going to a backup car.

Tonight we will determine the Xfinity Series championship. Who is going to win the race and more importantly who will be crowned as champion?

He's set the tone for the title hopefuls.@_AustinHill (P5) has the fastest lap in qualifying among #Championship4 drivers. pic.twitter.com/DpYApCdA90

— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) November 9, 2024

Already we have had an eventful weekend for the Xfinity Series. The Championship 4 is actually a Championship 5 if you include Aric Almirola in the owner’s championship. In a messy practice session, two of those drivers would be impacted in a major way.

A driver like Justin Allgaier is starting behind the ball, but he has time to make moves. For Allgaier and Almirola, having any more mistakes will probably sink their chances of winning the race and their respective championships.

It is amazing how quickly things change on the track. One moment you’re dialing in your car, then the next you’re in the garage wrecked.

Xfinity Series championship shaken up in practice

Brennan Poole’s No. 44 started to blow up and dump fluid on the track. That’s when Justin Allgaier and Aric Almirola, championship drivers, slammed into the wall.

Allgaier is racing for the driver and owner’s championship. Almirola is racing only for the owner’s. This is going to have massive implications for Allgaier who has spent years chasing an Xfinity Series title.

Justin Allgaier was furious after he got out of the car. While his team had gone to a backup, Allgaier took his anger out on a toolbox. During qualifying, Allgaier put up a very slow lap just to have one on record. However, it will take one hell of a drive on Saturday to win the Xfinity Series championship now.

The same thing goes for Aric Almirola. He is seeking the owner’s championship for Joe Gibbs Racing. So far this year, has two wins in the playoffs and three total. Now he will have to put up one of his best performances of the season to reach his ultimate goal tomorrow night.