The box score will show that William Sawalich led every lap from the pole of Saturday night’s ARCA Menards Series East season-opening race at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida. However, it wasn’t a cakewalk for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver.
Sawalich had to deal with challenges from two top contenders over the course of the race — Jake Finch in the opening half of the event and Luke Fenhaus in the second half — but despite constant pressure, Sawalich never relented on his path to victory in his series debut.
Following the strong debut race, the 16-year-old gave all thanks to his race team and sponsors.
“I can’t thank this Joe Gibbs Racing team enough,” Sawlich said. “They brought a fast Toyota Camry here, and can’t thank SoundGear Starkey and TRD enough. Just want to thank all of my supporters and it was a fun race thanks to my competitors.”
With the perfect start to his ARCA Menards Series East campaign, Sawalich believes the championship is very much in his grasp.
“I think the championship is in play with how good that race was for us,” Sawalich said. “I think we can try to dominate everywhere we go.”
Following Sawalich to the finish line was Fenhaus, who emerged as the biggest threat to Sawalich’s victory in the closing laps, in second.
Jake Finch, who showed strength early in the race, faded to a third-place finish and came home 14.153 seconds behind race-winner Sawalich.
After Saturday’s season-opener, Sawalich carries a seven-point lead over Fenhaus.
ARCA East Points – After Race 1 of 8:
1. William Sawalich
2. Luke Fenhaus (-7)
3. Jake Finch (-8)
4. Sean Hingorani (-9)
5. Lavar Scott (-10)
6. Tyler Reif (-11)
7. Zachary Tinkle (-12)
8. Tanner Arms (-13)
9. RJ Smotherman (-14)
10. Ed Pompa (-15)#ARCA | @ARCA_Racing— Joseph Srigley (@joe_srigley) March 26, 2023
ARCA Menards Series East Pensacola 200 Race Results
| Pos | No. | Driver | Laps | Diff | Best Lap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 | William Sawalich | 200 | -- | 18.046 |
| 2 | 28 | Luke Fenhaus | 200 | 1.169 | 18.422 |
| 3 | 20 | Jake Finch | 200 | 14.153 | 18.311 |
| 4 | 15 | Sean Hingorani | 199 | 17.183 | 18.194 |
| 5 | 6 | Lavar Scott | 199 | 1 lap | 18.398 |
| 6 | 41 | Tyler Reif | 198 | 1 lap | 18.426 |
| 7 | 11 | Zachary Tinkle | 194 | 5 laps | 18.680 |
| 8 | 95 | Tanner Arms | 193 | 6 laps | 18.594 |
| 9 | 46 | RJ Smotherman | 193 | 6 laps | 18.560 |
| 10 | 10 | Ed Pompa | 187 | 12 laps | 19.322 |
| 11 | 12 | Tim Monroe | 37 | 162 laps | 19.036 |
| 12 | 01 | Dallas Frueh | 22 | 177 laps | 19.631 |
| 13 | 06 | Nate Moeller | 3 | 196 laps | 21.631 |
| 14 | 98 | Dale Shearer | 0 | 199 laps | 0.000 |
| 15 | 31 | Rita Goulet | DNS | -- | 0.000 |
