William Sawalich took the checkered flag in Friday afternoon’s ARCA Menards Series West General Tire 200 at Sonoma Raceway, which isn’t unexpected as the 18-year-old Joe Gibbs Racing driver has already amassed 24 victories between the ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East, and ARCA Menards Series West divisions.
However, how he won Friday at Sonoma was the most dramatic win of Sawalich’s career, and likely the most dramatic he’ll ever have.
Sawalich led all 65 laps of the race, but on a one-lap shootout restart, Sawalich received contact from behind from Alon Day heading into Turn 1. This sent Sawalich and Day off course, which provided a path to the lead for Christian Eckes, who was driving the No. 19 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Chevrolet.
What an incredible finish to today’s #ARCA West race at Sonoma! And one hell of a call by @ChasKrall! pic.twitter.com/IR1X2efc0U
— Toby Christie (@Toby_Christie) July 12, 2025
Day would settle into the second position, while Sawalich would blend back onto the track in fourth behind Jack Wood, the driver of the No. 16 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Chevrolet.
On the exit of Turn 3, sensing the urgency as a win was slipping through his grasp, Sawalich got into the back of Wood, which sent Wood spinning out of the third spot.
Day would apply pressure to Eckes for the remainder of the lap, which allowed Sawalich to slowly creep into the picture on the two drivers battling for the race lead. As the drivers scooted through Turn 10 to set themselves up for a dramatic finish in the hairpin Turn 11, Sawalich was officially within striking distance.
Day and Eckes would run through Turn 11 side-by-side for the lead, but Eckes would get loose and slide up the track into Day’s car. As that occurred, Sawalich was able to blast to the lead in the bottom lane, which is the preferred line.
As they charged off of Turn 11, Eckes and Sawalich made contact a few times, which slowed both cars, which allowed Day to get three-wide with the drivers heading to the finish line. At the line, it would be Sawalich winning in an incredible three-wide photo finish over Eckes and Day, who finished third.
Sawalich would be credited with the win by a margin of 0.066 seconds, the closest margin on victory in Sonoma Raceway history in the NASCAR National Series or ARCA Menards Series divisions. While it was dramatic, Sawalich wishes it didn’t have to come down to the frantic last-lap battle.
“That was definitely our race, but it sucks it had to happen that way,” Sawalich said. “We did what we could to get our Starkey Camry in Victory Lane, so I’m glad that we’re here. It took me a while to figure out how to do a burnout. “
With the top-three finishers in Friday’s race not part of the full-time ARCA Menards Series West championship battle, Trevor Huddleston, who finished fourth, extended his West Series point lead to 14 points over Tanner Reif.
There are six races remaining in the 2025 ARCA Menards Series West season, and the top four in the championship standings are separated by 28 points following Friday’s race at Sonoma Raceway.
Next up for the ARCA Menards Series West is the NAPA Auto Parts 150 at Tri-City Raceway on Saturday, August 9. That race will be aired live on FloRacing and the NASCAR Channel on Tubi.
General Tire 200 Race Results
| Fin | St | Car No. | Driver | Team | Laps | Diff | Status | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 18 | William Sawalich | Joe Gibbs Racing Starkey Toyota | 65 | -- | Running | 48 |
| 2 | 5 | 19 | Christian Eckes | Bill McAnally Racing NAPA Auto Care/ NAPA NightVision Chevrolet | 65 | 0.066 | Running | 42 |
| 3 | 2 | 25 | Alon Day | Venturini Motorsports JSSI Toyota | 65 | 0.156 | Running | 41 |
| 4 | 8 | 50 | Trevor Huddleston | High Point Racing RaceCar Factory Ford | 65 | 1.646 | Running | 40 |
| 5 | 4 | 24 | Tyler Reif | Sigma Performance Services Vegas Fastener Chevrolet | 65 | 3.353 | Running | 39 |
| 6 | 9 | 4 | Eric Nascimento | Nascimento Motorsports Impact Transport/Phillips Bros Fab/RJs Paintshop/Cardoso Toyota | 65 | 3.785 | Running | 38 |
| 7 | 3 | 7 | Corey Day | Spire Motorsports Hendrickcars.com Chevrolet | 65 | 3.977 | Running | 37 |
| 8 | 10 | 71 | Kyle Keller | Jan's Racing Jan's Towing Ford | 65 | 3.984 | Running | 36 |
| 9 | 13 | 13 | Tanner Reif | Central Coast Racing Central Coast Cabinets Toyota | 65 | 4.417 | Running | 35 |
| 10 | 16 | 8 | Jeff Anton | 1/4 Ley Racing Deer Park Recycling Chevrolet | 65 | 4.513 | Running | 34 |
| 11 | 7 | 6 | Caleb Shrader | Jerry Pitts Racing Consonus Healthcare Ford | 65 | 4.914 | Running | 33 |
| 12 | 18 | 52 | Ryan Philpott | Philpott Race Cars Caliber Collision/Mattos Transport/Hacienda Pools Toyota | 65 | 6.754 | Running | 32 |
| 13 | 6 | 16 | Jack Wood | Bill McAnally Racing Weyerhauser/James Hardie/Timbertech by Azek Chevrolet | 65 | 37.530 | Running | 31 |
| 14 | 20 | 17 | Kaylee Bryson | Cook Racing Technologies LSI Logical Logistics LLC/MMI Services Chevrolet | 64 | 1 lap | Running | 30 |
| 15 | 19 | 14 | Davey Magras | Davey Magras Racing Advanced Autoworks/Koerner Racing Engines Chevrolet | 62 | 3 laps | Running | 29 |
| 16 | 24 | 72 | Jonathan Reaume | Strike Mamba Racing RBR Engineering Chevrolet | 61 | 4 laps | Running | 28 |
| 17 | 15 | 5 | Eric Johnson Jr. | Jerry Pitts Racing Sherwin-Williams Toyota | 60 | 5 laps | Running | 27 |
| 18 | 25 | 23 | Spencer Gallagher | Sigma Performance Services Third Gen/Phils Fabrication/Garage 23/Versatile/Allegiant Air Chevrolet | 60 | 5 laps | Running | 26 |
| 19 | 22 | 51 | Blake Lothian* | Strike Mamba Racing Texas Lawbook Chevrolet | 59 | 6 laps | Running | 25 |
| 20 | 23 | 05 | David Smith | Shockwave Motorsports Shockwave Marine Suspension Seating Toyota | 57 | 8 laps | Running | 24 |
| 21 | 14 | 1 | Robbie Kennealy | Jan's Racing Jan's Towing Ford | 51 | 14 laps | Accident | 23 |
| 22 | 21 | 68 | Rodd Kneeland | Rodd Racing Rodd Renovations Inc/Pedroncelli Mobile Bottling Chevrolet | 50 | 15 laps | Accident | 22 |
| 23 | 17 | 3 | Todd Souza | Central Coast Racing Central Coast Cabinets Toyota | 36 | 29 laps | Suspension | 21 |
| 24 | 11 | 32 | Dale Quarterley | 1/4 Ley Racing Van Dyk Recycling Solutions Chevrolet | 27 | 38 laps | Accident | 20 |
| 25 | 12 | 88 | Will Rodgers | Naake-Klauer Motorsports Shockwave Marine Suspension Seating Ford | 16 | 49 laps | Mechanical | 19 |
| 26 | 26 | 77 | Nick Joanides | Performance P-1 Motorsports King Taco/Weber’s Auto Parts/REX MD/Wallace Sign Toyota | 9 | 56 laps | Mechanical | 18 |
