Sawalich Survives The Desert, Wins The General Tire 150 At Phoenix Raceway

Picking up where he left off last fall at Phoenix Raceway, William Sawalich took home the trophy in the General Tire 150 after officials called the race due to lightning and rain.

Sawalich was a strong contender leading 66 of the 115 laps total ran, only facing challenge from the Venturini Motorsports No. 20 and driver Gio Ruggiero.

“Not the way I wanted to win a race, but I knew we had the best car out there. Our Starkey SoundGear Toyota was really good all night. We kinda fell back in that first stint. The guys made a really good adjustment, and I’m super proud of them for doing that,” the Eden Prarie, MN native said post-race.

Hear from @WilliamSawalich after tonight's victory at @phoenixraceway, his 5th career ARCA win! pic.twitter.com/CLcqCiPIeW

— ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) March 9, 2024

This marks his second career win in the ARCA Menards Series West and his 10th win in the ARCA Menards Series platform.

The aforementioned Gio Ruggiero came home second in his ARCA Menards Series West debut and his second race in the ARCA platform. Grant Enfinger, Connor Mosack, and Sean Hingorani wrapped up the top five on the night.

One of the other stars of the night came home just behind in sixth.

Isabella Robusto showed some strength in her debut in the ARCA Menards Series running as high as third.

“It’s unreal. I wish we had one less caution there or the race run about 15 laps longer. Car was definitely way better on the long runs, and we saw that in the first half. I was able to run up to third and was running down second there for a while,” she said post-race.

Jack Wood, Andres Perez, Toni Breidinger, and Lavar Scott rounded out the top 10 on the night.

Struggles and disappointment came for some others. After a wreck ending his Daytona debut, Marco Andretti came home 20th on the night, one lap down. After his infamous quote and 10th-place finish in the season opener, Andy Jankowiak and the KLAS Motorsports crew couldn’t overcome a cut tire and came home 27th.

It was also a tough night for rookie Danica Dart as she was caught up in a wreck going into turn two on the first lap, where she’d end up 40th on the night.

Here’s a replay of the early wreck in the #GeneralTire150

pic.twitter.com/uBN729MhYh

— Ben Branscum (The New/Real One) (@benbranscum) March 9, 2024

Switching gears to the points, Greg Van Alst leads the points after two races for the ARCA Menards Series with Christian Rose second.

ARCA STANDINGS — After Race 2/20:

1. Greg Van Alst 73pts
2. Christian Rose (-5)
3. Andres Perez (-5)
4. Amber Balcaen (-9)
5. Lavar Scott (-10)
6. Andy Jankowiak (-22)
7. Alex Clubb (-23)
8. William Sawalich (-24)
9. Gus Dean (-26)
10. Isaac Johnson (-27)#ARCA | @ARCA_Racing

— Joseph Srigley (@joe_srigley) March 9, 2024

Meanwhile, in the ARCA Menards Series West, William Sawalich sits atop the points. Of the drivers confirmed to run in the West, Sean Hingorani leads the field.

#ARCA WEST STANDINGS – After Race 1/12:

1. William Sawalich 49pts
2. Gio Ruggiero (-6)
3. Grant Enfinger (-8)
4. Connor Mosack (-9)
5. Sean Hingorani (-10)
6. Isabella Robusto (-11)
7. Jack Wood (-12)
8. Andres Perez (-13)
9. Toni Breidinger (-14)
10. Lavar Scott (-15)

— Joseph Srigley (@joe_srigley) March 9, 2024

Up next, the ARCA Menards Series will head to Talladega on April 20th, while the ARCA Menards Series West will travel to Irwindale Speedway on March 30th.

Official Results from the General Tire 150 at Phoenix Raceway