Playing in the dirt, it was William Sawalich who managed to go wire to wire and lead every lap en route to his first career win on the dirt at the Springfield Mile.
“We knew what he had last year. I feel like we had good speed. I think I had to just be a little more comfortable with the dirt…Can’t thank the guys enough. We made a really good change at halfway break to get us a little better there for the end,” the Eden Prarie, MN native said post-race.
? He did it. ?@WilliamSawalich started on the pole, led every lap & won the Springfield ARCA 100! https://t.co/1zAVGiSb2T pic.twitter.com/RicoBzYYL6
— ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) August 18, 2024
The win didn’t come easy as he had to fend off the field on a last lap restart after the No. 8 car of Sean Corr spun off turn four coming to the checkered. Sawalich managed with ease though.
“Trying to gas it up and get the rear to turn,” he added on his strategy to win today.
In her first start on dirt in the ARCA platform, rookie Isabella Robusto came home second. The first time a woman has come home second at Springfield since Hailie Deegan did it back in 2020. She was followed by her Venturini teammate Taylor Reimer coming home third, a career-best in her second start. Local driver Kelly Kovski and Rev Racing driver Lavar Scott rounded out the top five.
It wasn’t all good news for the Rev Racing team though, as points leader Andres Perez ended up 15th after a hole was knocked in the radiator leaving him several laps down.
With Robusto and Reimer’s top fives, and top 10s for their Venturini teammates Toni Breidinger and Amber Balcaen, this marks the first time in ARCA history that four women finished in the top 10.
Up next, the ARCA Menards Series travels north to Milwaukee for the Sprecher 150 at the famed Milwaukee Mile with the ARCA Menards Series East. You can catch the race live on FS1 at 1 p.m. ET.
Official Results from the Springfield ARCA 100
| Fin | St | No. | Driver | Team | Laps | Diff | Status | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 18 | William Sawalich | Joe Gibbs Racing Starkey-Soundgear Toyota | 105 | Running | 48 | |
| 2 | 19 | 20 | Isabella Robusto | Venturini Motorsports JBL Toyota | 105 | Running | 42 | |
| 3 | 3 | 55 | Taylor Reimer | Venturini Motorsports BuzzBallz Toyota | 105 | Running | 41 | |
| 4 | 2 | 16 | Kelly Kovski | Kelly Kovski Racing Brandt-Schluckebier Farms Chevrolet | 105 | Running | 40 | |
| 5 | 6 | 6 | Lavar Scott | Rev Racing Max Siegel Inc Chevrolet | 105 | Running | 39 | |
| 6 | 20 | 25 | Toni Breidinger | Venturini Motorsports Sunoco Toyota | 105 | Running | 38 | |
| 7 | 5 | 15 | Kris Wright | Venturini Motorsports FNB Corporation Toyota | 105 | Running | 37 | |
| 8 | 9 | 22 | Amber Balcaen | Venturini Motorsports Icon Toyota | 105 | Running | 36 | |
| 9 | 7 | 32 | Christian Rose | AM Racing West Virginia Department of Tourism Ford | 104 | 1 lap | Running | 35 |
| 10 | 14 | 12 | Tim Monroe | Fast Track Racing Illinois Trucking Ass’n-Riverside Chevy Chevrolet | 104 | 1 lap | Running | 34 |
| 11 | 8 | 8 | Sean Corr | Empire Racing Nesco Bus Sales Chevrolet | 104 | 1 lap | Running | 33 |
| 12 | 11 | 11 | Cody Dennison | Fast Track Racing Timcast.com Toyota | 104 | 1 lap | Running | 32 |
| 13 | 13 | 99 | Michael Maples | Fast Track Racing Don Ray Petroleum LLC-Maples Motorsports Chevrolet | 103 | 2 laps | Running | 31 |
| 14 | 18 | 31 | Brayton Laster | Rise Motorsports Cyber_Fox_onX-BlueChew Chevrolet | 103 | 2 laps | Running | 30 |
| 15 | 4 | 2 | Andres Perez | Rev Racing Max Siegel Inc Chevrolet | 60 | 45 laps | Out | 29 |
| 16 | 10 | 03 | Alex Clubb | Clubb Racing INC Race Parts Liquidators Ford | 58 | 47 laps | Out | 28 |
| 17 | 12 | 10 | Bryce Haugeberg | Fast Track Racing Brenco-Haugeberg Farms-UTI Ford | 33 | 127 laps | Out | 27 |
| 18 | 16 | 06 | Nate Moeller | Peterson Motorsports Peterson Motorsports Toyota | 22 | 138 laps | Out | 26 |
| 19 | 15 | 48 | Brad Smith | Brad Smith Racing Copraya.com Ford | 13 | 147 laps | Out | 25 |
| 20 | 17 | 86 | Brian Clubb | Clubb Racing INC Race Parts Liquidators Ford | 1 | 104 laps | Out | 24 |
