William Sawalich has NOT been cleared to compete in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway, as the Eden Prairie, Minnesota-native continues to experience concussion-like symptoms following a wreck at Talladega Superspeedway.
Just like in last weekend’s event at Martinsville Speedway, Justin Bonsignore, a regular in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, will serve as the fill-in driver for Sawalich in the No. 18 SoundGear Toyota GR Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Looking Forward to having Justin in the car again! pic.twitter.com/KuxgyZXern
— William Sawalich (@WilliamSawalich) October 29, 2025
“Unfortunately, I didn’t get medically cleared to compete this weekend in Phoenix,” said Sawalich. “As a driver, you want to be behind the wheel for your team, but I understand the importance of being fully ready before returning. As I continue to work toward getting back to 100%, I want to express my sincere appreciation to Dr. Collins and his UPMC staff. I also want to thank Jeff Meendering, the No. 18 team, and everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing for their unwavering support this season. We will be prepared and ready to go when the season begins at Daytona in February.”
The 19-year-0ld driver, as a result of these concussion-like symptoms, will see his rookie campaign in the NASCAR Xfinity Series come to an end two weeks prematurely. In 31 starts this season, the former ARCA Menards Series East champion collected three top-five and nine top-10 starts behind the wheel of the No. 18.
Justin Bonsignore, who collected his first NASCAR Xfinity Series top-10 result last Saturday at Martinsville Speedway, was originally scheduled to drive for Joe Gibbs Racing in the series’ Championship Race at Phoenix. However, when Aric Almirola locked the No. 19 into the Owner’s Championship 4, the organization opted to go with the NASCAR Cup Series veteran in hopes of winning the Owner’s Championship.
In his nine career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts, Bonsignore has had a tumultuous showing, securing a pair of top-15 finishes at Martinsville (10th) and Iowa (12th), and three DNF’s. Saturday will mark the 37-year-old driver’s first start at the one-mile Phoenix Raceway.
