William Sawalich will continue his NASCAR National Series driver development with Joe Gibbs Racing in 2027, as the 19-year-old racer is set to reprise his role as the driver of the organization’s No. 18 Toyota GR Supra in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series next season.
Joe Gibbs Racing confirmed that it had re-signed Sawalich in a Thursday morning social media post.
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William Sawalich has signed a contract extension to continue driving the No. 18 SoundGear Toyota GR Supra in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series in 2027. pic.twitter.com/OpMrB6mp9N
— Joe Gibbs Racing (@JoeGibbsRacing) August 6, 2026
“I am excited to be returning to Joe Gibbs Racing in 2027,” Sawalich said in a team press release. “The team has become a family to me since I first started here. We’ve been making great progress this year, so I am excited to continue that into next season.”
Sawalich, who scored back-to-back ARCA Menards Series East championships driving for Joe Gibbs Racing in 2023 and 2024, scored his first career NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series win earlier this season at Rockingham Speedway.
With two races remaining until the start of The Chase, Sawalich sits seven points outside of the 12-driver cutline. Sawalich will look to topple Taylor Gray, his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, for the final slot in the championship fight.
Whether he makes The Chase or not, Sawalich has shown incredible growth during the 2026 season.
Last year, Sawalich recorded three top-five finishes and nine top-10s in a mostly frustrating rookie campaign in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series ranks. After missing the final two races of the season due to concussion-like symptoms following a crash at Talladega Superspeedway in October, Sawalich would finish 18th in the final championship standings.
After 22 races this season, Sawalich has already doubled his top-five finish total from a season ago, as he has six on his record in 2026. He also has nine top-10 finishes, a pole, and sits 13th in the championship standings.
If Sawalich can build some momentum over the final few months of the season, he could possibly find himself on the list of potential surprise championship contenders next season.
“William has been part of our racing family at Joe Gibbs Racing for almost four years now and it’s exciting to watch his continued progress,” said Heather Gibbs, owner of Joe Gibbs Racing. “He earned his first win in the O’Reilly Series earlier this year at Rockingham and we expect our 18 team to build off that success for the remainder of this season and into 2027.”
