Rookie William Sawalich, in his third appearance, earned the pole position for Saturday night’s NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway.
The 17-year-old Joe Gibbs Racing prospect recorded a hot lap of 134.168 mph, edging teammate Sheldon Creed by 0.148 seconds.
But that wasn’t the big news.
A practice-lap crash by Championship 4 competitor Justin Allgaier created early drama.
Following a broken transmission from Brennan Poole’s machine, Allgaier’s No. 7 Chevrolet slid on the oil enter Turn 1 and slammed into the wall. Brandon Jones and Eric Almirola also crashed.
Allgaier seeks his first series championship by starting P37.
“We all got into (the oil), and it just went straight,” Allgaier said, as reported by NASCAR.com. “I think that’s the frustrating part about this format is it comes down to one race, one weekend and we’re standing here in this situation.”
First career pole. Thank you @JoeGibbsRacing. #TeamToyota pic.twitter.com/siRFehdDuq
— William Sawalich (@WilliamSawalich) November 9, 2024
AJ Allmendinger Rides With Different Mindset
In 2021, AJ Allmendinger established a new personal standard, collecting five wins and 28 top-10 finishes in 33 starts. Despite the dominance, Allmendinger placed fourth among the Championship 4 competitors.
This season has proven to be a bit different.
Two crashes in the opening 15 events, lowlighted by three finishes of 35 or worse during that span. Allmendinger returned to the Xfinity Series after running a full-time Cup Series schedule in 2023. It was a rude reunion.
“There was a time where I thought, ‘God, I gotta stop crashing. This is unbelievable,’” Allmendinger told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “This year, I think I finished last like five times.”
Maybe, but after overcoming the first-half struggles to record 17 top-10s in 32 starts, Allmendinger believes the team grew from the experience, qualifying for the Championship 4 as the No. 2-ranked driver.
“We just haven’t had the raw speed most of the year until the last couple of months,” Allmendinger said. “All of a sudden, we found something.”
The difference between the two seasons? Performance was key.
“We’ve done this a completely different way this year,” Allmendinger said. “We’ve had to dig deep, but we’ve built way more belief and confidence. This time, we’re not hoping for a miracle.”
Seeking his first circuit title, the 42-year-old will start Saturday night’s title race P9.
Chris Rice presented AJ Allmendinger with a special helmet for this weekend. Included are photos from every win Allmendinger has scored for Kaulig Racing in the Xfinity Series.
Rice said he knows this will be Allmendinger's final full-time Xfinity race with Kaulig. pic.twitter.com/VvL9p1NYYZ
— Dustin Albino (@DustinAlbino) November 8, 2024
Starting Lineup for NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race
Here is a look at the lineup for Sunday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series’ NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway:
Starting Position, Driver, Car No., Team
- 1, William Sawalich, 19, Joe Gibbs Racing
- 2, Sheldon Creed, 18, Joe Gibbs Racing
- 3, Riley Herbst, 98, Stewart-Haas Racing
- 4, Chandler Smith, 81, Joe Gibbs Racing
- 5, Austin Hill, 21, Richard Childress Racing
- 6, Jesse Love, 2, Richard Childress Racing
- 7, Cole Custer, 00, Stewart-Haas Racing
- 8, Sam Mayer, 1, JR Motorsports
- 9, AJ Allmendinger, 16, Kaulig Racing
- 10, Parker Retzlaff, 31, Jordan Anderson Racing
- 11, Matt DiBenedetto, 38, RSS Racing
- 12, Anthony Alfredo, 5, Our Motorsports
- 13, Daniel Dye, 10, Kaulig Racing
- 14, Stefan Parsons, 45, Alpha Prime Racing
- 15, Sammy Smith, 8, JR Motorsports
- 16, Jeb Burton, 27, Jordan Anderson Racing
- 17, Shane van Gisbergen, 97, Kaulig Racing
- 18, Jeffrey Earnhardt, 26, Sam Hunt Racing
- 19, Josh Williams, 11, Kaulig Racing
- 20, Ryan Ellis, 43, Alpha Prime Racing
- 21, Connor Zilisch, 88, JR Motorsports
- 22, Jeremy Clements, 51, Jeremy Clements Racing
- 23, Ryan Sieg, 28, RSS Racing
- 24, Dylan Lupton, 15, AM Racing
- 25, Blaine Perkins, 29, RSS Racing
- 26, Leland Honeyman, 42, Young’s Motorsports
- 27, Dawson Cram, 92, DGM Racing
- 28, Brennan Poole, 44, Alpha Prime Racing
- 29, Kyle Sieg, 39, RSS Racing
- 30, Patrick Emerling, 07, SS GreenLight Racing
- 31, Parker Kligerman, 48, Big Machine Racing
- 32, Josh Bilicki, 91, DGM Racing
- 33, Brandon Jones, 9, JR Motorsports
- 34, Joey Gase, 35, Joey Gase Motorsports
- 35, Greg van Alst, 14, SS GreenLight Racing
- 36, Garrett Smithley, 53, Joey Gase Motorsports
- 37, Justin Allgaier, 7, JR Motorsports
- 38, Aric Almirola, 20, Joe Gibbs Racing
Trouble strikes early for a #Championship4 driver!@J_Allgaier is involved in an incident during the opening moments of practice.
📺: @USANetwork pic.twitter.com/2PLan94tHI
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) November 8, 2024
