Sawalich, a 17-year-old development driver with Joe Gibbs Racing, had led the race early but his involvement in an incident with a lapped car sent him to the rear.
Lavar Scott led on a late restart before Sawalich regained the lead with three laps to go, only to see Scott come right back and battle side-by-side with Sawalich.
The tight battle for the lead allowed Kris Wright to sneak up on the inside of Scott as the trio exited Turn 4 on the final lap to make it three-wide. The three bounced off each other and crossed the finish line sideways in dramatic fashion.
Sawalich was declared the winner after a review and posts of the replays of the finish soon dominated social media sites. Sawalich, on the outside and focused on the battle with Scott, said he didn’t even realize there was a third driver involved until after the Victory Lane celebration.
“I thought me and Lavar raced really well. I mean, I love racing like that. It’s just elbows up, do what you got to do kind of thing and that obviously slowed our pace down,” Sawalich said in an interview with Motorsport.com.
“I mean, I wasn't really surprised (Wright) came on because he wasn’t too far back when I left him (on the last restart) and he was doing the right thing. He was trying to win as well. So, I mean we all three of us thought we had a shot at it and only one of us got it.”
"I had no idea" it was a three-wide finish
Told in Victory Lane there was another driver involved in the finish besides Scott, Sawalich said he asked to see a photo.
“I’m like, ‘Wait a second, who’s that other guy?’ I had no idea,” Sawalich said. “Just kind of how we were all angled coming across the line, I think if I was pointed straight, I think (Scott) would have had it.
“I was actually just watching the finish again like an hour ago. Still watching and it’s still pretty freaking cool.”
The win was significant for another reason as the victory came at the Minnesota native’s home track in front of hundreds of family members and friends.
“For all of this to happen at that track is unbelievable because that’s where I grew up,” Sawalich said. “When I was racing Legend cars, I dreamed of just racing a late model at Elko and then to do that in an ARCA car, it’s just really special.”
The victory was another milestone in a stellar season in ARCA competition for the upstart driver.
He now has five ARCA national series wins, one in ARCA East and a pair of wins in ARCA West. He has made three starts in the NASCAR Truck Series with Tricon Garage this year and will make another Saturday night at Richmond (Va.) Raceway.
Sawalich also has three planned starts later this year in the Xfinity Series with JGR after he reaches his 18th birthday.
“I feel like this has been a great year,” he said. “The only thing I feel is kind of missing is not having the ARCA East points lead. I feel like we’re way good on the owners’ points race in the national series with the No. 18.
“But a big focus is these points we’re behind just a little bit in the East because we got wrecked at Dover by (Connor Zilisch). I’m focused on getting those points back.”
The finish to the #ARCA Menards Series race at Elko is simply unbelievable! 🤯
— Motorsport.com (@Motorsport) August 4, 2024
Three-three wide and sideways across the line for the win — @WilliamSawalich takes the 🏁 in a finish for the ages! 🔥
🎥 @ARCA_Racing pic.twitter.com/WhznWX9VRC
Steve de Souza, JGR’s executive vice president of Xfinity and development, was on hand for Sawalich’s victory at Elko and said the driver’s ability to battle back from adversity to put himself back in position to win was an impressive effort.
“Everybody was already kind of at an angle, which really turned the whole thing,” de Souza said of the finish. “They were all sliding, and the cars were sideways. It just happened to be the way our right-front – or I should say the splitter – got to the line first.
“It was really a testament to how far William has come over this last year, which is what I really enjoy getting to work with these young guys. You see the progress they make from when they first start to grow, and you can see their talent start to expose itself.”
De Souza said the finish to the Elko race was surprising because it’s typically something you see more on a superspeedway than a short track.
“I thought that said a lot about those drivers and their race craft,” he said. “They weren’t running into or all over each other. It demonstrated each of their talents. To me, that’s what made it fun to watch.”
De Souza, who has worked with many successful young and talented drivers at JGR, sees a promising future for Sawalich in NASCAR and JGR.
“He’s very level-headed, wise beyond his years,” de Souza said. “I think he is becoming more and more mature, too. He realizes the value of social media and recognizes the value of race fans and the people that watch what we do.
“That’s needed in our sport when it comes to the sponsorship side and how he represents himself, his family and company. He’s very cognizant of all that. That’s the easiest part of working with him.”
