William Sawalich joins JGR and Toyota as development driver

Sawalich, 16, will compete in the ARCA Menards Series in 2023 driving JGR’s No. 18 Toyota. His first race will be March 10 at Phoenix Raceway.

The native of Eden Prairie, Minn., started racing at the age of nine and found success in quarter midgets and Legends cars. He currently competes in Pro and Super Late Model, Late Model Stock, and the TA2 racing series.

This past season, he amassed six wins in CARS Tour Pro Late Model Series, three late model stock wins, two Southern Super Series wins, two ARCA/CRA wins, and two additional pro late model wins, a third-place finish in the Winchester 400, and a second-place finish in the Redbud 400 at Anderson (Ind.).

“I am thankful for the opportunity with Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota and am humbled to be in the presence of a great leader like Coach (Joe) Gibbs,” Sawalich said. “I know that he has put together a great team and the results show with the drivers that have come before me.

“My goal is to learn from their expertise, work hard and represent JGR well. I think together, we are capable of great things in the coming years.”

The Toyota development driver’s No. 18 will be sponsored by Starkey featuring their SoundGear product line for the 2023 AMS season.

“We take a lot of pride in our development program with Toyota at Joe Gibbs Racing and we think William has shown tremendous potential to become a great driver in our sport,” said Steve DeSouza, JGR’s executive vice president of Xfinity Series and driver development.

“He has already shown the desire and dedication it takes to be successful at his young age and we’re excited to watch his progress through ARCA and ultimately NASCAR ranks.”