Groovy Hollow Recap
William Sawalich has confirmed he will miss a second race in a row following an injury he suffered two weeks ago at Talladega Superspeedway. As a result, Justin Bonsignore will once again serve as the substitute driver for Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 at Phoenix.
In a video posted to his X account, Sawalich said:
“I’d love to be in the car and drive the car for my guys and as much as it sucks to see my car on track without me in it, I just am unable to do that this weekend and I want to take care of my health and make that my number one priority and be ready for next year.”
In his place, four-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Justin Bonsignore will pilot Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 for a second weekend in a row. Bonsignore, 37, has made eight starts this season, most of which were behind the wheel of the No. 19, but scored his best career finish last weekend at Martinsville, bringing the car home in 10th.
Sawalich’s injury, described as “concussion-like symptoms” in a statement from JGR last week, occurred during a lap 45 wreck during the October 18 race at Talladega Superspeedway. During this wreck, Connor Mosack shot up track towards the outside wall and into Sawalich.
This brings to a close what was a rather disappointing rookie season for Sawalich, who entered the Series with high expectations after dominating a part-time ARCA schedule in recent years.
Though he started slow with a 23.8 average finish through the first 17 races of the year, the 19-year-old found a new gear late in the season, improving his average finish to 13.1 through the last 15 races.
What do you think about this? Let us know your opinion on Discord or X. Don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
