Information By: TOYOTA RACING – HOMESTEAD, FL – Joe Gibbs Racing driver William Sawalich was made available to the media on Friday prior to the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
WILLIAM SAWALICH, No. 19 Starkey Soundgear Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Can you talk about the announcement that you’ll be driving full-time in the Xfinity Series next year?
“Yeah, I’ll be driving the No. 18 (car) for Joe Gibbs Racing next year in the Xfinity Series, so it’s going to be really cool to do that with them. I’ve been with them for two years and going on the third year next year, so that’ll be exciting to build that relationship with them.”
How much of a birthday present is it to make your Xfinity Series debut this weekend?
“Yeah, I mean, it’s pretty cool. I’d say it’s a little bit of a late birthday present. But I’m going to soak it all in like a sponge and use it all for the next year to come, as well as the next two races to come – Martinsville and Phoenix, and to build a relationship with Seth (Chavka), my crew chief, and hopefully everything today and tomorrow goes well.”
What makes the Xfinity Series the right next step in your career?
“Yeah, like I said, I’ve had a good relationship with everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing and so, it feels like home right now. I feel like I’m ready to make the jump. I’ve run the ARCA car the last two years and have had good success with them. Kind of following the Xfinity path that Ty (Gibbs) and Sammy (Smith) (did).”
What do you see as the biggest challenges you’ll face in the Xfinity Series?
“Yeah, I don’t know all of them yet until I get into the car. But, obviously, a different car. I’ve been doing short tracks in the Trucks and ARCA cars only, so I’m going to be new to the mile-and-a-halfs, and Daytona and Talladega. I did the Talladega race in Trucks and got the pole. But only made it through Stage 1 as we had issues after. Yeah, I just getting experience in those certain areas of racing that I’m not used to. Also, just learning the competition level of all the other drivers.”
Have you been on the sim much and what have you noticed?
“Yeah, we’ve had a lot of sim time. Probably close to 25 hours of time for Homestead alone in the Trucks and Xfinity cars. Definitely a lot of time on there and hopefully it compares really well. Have also run a couple other tracks in the Xfinity car to get that experience as much as I can since you can’t test or anything like that. So, this will be the first time in the Xfinity car. I’m going to have the Truck race, qualifying and practice to get a little warmup.”
Will you have any family or friends here this weekend?
“Yeah, definitely a lot of friends and family. I don’t know the exact count, but it’ll be the most that have been to a race before and everyone’s super excited for it. Hopefully, we can put on a good show for them. They’re coming in tonight and obviously will be here tomorrow.”
Which family members will be here?
“Just about anyone you can think of – my mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, a few cousins, a few friends, (as well as) a few buddies I went to school with. So, just good to have them here.”
When’s the last time they’ve seen you race?
“A lot of them saw me race in Elko (Elko Speedway) for the ARCA race since it was an easy race to go to. Some went to Iowa (Iowa Speedway) as well. Just all the close, Midwest races, people went to.”
Any good luck charms or wishes they’ve given you?
“Yeah, just a lot of texts. Everyone’s been supporting me and it’s cool to have everyone behind me in the family, so can’t appreciate their support enough.”
Is it a challenge to do the Trucks and Xfinity races back-to-back tomorrow?
“Yeah, honestly, I feel like it’d be tougher to do the Xfinity Series debut just on a standalone race, just only doing that race, as I’ll get the warmup with the Truck race (tomorrow). Get the green flag stop in, the run of pit road, getting used to pit road. I mean, I’m still kind of new to that. I’ve only run 10 Truck races, or 12 Truck races total, so still new to that and getting a feel for everything as it’s a lot different from ARCA because I’ve done the ARCA doubles multiple times and got used to those pretty quickly, switching back-and-forth.”