Race Weekend Central

William Sawalich Wins 1st ARCA Pole in 1st Start

William Sawalich has quickly learned how to pilot an ARCA Menards Series racecar. He won the pole at Phoenix Raceway on Friday (Mar. 10) in his first series start.

Driving the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, Sawalich earned the pole with a speed of 132.582 mph. The No. 18 team has won three ARCA events at the 1-mile track in Avondale, Ariz.

Jack Wood qualified second. It’s his career-best starting position.

See also
ARCA Preview: 2023 General Tire 150 at Phoenix

Jesse Love, Tyler Reif and Leland Honeyman round out the top five in third through fifth, respectively. Reif topped the leaderboard in the practice session earlier on Friday.

Andres Perez de Lara, Sean Hingorani, Conner Jones, Toni Breidinger and Landen Lewis completed the fastest top 10 in sixth through 10th, respectively.

Daytona International Speedway winner Greg Van Alst qualified in 14th.

The race is a combination race for the main series and the ARCA Menards Series West. As such, 32 drivers are entered and 28 posted a time in qualifying.

Bryce Haugeberg was one of the four who did not post a time in qualifying. Although he will officially start 31st, he, unfortunately, wrecked his No. 11, so it appears he will not participate in the event and therefore will likely be credited with a last-place finish (32nd).

ARCA Qualifying Results from Phoenix

The field will take the green flag tonight at 8 p.m. ET with TV coverage provided by FOX Sports 2.

About the author

Mark Kristl joined Frontstretch at the beginning of the 2019 NASCAR season. He is the site's ARCA Menards Series editor. Kristl is also an Eagle Scout and a proud University of Dayton alum.

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