William Sawalich will drive the No. 18 for Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2025, the team announced Oct. 21.
It’s a full-time deal for Sawalich, who will be entering his first full season of NASCAR competition.
JGR’s No. 18 will carry sponsorship from Starkey and SoundGear.
βI am honored to be driving the No. 18 full-time in the Xfinity Series next year,β Sawalich said in a team release. βIt has been really cool to drive for Joe Gibbs Racing, and I feel like I have developed so much as a driver over the past two years.
“I still have a lot to learn, especially with moving to a new series, so I am looking forward to taking this next step in racing.β
The 18-year-old has scored 18 ARCA Menards Series victories across the national, East and West divisions. His first NASCAR pole came in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Talladega Superspeedway, one day after his 18th birthday.
He’s set to make his Xfinity debut this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway, driving JGR’s No. 19.
In 2024, Sawalich has a best finish of 11th in seven Truck starts. He won the 2024 ARCA East title with three wins, seven top fives and seven top 10s, and he earned nine victories throughout the national series.
Sawalich replaces Sheldon Creed, who is moving to Haas Factory Team in the Xfinity Series next year.
About the author
Kevin Nix has been with Frontstretch since February 2023. Hailing from Gilbert, Arizona, his dream is to be in the NASCAR media sphere full-time. He is a video assistant, working on the back end to streamline video and audio quality of all at-track interviews. Nix also writes about news every Monday for the site.
Nix graduated with a Master's Degree in Sports Journalism from ASU's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication in Phoenix, Arizona. He also has bachelor's degrees in Communications and Political Science. In his downtime, he likes to read, play video games and take walks in the Arizona weather - when it's not too hot.
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