Sawalich Lands Pole For His Superspeedway Debut

William Sawalich celebrates his first career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series pole Friday afternoon at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. (Rusty Jarrett/NKP for Toyota Racing photo)

TALLADEGA, Ala. – He may have had to wait one extra day, but William Sawalich got to celebrate his birthday in style Friday at Talladega Superspeedway.

After turning 18 Thursday and finally becoming age-eligible to compete on superspeedways, Sawalich sped to his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series pole less than 24 hours later at the longest track on the circuit.

With a lap of 54.482 seconds (175.764 mph) in the No. 1 Starkey/Soundgear Toyota Tundra TRD Pro for TRICON Garage, Sawalich led the final round of Cometic Gasket Pole Qualifying, earned the top starting spot for the Love’s RV Stop 225, and picked up a $1,200 bonus in doing so.

The Eden Prairie, Minn., native’s maiden Truck Series pole comes in his 13th series start.

“It’s special,” noted Sawalich. “I don’t know that I expected to come here [to Talladega] my first time and sit on the pole, but it’s a testament to all the work that TRICON Garage puts in to bring fast trucks to the racetrack each week.

“They told me to hold it wide open, and it was good enough for the pole, so we’ll see from here what we can do with it.”

Sawalich has won eight times in 13 national ARCA Menards Series starts this year, with an average finish of 2.6, and also won his second consecutive ARCA Menards Series East championship in September at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.

His best Truck Series finish in six starts this season came at Bristol last month as well, when he crossed 11th after starting a then career-best fourth.

Joining Sawalich on the front row will be reigning and outgoing series champion Ben Rhodes, who qualified second at 54.518 seconds (175.648 mph) in the No. 99 Kubota Ford F-150 one race after his elimination from the Truck Series playoffs.

Rhodes has finished second in the last two Talladega Truck Series races and is seeking his first win since May of 2023 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.

Rhodes’ ThorSport Racing teammate Ty Majeski and CR7 Motorsports’ Grant Enfinger start third and fourth, respectively, with Taylor Gray lining up fifth in a second TRICON Garage-prepared entry.

Majeski was the highest qualifier among the eight remaining playoff-eligible drivers, five of whom made the pole shootout and will start among the first five rows.

Spire Motorsports’ Chase Purdy, McAnally-Hilgemann Racing’s Tyler Ankrum, Niece Motorsports’ Matt Mills, TRICON’s Corey Heim, and ThorSport’s Jake Garcia filled out the top 10 drivers who advanced through both knockout rounds.

Driving for Rev Racing, playoff contender Nick Sanchez was the first driver who failed to make the transfer from round one, falling .022 seconds short in the No. 2 Gainbridge Chevrolet Silverado RST.

Sanchez rolls off 11th after a lap of 54.855 seconds (174.569 mph) around the 2.66-mile Talladega oval.

Other notables deeper in the lineup include teenage sensation Connor Zilisch (12th), playoff drivers Rajah Caruth (13th) and Christian Eckes (15th), three-time series champion Matt Crafton (17th), Kaden Honeycutt (18th), Stewart Friesen (26th), and longtime fan-favorite journeyman Norm Benning (31st).

Three Truck Series regulars – Layne Riggs (three inspection failures), Tanner Gray (unapproved adjustment before qualifying), and Daniel Dye (window net infraction) – all were unable to make a qualifying attempt and thus will start from the rear of the field via owner point provisionals.

The trio lines up 33rd, 34th, and 35th, respectively.

Johnny Sauter, the 2016 Truck Series champion making a return appearance this year for Hattori Racing Enterprises, will roll off last among the 36 starters by way of the past champion’s provisional – as his qualifying lap was not fast enough to lock him into the field on speed.

With 38 trucks entered for 36 starting spots and multiple heavy hitters needing provisionals in order to make the show, two full-time entries – the No. 56 Hill Motorsports Toyota (Timmy Hill) and the No. 02 Young’s Motorsports Chevrolet (Keith McGee) failed to qualify for Friday afternoon’s race.

Broadcast coverage of the Love’s RV Stop 225 is slated for 4:30 p.m. ET, live on FS1, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.