Lucky 13 rides along with the driver who qualifies 13th, keeping an eye on how their race unfolds. This driver could be sent to the back of the pack and still pull off a victory, or their luck could take a nosedive early in the race. With luck on their side – or against them – anything can happen! So, grab your four-leaf clovers, your lucky horseshoes, and maybe even a rabbit’s foot for the latest Lucky 13! Will it be fortune or misfortune? Let’s find out!

Hard Rock Bet 300

Driver: William Sawalich
Organization & Number: Joe Gibbs Racing, #18
Crew Chief: Jeff Meendering
Spotter: Nick Payne

“Let’s have a good day, no mistakes. I think we have a good car. Let’s be there at the end!” – William Sawalich

Stage 1

The green waved and William Sawalich immediately found himself in a three-wide situation. Throughout the field, drivers were taking it three- and four-wide. In the chaos, he fell to P14, but spotter Nick Payne helped his driver settle in and prepare for a run.

By Lap 4, Sawalich had regained his starting spot and was setting up a pass on Sammy Smith. Before he could claim the spot, Austin Hill stole P13.

A few laps later, as he worked to find out where his car was happiest on track, Sawalich had lost another spot to Jesse Love. Another spot was lost as Brandon Jones snuck around the No. 18. Fortunately, Sawalich was saved by the caution when Christian Eckes blew up on the front stretch. He had worked his way back to P14 when the caution waved.

Sawalich told crew chief, Jeff Meendering, “I have no forward drive. Kinda tight.”

Meendering noted these issues but told his driver they were staying out during this caution. After the track was cleaned, Sawalich took the green on Lap 24.

Once again, drivers put themselves in precarious three- and four-wide situations. Two laps later, Sawalich was bouncing between P15 and P16. One more lap saw him three-wide and working hard to keep his spot.

He quickly radioed in, “I’m horrendous. I can’t go anywhere.”

Frustration Continues

As Leland Honeyman and Justin Bonsignore got around him, he claimed P18. And the hits kept coming as Daniel Dye got around him.

Lap 30 saw the next caution when Kris Wright blew a tire.

Sawalich gave more updates on what he was feeling in the car but was told they would stay on track again.

With 11 to go, Sawalich took the green in P18. He lost three more spots in an attempt to hold on till the stage end.

The next caution came when Bonsignore blew a tire with eight to go and went spinning. Sawalich was running P24 and saying he was about to “take out the fence.”

Much to Sawalich’s dismay, Meendering kept his driver on track through the quick caution. After numerous drivers took to the pits, he restarted P27 for the final four laps of the stage. He held on and finished the stage P28.

Stage 2

Following much-needed changes, he returned to track to start the second stage in P26. Fourteen laps into the stage, Sawalich was unable to make any ground and even lost a spot.

Meendering and Payne worked to encourage their driver that they still had time to make some swings at it.

Feelings of frustration and confusion were high throughout the short stage. Sawalich was lapped with eight to go and finished the stage P27.

He updated his team on what he was feeling. Meendering apologized and said, “Clearly, we missed it here.”

Stage 3

The final stage started with Sawalich in P25 in the Lucky Dog spot. As his (bad) luck would have it, he lost the Lucky Dog spot to Jeremy Clements. As Sawalich settled in, Meendering noted to Payne that he didn’t think the balance had changed, he just thought he was driving angry.

Despite the frustration, Sawalich was running top 10 lap times, however, he fell to two laps down with about 68 to go.

Green flag stops begin with about 60 to go. This shook up the field a good deal, but not enough to get Sawalich only one lap down.

Six laps later, he came to his team for a final stop and returned to the track to finish out the day.

The field stretched out, Larson solidified his lead, and it was quiet for the closing laps until eight to go. Taylor Gray blew a tire and brought out the caution.

With this, the entire field took a collective sigh. Larson had put a nearly 20-second lead on the field, with only five cars on the lead lap.

Meendering told his driver they would remain on track to finish it out, but also, “We’ll diagnose this and try again at Martinsville.”

Sawalich lined up P22 for NASCAR Overtime with the instructions, “Do what you can. Pass what you can.”

The checkered flag waved and Sawalich brought it home P24.

Sponsor Shout-out + Social Round-up

NASCAR fans know sponsors make the sport go ’round. We want to give a shoutout to Soundgear. They played a huge part of the weekend for William and the No. 45 team.

Be sure to give William Sawalich (Facebook, Instagram, X) and Joe Gibbs Racing (Facebook, Instagram, X) a follow to keep up with the latest news from the driver and team.