By Vincent Delforge, Staff Writer
The sixth race of the 2025 ARCA Menards West Series season took place at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, CA on July 11, 2025. The General Tire 200 was won in a commanding manner by Joe Gibbs Racing driver William Sawalich.
The driver of the No. 18 Toyota was the fastest in practice, earned the pole position, set the fastest lap of the race, and led every lap. His dominance was completely challenged during the final lap of overtime when he was pushed off the track in turn 2 by Alon Day (Venturini Motorsports). Having moved back up to fourth, Sawalich first got rid of Jack Wood (Bill McAnally Racing) by pushing him into a spin coming out of Turn 3. He then took advantage of Alon Day’s opening of the inside line in the hairpin to get into the rear bumper of leader Christian Eckes and give him a “love tape” enough to slightly destabilize the Bill McAnally Racing driver as he accelerated again. Side by side in Turn 12, Sawalich, despite a brush with the outside wall, took advantage of his better speed to take the checkered flag first, 0.66 thousandths ahead of Eckes and 1.56 ahead of Alan Day! This was the closest finish in the history of the West Series at Sonoma in 46 races!
Fourth in the race, Trevor Huddleston (High Point Racing) made a good point day by finishing ahead of his main rivals for the championship. He now has 299 points, 14 more than Tanner Reif (Central Coast Racing), who finished ninth in the race, and 15 more than Kyle Keller (Jan’s Racing Team), who finished eighth on Friday.
It’s time to take a closer look at how the Sonoma race unfolded.
ARCA West Practice/Qualifying
As mentioned above, William Sawalich was the fastest driver in practice, being the only driver to go under the 78-second mark with a lap time of 77.505 seconds. He finished ahead of Corey Day (Spire Motorsports), Alon Day, and Jack Wood. Jonathan Reaume (Strike Mamba Racing) didn’t do a lap, as his team finished preparing their new car in the pit lane. Nick Joanides (Performance P-1 Motorsports) encountered gearshift issues. Rookie Kaylee Bryson (Cook Racing Technologies) also had technical problem with a motor sensor issue. Finally, among the highlights of this practice, Spencer Gallagher’s (Clark Racing) accident who destroyed the left side of his No. 23 Chevrolet.
In the qualifying session, Sawalich took pole position with a lap time of 77.507 seconds, finishing 1 thousandths of a second ahead of Alon Day. The second row was occupied by Corey Day and Tyler Reif (Sigma Performance Services). Bill McAnally Racing drivers Christian Eckes and Jack Wood shared the third row. Reaume made his first laps and was logically last. It’s worth noting that two drivers didn’t take part in the session: Joanides, whose team hadn’t resolved the aforementioned issues in time, and Gallagher, whose team was configuring the backup car loaned by Sigma Performance Services. It’s worth noting that last year, Joe Farrè (SPS) and T.J. Clark were partners. There was a great sense of solidarity between them.
GREEN!!!
Sawalich gave no one a chance to challenge him for first place as the green flag waved. Behind him, Tyler Reif made an excellent start and moved from fourth to second place in the first two turns. Joanides did not start the race, his car having stopped in his pit box. Eric Johnson, Jr. (Jerry Pitts Racing) experienced transmission issues and rejoined the pit lane before the first lap of the race. He would restart well behind the pack.
On lap four, Todd Souza (Central Coast Racing) rejoined the pit lane with suspension issues. Johnson, Jr. stopped briefly due to a broken left rear axle coming out of the hairpin but managed to restart, only to stop in his pit box the following lap. He would return to the track five laps down.
By lap 10, the top 10 was as follows, with Sawalich leading ahead of Tyler Reif, Alon Day, Corey Day, Christian Eckes, Jack Wood, Trevor Huddleston, Will Rodgers (Naake Motorsports), Kyle Keller, and Eric Nascimento, Jr. (Nascimento-Joiner Motorsports). Kaylee Bryson, then 19th, reported that her engine was losing power but continued her race.
By lap 14, Sawalich was still leading, while Joanides finally took to the track. But he soon complained of the same broken shift linkage issue.
The first yellow flag was waved during the 17th lap when Will Rodgers went off the track on the climb to Turn 2, got a rock that broke the dry sump pump belt. The motor of his No. 88 Ford smoked, forcing the 2018 Sonoma race winner to stop in Turn 7A avoiding further engine damage. Rodd Kneeland, 17th, received the free pass. Joanides was again stopped in his pit box after slowing down for two laps. He wasn’t the only one stopped in his pit box, as Reaume was also there.
At the restart, Sawalich maintained the lead, while Corey Day took second place from Tyler Reif, who went wide in Turn 4. Christian Eckes tried to take advantage of the opening but spun while trying to pass Tyler Reif entering Turn 7A without triggering a yellow flag. Alon Day and Jack Wood also took advantage of the opportunity to pass Tyler Reif, who had to swerve to avoid the spinning car of Eckes. Joanides returned to the track on lap 23 but would eventually retire shortly after.
Quarterley in the wall!
On lap 26, Alon Day passed Corey Day for second place. One lap later, Dale Quarterley spun in turn 4 and hit the inside wall. The left front of his car was badly damaged, but he managed to reach the pit lane without causing a caution. However, he had to retire.
The next yellow flag came on lap 33 and marked the midway break. Kneeland received the free pass for the second time. Note that Bryson was again experiencing engine power losses.
The complete standings at the halfway point are as follows. Sawalich leads ahead of Alon Day, Corey Day, Wood, Nascimento, Huddleston, Keller, Caleb Shrader (Jerry Pitts Racing), Robbie Kennealy (Jan’s Racing Team), Tanner Reif, Eckes, Jeff Anton (Quarterley Racing), Ryan Philpott (Philpott Racing), Rodd Kneeland, Souza (-1), Bryson (-1), Davey Magras (Davey Magras Racing at -2 laps), Blake Lothian (Strike Manba Racing at -3 laps), Reaume (-3), David Smith (Shockwave Racing at -5 laps), Johnson, Jr. (-5), Gallagher (-5), Quarterley (out), Rodgers (out) and Joanides (-24).
The restart was given on lap 38, with Sawalich leading the way. This would be the quietest part of the race, aside from a few positional changes within the pack. But on lap 51, Johnson Jr. attempted to make an inside pass on Kneeland in turn 12, and the two drivers collided. While Johnson Jr. fared well, Kneeland spun off, hitting the outside wall hard and being hit at full speed by Kennealy, who had nowhere to go. The impact was very violent, and both cars were destroyed. The red flag was waved on lap 52 and lasted 13 minutes while the track was cleared of debris and the wall repaired. There was no free pass, as Kneeland was involved in the accident.
The restart was given on lap 55, and the top 10 was as follows. Sawalich led ahead of Alon Day, Corey Day, Wood, Eckes, Keller, Tyler Reif, Huddleston, Shrader, and Nascimento, Jr. Jack Wood pulled off a successful move, quickly passing both Days to move into second place. However, Israeli Alon Day managed to retake second place on lap 58. The following lap, Eckes overtook his teammate Wood for third place.
On the 61st and penultimate lap, Keller, well established in the top ten, ran out of fuel. Despite shaking his car, he stopped just after the starting line, triggering another yellow flag, the fourth. Bryson received the free pass and came back to within one lap of the leaders.
OVERTIME!
We’re treated to overtime. The race restarts on lap 65 for a one-lap dash. Sawalich is pushed off the track entering turn 2 by Alon Day, who also goes into the dirt. Sawalich gets back onto the track but lost momentum. Behind, Alon Day also gets back on the track and hits Eckes, who in turn hits Wood.
Eckes is the new leader ahead of Alon Day, Wood, and Sawalich. But in turn 3, Sawalich pushes Wood into a spin. Wood finishes the race in 13th place. In turn 7A, Huddleston takes the fourth position from Corey Day for fourth place. The championship leader has his best career race at Sonoma.
In the esses, Eckes and Alon Day are in the middle of a battle, which benefits Sawalich, who closes in on them. Arriving at turn 11 (hairpin), Sawalich took advantage of Alon Day’s opening of the inside lane to get into the rear bumper of leader Christian Eckes and give him a “love tape,” enough to slightly destabilize the Bill McAnally Racing driver, who widened his line and was hit by Alon Day. Upon re-accelerating, Sawalich was side-by-side with Eckes in turn 12. Sawalich, despite a brush with the outside wall, took advantage of his faster speed to take the checkered flag first, 0.66 thousandths ahead of Eckes and 1.56 ahead of Alan Day!
The rest of the top 10 was completed by Huddleston, Tyler Reif, Nascimento, Jr., Corey Day, Keller, Tanner Reif, and Anton.
“Yeah, I don’t really know what happened in [turn] 1. I don’t know if I overshot it or pretty sure I got ran into. Yeah, think so. But I mean it is what it is. It was a good race, good racing the No. 25 [Alon Day] and everybody else. That was definitely our race, but it sucks it had to happen that way. We did what we could to get our Starkey Camry in Victory Lane, so I’m glad that we’re here. It took me a while to figure out how to do a burnout.” Sawalich said on Victory Lane.
This is William Sawalich’s fourth West Series victory, his second on a road track after last year’s victory in Portland. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver will next race there on August 29th.
Meanwhile, the West Series will return to action on August 9th for the NAPA Auto Parts 150, which will take place on the half-mile tri-oval at Tri-City Raceway in W. Richland, WA. This race will mark the start of the second half of the series.
