William Sawalich wins NASCAR O'Reilly race at Rockingham in 2026

The NASCAR O'Reilly Series competed at Rockingham Speedway, and it was a thrilling event. Corey Day and the No. 17 team for Hendrick Motorsports swept the first two stages; however, poor pit stops took them out of contention. Instead, it was a Joe Gibbs Racing driver who earned their first career O'Reilly Series victory.

William Sawalich and the No. 18 team for Joe Gibbs Racing won the North Carolina Education Lottery 250 at Rockingham, earning their first victory of the 2026 O'Reilly Series season. Sawalich held off a hard-charging Brandon Jones after taking the lead on the final restarts.

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19-year-old @WilliamSawalich claims victory No 1 and becomes the youngest driver ever to win at Rockingham! pic.twitter.com/LLAo84IE90

— The CW Sports (@TheCW_Sports) April 4, 2026

Brent Crews was in control of the race, but a baffling two-tire pit stop and a flat tire took him out of contention for his first NASCAR victory. Instead, Sawalich was perfect in the Final Stage, leading to the first of many victories for the No. 18 team throughout the 2026 NASCAR season.

NASCAR results: O'Reilly Series race at Rockingham Speedway (April 2026)

1. No. 18 William Sawalich
2. No. 20 Brandon Jones
3. No. 7 Justin Allgaier
4. No. 88 Rajah Caruth
5. No. 1 Carson Kvapil
6. No. 00 Sheldon Creed
7. No. 54 Taylor Gray
8. No. 99 Parker Retzlaff
9. No. 39 Ryan Sieg
10. No. 17 Corey Day
11. No. 21 Austin Hill
12. No. 8 Sammy Smith
13. No. 24 Harrison Burton
14. No. 44 Brennan Poole
15. No. 45 Lavar Scott
16. No. 42 Nathan Byrd
17. No. 27 Jeb Burton
18. No. 91 Alex Labbe
19. No. 92 Josh Williams
20. No. 5 J.J. Yeley
21. No. 32 Andrew Patterson
22. No. 02 Ryan Ellis
23. No. 31 Blaine Perkins
24. No. 96 Anthony Alfredo
25. No. 51 Jeremy Clements
26. No. 19 Brent Crews
27. No. 2 Jesse Love
28. No. 26 Dean Thompson
29. No. 0 Garrett Smithleey
30. No. 55 Blake Lothian
31. No. 35 Joey Gase
32. No. 33 Cleetus McFarland
33. No. 87 Austin Green
34. No. 48 Patrick Staropoli
35. No. 74 Dawson Cram
36. No. 07 Josh Bilicki
37. No. 28 Kyle Sieg
38. No. 41 Sam Mayer

This article originally appeared on Motorsports Wire: William Sawalich wins NASCAR O'Reilly race at Rockingham in 2026

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