NASCAR Xfinity Series driver William Sawalich. Joe Puetz-Imagn Images

NASCAR driver to miss second consecutive race due to concussion symptoms

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated Oct 29, 2025 2:14 PM ET

A NASCAR Xfinity Series driver won't get to finish out his rookie season behind the wheel.

William Sawalich, a rookie driver for Joe Gibbs Racing, suffered concussion-like symptoms in a crash in the Oct. 18 race at Talladega Superspeedway that caused him to miss the Oct. 25 race at Martinsville Speedway. On Wednesday, Sawalich announced that he will also miss Saturday's Xfinity Series season finale at Phoenix Raceway.

Sawalich was originally listed on the race's entry list when it came out on Monday.

Justin Bonsignore will replace Sawalich for the second consecutive week. Bonsignore was originally scheduled to drive the No. 19 JGR Toyota at Phoenix, but that changed after Aric Almirola won the Oct. 11 race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and gave JGR a berth in the Owners Championship 4.

Looking Forward to having Justin in the car again! pic.twitter.com/KuxgyZXern
— William Sawalich (@WilliamSawalich) October 29, 2025

William Sawalich won't get to finish rookie year

Almirola will compete for the owners championship on Saturday for JGR, with Bonsignore driving Sawalich's No. 18.

Sawalich is 17th in the Xfinity Series standings through 32 of 33 races but could drop in the standings depending on the results of Saturday's race.

After struggling out of the gate, Sawalich and the No. 18 team put together a solid second half of the season. In 31 starts, Sawalich has three top five finishes, nine top 10s and one pole.

Bonsignore has made eight Xfinity Series starts this season, scoring one top 10 finish at Martinsville on Oct. 25.

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

More must-reads: