William Sawalich claims first NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series win at Rockingham

William Sawalich won the North Carolina Education Lottery 250 at Rockingham Speedway on Sunday, securing his first win in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. He controlled the final third of the race.

Sawalich laid down a blazing fast lap, good enough for fastest on the track. And he owned the final stage of the race, taking control and never looking back after Brent Crews ran into tire issues running up front.

“It means everything, it’s obviously a tough year last year and a tough start to the year this year,” William Sawalich said after the race. “I mean these boys mean everything to me. They were here with me through everything, and my family. Gosh, it feels good to get it done here in Rockingham in front of an awesome crowd. Thank you everybody for coming out.”

The win came less than two years after William Sawalich made his NOAPS debut at Homestead late in 2024. Last year, Sawalich secured back-to-back runner-up finishes at Portland and Madison. But it was his 42nd start that delivered the win.

And he had to hold off a hard-charging Brandon Jones and Justin Allgaier to secure the win. Both of those drivers are obviously no strangers to success. That’s where the homework William Sawalich did paid dividends.

“Well funny enough lap traffic took me out last year, so it was kind of running through my head a little bit,” he said. “But man, I just studied the race last year and just calmed down and everything was fine.”

Cleetus McFarland finishes P32 in debut

While William Sawalich was excellent, it was an up-and-down day for Cleetus McFarland in his NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series debut at Rockingham. He battled at various points, but a handful of key mistakes proved costly.

Racing around 30th early in Stage 3, McFarland was tagged by NASCAR for a speeding penalty. That sent him to the back of the pack with most of the third stage still to go.

Then, a handful of laps later, McFarland spun himself around while working through a turn. He lost control of the car but managed to stabilize it without hitting any other drivers. Still, it brought out a caution flag.

In the end, there weren’t a whole lot of real positives for McFarland on the afternoon. However, he did finish, albeit six laps down, securing a 32nd-place showing in his NOAPS debut.