Joe Gibbs Racing rookie William Sawalich was involved in a crash during the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Talladega Superspeedway two weekends ago, and he was ultimately sidelined for this past weekend's race at Martinsville Speedway with concussion-like symptoms.
Justin Bonsignore, who was not scheduled to compete again in 2025 with Aric Almirola set to wrap up the year behind the wheel of the No. 19 "star car" Toyota, filled in for Sawalich behind the wheel of the No. 18 Toyota and finished in a career-high 10th place.
This weekend, Sawalich was initially expected to return to action to wrap up the season at Phoenix Raceway, where he placed 13th in his third career Xfinity Series start to wrap up the 2024 season and then 13th again back in the fourth race of his first full-time season back in March.
Justin Bonsignore back at Joe Gibbs Racing for Phoenix
But after Sawalich was listed as the driver of the No. 18 Toyota on this weekend's entry list, it has since been confirmed that Bonsignore is once again set to fill in. Bonsignore has never competed in a NASCAR national series race at Phoenix.
Sawalich, a winner at Phoenix in both ARCA Menards Series West and ARCA Menards Series competition, did not qualify for the playoffs this year, but he had made a marked improvement in performance from the start of the season up until his injury.
After recording only three top 12 finishes in the season's first 18 races, he reeled off 10 in 12 races before the crash, including back-to-back runner-up finishes at Portland International Raceway and World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, plus a third place finish at Sonoma Raceway.
Aside from DNFs, he hasn't actually finished a race outside of the top 15 since the June race at Pocono Raceway. Earlier in the year, he had gone seven straight races without placing higher than 24th. He finds himself 17th in the point standings. His 2026 plans have not yet been announced.
Almirola is once again set to drive the No. 19 Toyota at Phoenix as he attempts to win the No. 19 team an owner championship this weekend.
The 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race is set to be shown live on the CW Network from Phoenix Raceway beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET this Saturday, November 1. Begin a free trial of FuboTV today and don't miss any of the action from the desert!