‘Try to go win every race’: William Sawalich and Luke Fenhaus are taking the East Series title fight the distance

William Sawalich and Luke Fenhaus have matched each other in nearly every category through six ARCA Menards Series East events in 2023.

The two young drivers have completed all 1,038 possible laps on the season. They have the same number of victories with two apiece and have recorded identical average finishes of 2.3. Despite this, Sawalich holds a nine-point advantage over Fenhaus heading into Sunday’s Sprecher 150 at the Milwaukee Mile, a combination event with the ARCA Menards Series (national).

Sawalich intends to maintain that consistency through the final two East Series races, Saturday at the Milwaukee Mile and Sept. 14 at Bristol Motor Speedway. He also has plenty of confidence in the ability of the entire Joe Gibbs Racing team to withstand Fenhaus’ pressure and emerge as champions once again.

“Whenever we show up to the race track, we’re always trying to get the best finish possible,” Sawalich said. “Whether that involves winning or just finishing second, I want to do the best I can every time I show up. I know the crew is going to do everything they can to prepare a great car.”

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With Sammy Smith having claimed the last two East Series titles in the JGR No. 18, Sawalich knew the expectations placed upon him when he took over the iconic ride.

Aside from some occasional missteps stemming from inexperience, everything has proceeded the way Sawalich envisioned at the start of the year. He led wire-to-wire in his series debut at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida before adding his second victory at Flat Rock Speedway in Carleton, Michigan.

The 607 total laps Sawalich has led is more than triple the amount of the next driver in that category. Being so efficient is why Sawalich shoulders responsibility for two key races that got away from him earlier this year.

Late-race cautions at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway and Iowa Speedway provided Fenhaus an opportunity to overtake Sawalich on overtime attempts. Fenhaus took advantage of poor launches from Sawalich to steal both victories, leading a combined four laps between the two events.

Racing against Fenhaus in Pro Late Model competition last year gave Sawalich an idea of his strengths as a driver, yet he feels the East Series title would be more in his control if he had capitalized on the missed opportunities at Nashville and Iowa.

“[Luke] is a clean racer, and I respect that,” Sawalich said. “We’ve definitely had some shootouts, but I feel like I need to improve my launches on those restarts and getting a better run into the corner. Our long-run speed is always good, but if there’s no late-race restart, then we’re fine.”

Like Sawalich, Fenhaus came into his rookie East Series campaign with an accomplished resume, having won the prestigious Slinger Nationals in a Super Late Model back in 2021.

The heavier ARCA cars provided Fenhaus a learning curve when it came to balancing out aggression and maintaining control. He would only have a short amount of time to find his stride while racing Sawalich for a title, especially with his team Pinnacle Racing Group being new to the series in 2023.

Fenhaus said the leadership prevalent at Pinnacle Racing Group has been crucial toward them being so competitive in their first year together. He added everyone within the team shares a close bond, which makes all the time they share more fun and productive.

“I had no experience with this stuff up until this year,” Fenhaus said. “Shane Huffman and [everyone at Pinnacle Racing Group] have made me super comfortable and helped me grow relationships so we can be top notch when we go to the track. It’s cool when you get to spend time with these guys, and that’s what makes a great race team.”

That cohesion was on full display for Pinnacle Racing Group’s best race of 2023 with Fenhaus at Lucas Oil Raceway Indianapolis Raceway Park.

After starting at the rear of the field due to a post-qualifying penalty, Fenhaus gradually worked his way to the front before assuming control of the lead. Fenhaus ended up leading a season-best 24 laps but finished second to Jesse Love following a bad late-race restart.

Although he is frustrated by the near-miss at IRP, Fenhaus is confident the speed in his No. 28 will help close out the year strong. Winning races is at the forefront of Fenhaus’ mindset. He said accomplishing that goal is the key to beating Sawalich in the last two events.

“I get asked a lot about the championship, but I leave it out of my mind,” Fenhaus said. “I try to go win every race possible and obviously left one short at Indianapolis. That was a tough one to lose, because we had so much speed, but you go into Milwaukee with a fresh reset and win that one.

“If you win the last two out, what more can you ask for?”

Sawalich finishing two positions behind Fenhaus at IRP only served to tighten up the narrow gap between them in the standings. For Sawalich, that development only puts more emphasis on wins moving forward.

Sawalich is optimistic about his chances in Sunday’s Sprecher 150 with the No. 18 having won the last two ARCA events at the Milwaukee Mile with Ty Gibbs and Smith, respectively. Despite this, the presence of ARCA Menards Series regulars like points leader Jesse Love will make a victory far from a guaranteed outcome.

Regardless of whether he crosses the finish line first, Sawalich stressed that finishing in front of Fenhaus is imperative for him to keep the streak of East Series titles alive another year for the No. 18.

“If I can win the race, that would be great,” Sawalich said. “If not, then I need to put as much ground between me and [Fenhaus] as possible. I know that [Milwaukee is] going to be a home race for him, so he’ll be strong there. We’ll just need to set ourselves up for a win.”