On a sweltering Saturday evening in Southern Indiana, William Sawalich emerged victorious at the ARCA Salem 200, held at the historic Salem Speedway, prevailing amidst turmoil.
“We had an excellent race. The Starkey SoundGear Toyota Camry was incredibly fast and made things easy for me. I am truly grateful to the team,” the Eden Prairie, Minnesota native remarked after the race. “This win gives us great momentum as we head into next week’s home event in Elko. It feels really special to achieve this victory here after facing some challenges last year. We’re building good momentum and plan to keep it going.”
For the third consecutive year, the victor of the #ARCA Menards Series event at @Salem_Speedway led from start to finish.
In 2024, that distinction goes to @WilliamSawalich, representing @JoeGibbsRacing. Hear insights from the winner of the #SalemARCA200:
?: @benbranscum pic.twitter.com/emLV4n52s7
— TobyChristie.com (@TobyChristieCom) July 28, 2024
The ARCA Menards Series points leader Andres Perez secured second place with his Rev Racing teammate Lavar Scott finishing third. Hometown hero Will Kimmel took fourth place while Christian Rose finally broke through for a fifth-place finish.
Sawalich showcased his dominance by leading all 200 laps on his way to victory; however, he faced some challenges along the way. The race saw multiple wrecks occur throughout its duration, including damage incurred by all five Venturini Motorsports cars.
This marks VMS’s first absence from having a car finish in the top eight since their performance at Pocono in 2018.
The day ended early for Amber Balcaen due to contact on lap one. A subsequent pileup in turn two also involved Jake Finch and several others suffered damage as well including Toni Breidinger. This incident prematurely ended Ed Pompa’s race as well.
Latter on during the race, Breidinger encountered issues with a spin resulting in a collision with rookie Corey Day who was making his debut in turn three—which cut her night short too. A harsh crash off of a final restart also concluded Gus Dean’s participation.
Kris Wright managed to navigate through these troubles and finished tenth overall.
Eager racers seized opportunities while others faltered; Cody Dennison and Ryan Roulette from Fast Track Racing claimed seventh and eighth places respectively while Brayton Laster rounded off a decent run bringing No. 06 home ninth.
A red flag during this event came out specifically for veteran driver Dale Shearer who was subsequently transported for evaluation at a local hospital; however no updates regarding Sherer’s condition were provided by press time.
The next stop brings ARCA Menards Series competitors up north where they’ll take on Elko Speedway during Shore Lunch 250 scheduled for Saturday night at 9:00 pm ET!
