William Sawalich left Darlington Raceway frustrated Saturday night after contact with Corey Day ended his NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race early. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver suffered damage to his No. 18 Toyota and finished 30th after the lap-68 clash sent him into the outside wall.
Sawalich spoke with Frontstretch reporter Michael Massie after the NASCAR race and explained what happened. The 18-year-old said he believed Day pushed him toward the wall before making contact with the rear of his Toyota.
The incident came after the two drivers had already raced aggressively earlier in the event. Day later gave his explanation, but Sawalich said he disagreed.
Sawalich Blames Day for Darlington Crash
Sawalich said Day ran him toward the wall before making contact with his rear bumper.
“He ran me up basically almost into the wall,” Sawalich told Massie. “I kind of checked him so he wouldn’t hit me into the wall and then got clear of him, what I thought, off of two, and then he just kind of didn’t lift through my back bumper and had me turning right, and that’s kind of why I went right towards the wall to his bumper.”
The NASCAR Darlington incident ended Sawalich’s night against the outside wall and left him 41 laps down at the finish. Sawalich said the result was especially frustrating because his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota had shown strong speed.
“Just hate it for our 18 guys. They had a really fast car,” Sawalich said. “We were faster than basically everybody but the double zero, I think. We were able to pass everybody but him, so they brought a really good car. I hate that it got that damage, and we had that incident.”
Sawalich Rejects Day’s Explanation
The Corey Day explanation did not convince Sawalich after the NASCAR race. Day claimed Sawalich had also pushed him toward the wall earlier in the event.
“Yeah, I don’t know. His argument just didn’t really make sense, but we’ll see,” Sawalich said.
Sawalich acknowledged Day’s claim but said he was unsure about what had happened earlier.
“Yeah, he said I ran him up the wall earlier in the race too,” Sawalich said. “I don’t really know, so it sucks.”
After the NASCAR Darlington race, Sawalich approached Day on pit road. The two drivers spoke for nearly two minutes about the incident. Sawalich said their previous run-ins had also created tension between them.
“We’ve had a lot of run-ins through the season, and he blamed them all on me, so I don’t really know.”
Sawalich Focuses on NASCAR Season
While Day recovered from the Darlington crash to finish second behind Sheldon Creed, Sawalich finished 30th and lost valuable track position. Day remained involved in the championship battle as the opening round of the inaugural O’Reilly Chase continued.
Sawalich said he would not let the latest NASCAR incident change his approach for the rest of 2026. Instead, he plans to focus on the Joe Gibbs Racing program and prepare for next season.
“Well, we’re just going to focus on our program and build for next year,” Sawalich said. “We have good speed everywhere. We’re just going to go try and chance some trophies.”
For Sawalich, the NASCAR Darlington result ended a race in which he believed his Toyota had the speed to compete near the front. The contact with Day instead left his car damaged and his race over.
NASCAR Driver Says Corey Day’s Explanation ‘Didn’t Really Make Sense’ After Darlington Clash