William Sawalich set a new track qualifying record to win the General Tire Pole Award for Sunday’s Sprecher 150 ARCA Menards Series race at The Milwaukee Mile. Sawalich, driving the No. 18 Starkey SoundGear Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, turned a fast lap of 29.069 seconds, which translates to an average speed of 125.701 miles per hour around the flat one-mile oval.
Sawalich bested Ty Gibbs previous track record, set in 2021, of 29.354 seconds/122.641 miles per hour.
Current ARCA Menards Series championship points leader Jesse Love timed in second, nearly a quarter of a second behind Sawalich’s quick lap. Love, an eight-time winner so far in 2023, turned a lap at 29.316 seconds/124.642 miles per hour.
Grant Enfinger qualified third, followed by Conner Jones, and Sean Hingorani. Sawalich, Enfinger, Jones, and Hingorani will all also race in Sunday’s Clean Harbors 175 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race, scheduled to start immediately after the conclusion of the Sprecher 150.
The Sprecher 150 is also part of the ARCA Menards Series East schedule, and will pay full points to both series championships. Sawalich currently leads the ARCA Menards Series East championship by nine points over Luke Fenhaus, who will start seventh.
The Sprecher 150 will start shortly after noon on Sunday. Tickets are available at the Wisconsin State Fair Park box office and online at TheMilwaukeeMile.com. The race will be televised live on FS1 starting at 1 pm ET/12 noon CT and will be carried on select affiliates of the MRN Radio Network nationwide.
ARCA Racing PR