WWT Raceway was the site of the latest clash between NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series regulars Corey Day and William Sawalich.
They previously had run-ins at COTA, Daytona, and just last weekend at Darlington when Day sent Sawalich spinning.
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With just under 50 laps to go in the second round of the 2026 Chase, Day pushed up into Sawalich in the battle for fifth. Down the backstretch, Sawalich abruptly turned his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota across the track, slamming doors with Day, whose Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet then spun off the nose of Justin Allgaier.
Day slammed the inside wall in a race-ending impact for the Chase contender, finishing 33rd.
“Tell the f****** idiot that I wasn’t the one into him, the 7 [Allgaier] is the one who was pushing me into him.” On Allgaier’s own radio, he was talking about being shoved forward by Taylor Gray.
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Later outside the infield care center, Day told Motorsport.com’s Matt Weaver: “I got down in there beside him. I went to go pull to the bottom, but the 7 [Allgaier] had me pushed up into him. I couldn’t really do anything. I had nowhere to go. I don’t know. I don’t really want to talk about it much, he took care of himself.”
When asked if NASCAR should take action and penalize Sawalich, Day remained tight-lipped. “I don’t know, I’m not gonna speculate.”
A replay of the incident showed that Day initially slid up into Sawalich’s door on his own, but then hit him again after contact from behind.
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During the media scrum, he was asked by another outlet about when he spun Sawalich at Darlington and if he got the message. “Apparently not. I don’t have anything good to say so I probably shouldn’t say anything at all,” said Day.
As for his championship outlook, Day is now 69 points out of the championship lead with seven races to go in the 2026 season.
“It’s really tough,” said Day about his title hopes. “It’s going to take us winning maybe three times now to have a shot at this over the next seven races. Just really unfortunate it ended the way it did. I feel like we had a top five car like I said, and had another really good points day going. Just sucks.”
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Allgaier wasn’t thrilled either, as he finished 13th after needing repairs to his right-front fender, thus losing the championship lead to Sheldon Creed by three points.
As for Sawalich’s side of the story, we didn’t really get to know it as he declined any opportunity to discuss it, saying very little beyond how his race went and his outlook for Bristol, despite direct questions about the incident from TV. He said nothing to the greater press pool as they followed him down pit road.
NASCAR takes a very dim view on intentional wrecking, but penalties are normally limited to right-hooks and moments when the drivers voice their intention. Sawalich is not part of the Chase, so he also doesn’t have much to lose in the championship being being the best of the rest in 13th.
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One aspect of this that may help Sawalich is the fact that Day only wrecked so heavily because Allgaier’s nose was right there, and spun to the inside because of that contact and not directly because of the initial door slam.
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