Rookie Nick Sanchez scores first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory at EchoPark Speedway on Friday night in the Focused Health 250.
HAMPTON, Ga. – Nick Sanchez charged to the front after a restart with seven laps left in Friday night’s Focused Health 250. He held off fellow Sunoco rookie Carson Kvapil to secure his first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory.
Rookie Nick Sanchez Victory
Sanchez rallied from a spin through the frontstretch grass on lap 68 at EchoPark Speedway. On the final restart, he lost the top spot to Jesse Love on lap 157 of 163. Sanchez regained the lead on the following circuit.
Sanchez spent the next five laps doing everything in his power to keep Kvapil behind him. The win earned the 24-year-old from Miami, Fla., a berth in the Xfinity Series Playoffs.
“It’s a weight lifted off my shoulders, that’s for sure,” Sanchez said after climbing from his car on the frontstretch. “Now we can go chase checkered flags.”
Sanchez led 32 laps to Aric Almirola’s 48 and Creed’s 37.
The Focused Health 250 Results
Kvapil was lined up in front of third-place finisher Sam Mayer, fourth-place Connor Zilisch, and fifth-place Taylor Gray as he chased Sanchez over the closing laps, trying to find a way around the race winner.
“To be that close really does sting,” said Kvapil, who started from the rear of the field after unapproved adjustments to his No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. “I couldn’t really generate a run there. I didn’t feel like we had enough cars nose-to-tail and organized.
“We were all kind of just too far away from each other. I tried backing up on the last lap… I probably could have made a move earlier. I just felt like, if we got side-by-side, we’d get swallowed up by somebody.”
For his part, Sanchez was fortunate his No. 48 Big Machine Racing Chevrolet sustained minimal damage on the slide through the grass, which caused the fourth of nine cautions.
“I’m still a little embarrassed about that,” Sanchez said. “It was certainly a rookie mistake, but we rebounded.”
Mayer was the only non-rookie to finish in the top five. Love, Almirola, Daniel Dye, Kyle Sieg, and Jeremy Clements finished sixth through tenth, respectively.
Austin Hill, trying for his fourth straight win at EchoPark Speedway, lost six laps early with fuel pickup issues and finished 26th.
Lightning Delay and Massive Wreck
It was after midnight when Sanchez took the checkered flag, thanks to some threatening weather near the 1.54-mile track. Lightning forced NASCAR to halt the race after 36 laps.
After a delay of one hour, 18 minutes, 55 seconds, the race resumed. Sheldon Creed, who led the first 37 laps from the pole, tried to flip the stage by pitting under caution after the resumption, but the strategy backfired.
Creed was one of ten drivers involved in a massive wreck on the backstretch moments after a restart on lap 41. Contact from Sanchez sent Jesse Love across traffic near the front of the field.
Love’s Chevrolet collided with Ryan Sieg’s Ford, turning it into the outside wall. A broken axle eliminated Sieg’s No. 39 RSS Racing Ford. Other victims included series leader Justin Allgaier, who exited the race in 31st place, Sammy Smith, Katherine Legge, Patrick Staropoli, Jeb Burton, and Christian Eckes.
Creed, credited with 32nd place, suffered his fifth DNF (did not finish) in the last nine races and sixth of the season.
“It was probably the best car I’ve had all year,” Creed said ruefully after leaving the infield care center. “Just really fast, could control lanes and felt really good up front. So we were just trying to keep ourselves up front by short-pitting there, and it didn’t work out.”
The nine cautions put the race under yellow for 58 laps.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series Point Standings
Justin Allgaier now has a 63-point advantage over second-place Sam Mayer. Austin Hill drops to third, followed by Jesse Love and Connor Zilisch for the top five.
Sammy Smith has dropped outside of the top 12, but with his one win, he displaces Ryan Sieg.
Up Next
NASCAR Xfinity Series teams now head to the Chicago Street Race for their next event on Saturday, July 5th. The Loop 110 starts at 4:30 pm ET on CW, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. The winner last year was Shane Van Gisbergen, who now races in the NASCAR Cup Series full-time.