Nick Sanchez conquered the Focused Health 250 early Saturday morning, overcoming chaos, cautions, and weather delays to earn his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory at EchoPark Speedway.
The 24-year-old rookie wheeled his No. 48 Big Machine Racing Chevrolet through a race that was stalled both by cautions and inclement weather, ultimately holding off Carson Kvapil and Sam Mayer in a spirited spring to the checkered flag. Kvapil and Mayer finished 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
“I’m gonna be honest, this is all just a reminder of my 2023 debut in a truck,” said Sanchez. “I spun and I finished second; this year, I spun and I won, so that’s awesome.”
Starting 11th, Sanchez methodically worked his way through the field amidst a race filled with attrition. Several of Sanchez’s competitors fell out of contention in incidents that caused nine cautions and constant shuffling of the running order.
Sanchez’s night was not without incident though. A spin on Lap 96 shuffled his No. 48 Chevrolet back in the field. While he wasn’t in the top mix through the opening two stages, the penultimate caution with 25 laps remaining set the stage for Sanchez’s late-race charge.
He lined up on the front row for the restart and powered into the lead with 17 to go. Jesse Love and Sanchez swapped the top spot over the next several laps, racing side-by-side in a thrilling duel. Just as it looked like Love might seize control of the race, a Lap 153 caution bunched the field once more and set up a 10-lap dash to the finish.
On the restart, Sanchez held the outside lane with Love to his inside and Kvapil and Zilisch looming behind. Love briefly cleared the field for the lead, but Sanchez responded immediately, retaking the lead as the final laps wound down.
With four laps to go, the field closed in once more. Aric Almirola made one last charge to the inside, but Sanchez defended the move and began to stretch his advantage. On the final lap, he pulled away just enough to survive a final charge from Kvapil, crossing the finish line 0.139 seconds ahead to capture his first Xfinity win and lock himself into the postseason.
“A weight is lifted off my shoulder, and now we can just go chase checkered flags,” said Sanchez. “I think we just have super strong cars here at Big Machine Racing that do a great job at the race track and I feel like when we come here, it’s not me - I just got it done tonight, and I’m happy to drive fast cars here.”
Sanchez’s win marks Big Machine Racing’s second Xfinity Series victory as a team, following Tyler Reddick’s part-time tenure with the organization in 2022.
Kvapil (No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet), Mayer (No. 41 Haas Factory Team Ford), Zilisch (No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet) and Gray (No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) all rounded out the top five. Zilisch’s top-five finish is his sixth straight in the series.
For fans there’s still one more opportunity this weekend to enjoy intense side-by-side racing. Tickets are still available for Sunday’s Quaker State 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at www.EchoParkSpeedway.com.
