Shocking the Truck Series garage in his first start. Nick Sanchez earned his first career pole position at Daytona, but who is this Truck Series rookie?
Nick Sanchez was born June 10th, 2001 in Miami, Florida. He currently competes for REV Racing in the Craftsman Truck Series driving the #2 Truck. He is competing with four other rookies to earn ROTY honors this season in the NASCAR Truck Series. But who is he and what has he accomplished in his career?
Karting Days
When Nick Sanchez was five years old, he attended his first Cup Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He, like many, caught the racing bug. In love with racing, he would begin his racing career in karts at twelve, racing all over South Florida. Nick would compete in the ROK Cup and the Florida Winter Tour, major US karting tours, and practicing at the same place he caught the racing bug, Homestead-Miami.
Stock Car Start
In 2017, he got a call from REV Racing to join their team. Sanchez was selected to drive in the then Whelen All-American Tour (now the Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series) and the K&N Pro Series East (now ARCA East) for the 2019 season. In the All-American Tour, he won races at South Boston and Myrtle Beach. In K&N, he ran three races, earning the pole at South Boston and finishing eighth there and in New Hampshire. He was also awarded the Wendell Scott Trailblazer award this year.
In 2020, he would compete full-time in the ARCA East championship. During the six races he ran that season, he had an average start of 8.5 and finish of 9.17 and earned four top tens and two top fives. These results earned him 3rd place in the points at the season’s end.
ARCA Champion
In 2021, Sanchez would move up to the ARCA Menards Series, running 18 of the 20 races on the schedule. This would be his breakout season, scoring his first career win at Kansas, along with 9 top fives during 18 races. This consistency would net him third in the championship points at the end of the year. For 2022, he would return with the same performance and set the field ablaze.
Unreal……Winners at @kansasspeedway !!!!
Thank you to @Max_Siegel and @NASCARDiversity for their continued support and everything they do. Ecstatic to get everyone on @RevRacin this result, they deserve it! And of course thank you to my family for all they do.
Let’s go!!! pic.twitter.com/LL8wr7wCZ8— Nicholas Sanchez (@Nicksanchez080) October 24, 2021
In 2022, Sanchez would score wins at Talladega, Kansas, and Michigan. Outside of Daytona, he never finished worse than 12th, earning another 9 top fives, and 16 top tens, throughout 20 races. With an average start of 6.20 and a finish of 6.25, he completed 99.5% of the laps that season. This stellar performance earned him the title of 2022 ARCA Champion.
Xfinity Starts
In addition to running ARCA in 2022, He would make eight starts in the Xfinity Series, driving for both B.J. McLeod Motorsports and Big Machine Racing. Starting with Daytona and Charlotte, He would jump ship to Big Machine Racing for the final six races of the season. Martinsville in the fall would be his breakout race, driving from 24th to finish 7th, and he would bring that momentum into the final race at Phoenix. Qualifying the #48 Chevy in the third position and bringing it home 12th. Great results for his first races in an Xfinity car.
Ran top-5 the first half of the race. Lost the handling a bit as the track rubbered up. Finished P12 at the end. It’s been a pleasure to work with everyone at @bigmchnracing this year👍👊. pic.twitter.com/F8DlCfveBK
— Nicholas Sanchez (@Nicksanchez080) November 6, 2022
What should we expect this season?
Nick Sanchez is an up-and-coming talent. His results and championship in ARCA, show his unbelievable consistency. He is a well-rounded racer, winning at superspeedways and short tracks. The ability to drive from the back of the field to the top ten at Martinsville, in his first trip in an Xfinity Car, is very impressive. While REV Racing is new to the Truck Series, they have a technical alliance with Kyle Busch Motorsports so I expect them to bring race-winning trucks every week. Nick has the talent, I see him running well and being in contention to win frequently, and possibly a playoff run.
