Nicholas Anthony Sanchez (born June 10, 2001) is an American professionalstock car racing driver. He competes full-time in theNASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, driving the No. 48Chevrolet Camaro SS forBig Machine Racing. He is the2022 ARCA Menards Series champion.
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Sanchez began racing at the age of twelve in go-karts at his home track ofHomestead–Miami Speedway.[1]
Sanchez tried out for NASCAR'sDrive for Diversity program and was accepted into it, and as a result, was given a ride withRev Racing in theNASCAR Whelen All-American Series as well as the then-NASCAR K&N Pro Series East in2019. He made his debut in both races of the doubleheader atSouth Boston Speedway[2] and then made another start later in the year atNew Hampshire. In only his second start in the series, Sanchez would win the pole for the second South Boston race.
Sanchez was also the recipient of theWendell Scott Trailblazer Award in 2019.[3]
WhenARCA and NASCAR merged, the East Series and theARCA Menards Series were brought together and rebranded in 2020, and Sanchez continued to compete for Rev Racing in the renamed ARCA Menards Series East. Sanchez became a full-time driver for the team in2020, replacingRubén García Jr. in the team's No. 6 car.
In 2021, Sanchez moved from the East Series to the main ARCA Menards Series, competing full-time in Rev's No. 2 car. (It was initially going to be the No. 6.)[4] The team also switched fromToyota toChevrolet that year. Sanchez got his first career ARCA win atKansas in the season finale, whileTy Gibbs won the championship for that season.
On October 19, 2021, it was announced that Sanchez would be driving part-time in theNASCAR Xfinity Series forB. J. McLeod Motorsports while continuing to drive full-time for Rev Racing in the main ARCA Menards Series.[5] He would first pilot the No. 5Chevrolet atPhoenix Raceway, and atCharlotte Motor Speedway in the No. 99. He would later depart the team afterward to drive a partial schedule the No. 48 forBig Machine Racing starting atBristol Motor Speedway. Sanchez would win three ARCA races (Talladega, Kansas, & Michigan) and the championship in 2022 by fourteen points overDaniel Dye.[6]
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On November 4, 2022, Rev Racing announced its expansion into theNASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, fielding the No. 2 Chevrolet for Sanchez in2023.[7][8] His consistency made him the only rookie to make the playoffs in 2023. In addition, he won theNASCAR Rookie of the Year honors in the Truck Series. Following theTalladega fall race, Sanchez got into a fight withMatt Crafton in the garage area as a result of an on-track incident when both of their trucks made contact with each other, triggering amulti-truck pileup. Sanchez, with blood running down his face, yelled "I'm going to fucking kill you at Homestead. You fucked with the wrong guy motherfucker. It's on now."[9] NASCAR fined Sanchez $5,000 and Crafton $25,000 for the fight. In addition, Sanchez's father Rene was suspended for two races for his involvement.[10] Sanchez was eliminated at the conclusion of the Round of 8 atHomestead.[11]
Following the purchase of Rev Racing’s technical partnerKyle Busch Motorsports bySpire Motorsports, it was announced that Sanchez would continue racing the No. 2 Silverado for Rev Racing for the 2024 season.[12]
Sanchez began the2024 season with his first career win atDaytona.[13] Three months later, he scored his second win atCharlotte.[14]
In mid-September of that year, it was announced that Sanchez would return to the Xfinity Series andBig Machine Racing to drive their No. 48 car full-time, beginning for the following2025 season.[15] He started the season with a 35th-place DNF atDaytona. After staying consistent throughout the season, he earned his first career victory atAtlanta.[16]
Sanchez's father immigrated to the United States from Cuba on theMariel boatlift when he was eight years old.[1]
When Sanchez began competing in NASCAR, he moved from Miami toCornelius, North Carolina, which is located in theCharlotte metropolitan area where the majority of NASCAR teams are based.[17]
(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time.Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
| NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | NOAPSC | Pts | Ref |
| 2022 | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | 5 | Chevy | DAY | CAL | LVS | PHO 26 | ATL | COA | RCH | MAR | TAL | DOV | DAR | TEX | 35th | 156 | [18] | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 99 | CLT 28 | PIR | NSH | ROA | ATL | NHA | POC | IRC | MCH | GLN | DAY | DAR | KAN | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Big Machine Racing | 48 | Chevy | BRI 29 | TEX 11 | TAL | ROV | LVS 12 | HOM 25 | MAR 7 | PHO 12 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2025 | Big Machine Racing | 48 | Chevy | DAY 35 | ATL 5 | COA 24 | PHO 10 | LVS 20 | HOM 8 | MAR 32 | DAR 8 | BRI 16 | CAR 31 | TAL 15 | TEX 20 | CLT 3 | NSH 14 | MXC 31 | POC 28 | ATL 1 | CSC 5 | SON 4 | DOV 37 | IND 33 | IOW 19 | GLN 24 | DAY 23 | PIR 3 | GTW 25 | BRI 13 | KAN 8 | ROV 9 | LVS 5 | TAL 20 | MAR 19 | PHO 15 | 11th | 2198 | [19] |
| 2026 | DAY | ATL | COA | PHO | LVS | DAR | MAR | CAR | BRI | KAN | TAL | TEX | GLN | DOV | CLT | NSH | POC | COR | SON | CHI | ATL | IND | IOW | DAY | DAR | GTW | BRI | LVS | ROV | PHO | TAL | MAR | HOM | ||||||
| NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | NCTC | Pts | Ref | |||||||||||||||
| 2023 | Rev Racing | 2 | Chevy | DAY 26 | LVS 30 | ATL 2 | COA 7 | TEX 16* | BRD 18 | MAR 11 | KAN 6 | DAR 11 | NWS 30 | CLT 9 | GTW 8 | NSH 3 | MOH 9 | POC 19 | RCH 8 | IRP 11 | MLW 24 | KAN 8* | BRI 9 | TAL 7* | HOM 17 | PHO 10 | 6th | 2258 | [20] | |||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | DAY 1* | ATL 5 | LVS 17 | BRI 17 | COA 18 | MAR 4 | TEX 3 | KAN 6 | DAR 2 | NWS 7 | CLT 1 | GTW 3 | NSH 13 | POC 13 | IRP 10 | RCH 30 | MLW 4 | BRI 5 | KAN 12 | TAL 22 | HOM 13 | MAR 5 | PHO 4 | 5th | 2280 | [21] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2025 | Spire Motorsports | 07 | Chevy | DAY | ATL | LVS | HOM | MAR | BRI | CAR | TEX 13 | KAN | NWS | CLT | NSH | MCH | POC | LRP | IRP | GLN | RCH | DAR | BRI | NHA | ROV | TAL | MAR | PHO | 93rd | 01 | [22] | |||||||||||||||
* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points
(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time.Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
| ARCA Menards Series results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | AMSC | Pts | Ref |
| 2020 | Rev Racing | 6 | Toyota | DAY | PHO 6 | TAL | POC | IRP | KEN | IOW | KAN | TOL | TOL | MCH | DRC | GTW 14 | L44 | TOL 10 | BRI 11 | WIN | MEM | ISF | KAN | 28th | 135 | [23] |
| 2021 | 2 | Chevy | DAY 31 | PHO 21 | TAL 3 | KAN 9 | TOL 3 | CLT 5 | MOH 5 | POC 4 | ELK 6 | BLN 6 | IOW 5 | WIN 14 | GLN 8 | MCH 3 | ISF | MLW 12 | DSF | BRI 4 | SLM 17 | KAN 1 | 3rd | 692 | [24] | |
| 2022 | DAY 20 | PHO 7 | TAL 1 | KAN 1 | CLT 8 | IOW 7 | BLN 6 | ELK 11 | MOH 11 | POC 2 | IRP 7 | MCH 1* | GLN 2 | ISF 5 | MLW 5 | DSF 5 | KAN 2 | BRI 12 | SLM 6 | TOL 6 | 1st | 970 | [25] | |||
| ARCA Menards Series East results | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | AMSEC | Pts | Ref |
| 2019 | Rev Racing | 2 | Toyota | NSM | BRI | SBO 14 | SBO 8 | MEM | NHA | IOW | GLN | BRI | GTW | NHA 8 | DOV | 21st | 103 | [26] |
| 2020 | 6 | NSM 4 | TOL 5 | DOV 16 | TOL 10 | BRI 11 | FIF 9 | 3rd | 309 | [27] | ||||||||
| 2021 | 2 | Chevy | NSM | FIF | NSV | DOV | SNM | IOW 5 | MLW 12 | BRI 4 | 13th | 161 | [28] | |||||
| 2022 | NSM | FIF | DOV | NSV | IOW 7 | MLW 5 | BRI 12 | 10th | 158 | [29] | ||||||||
| ARCA Menards Series West results | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | AMSWC | Pts | Ref |
| 2021 | Rev Racing | 2 | Chevy | PHO 21 | SON | IRW | CNS | IRW | PIR | LVS | AAS | PHO 4 | 29th | 63 | [30] | ||
| 2022 | PHO 7 | IRW | KCR | PIR | SON | IRW | EVG | PIR | AAS | LVS | PHO | 51st | 37 | [31] | |||
| Sporting positions | ||
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| Preceded by | ARCA Menards Series Champion 2022 | Succeeded by |
Headquarters:Concord,North Carolina | |||||
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