By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service
HAMPTON, Ga. – Nick Sanchez charged to the front after a restart with seven laps left in Friday night’s Focused Health 250 and held off fellow Sunoco rookie Carson Kvapil to secure his first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory.
Sanchez, who rallied from a spin through the frontstretch grass at EchoPark Speedway on Lap 68, lost the top spot to Jesse Love on the final restart on Lap 157 of 163, but regained it 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.”
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.”
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 10 drivers involved in a massive wreck on the backstretch moments after a restart on Lap 41. Contact from Sanchez turned 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.”
Notes: Sanchez led 32 laps to Aric Almirola’s 48 and Creed’s 37… The nine cautions put the race under yellow for 58 laps… Mayer was the only non-rookie to finish in the top five… Love, Almirola, Daniel Dye, Kyle Sieg and Jeremy Clements finished sixth through 10th, respectively… Austin Hill, trying for his fourth straight win at EchoPark Speedway, lost six laps early with fuel pickup issues and finished 26th.
Interview:
NXS Race Winner Nick Sanchez (No. 48 Big Machine Racing Chevrolet) –
NASCAR Xfinity Series Race – Focused Health 250
EchoPark Speedway
Hampton, Georgia
Friday, June 27, 2025
1. (11) Nick Sanchez #, Chevrolet, 163.
2. (24) Carson Kvapil #, Chevrolet, 163.
3. (3) Sam Mayer, Ford, 163.
4. (6) Connor Zilisch #, Chevrolet, 163.
5. (7) Taylor Gray #, Toyota, 163.
6. (5) Jesse Love, Chevrolet, 163.
7. (10) Aric Almirola, Toyota, 163.
8. (22) Daniel Dye #, Chevrolet, 163.
9. (21) Kyle Sieg, Ford, 163.
10. (26) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 163.
11. (29) Dean Thompson #, Toyota, 163.
12. (19) Leland Honeyman, Chevrolet, 163.
13. (9) Harrison Burton, Ford, 163.
14. (4) Brandon Jones, Toyota, 163.
15. (33) Matt DiBenedetto, Chevrolet, 163.
16. (27) Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, 163.
17. (32) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 163.
18. (34) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 163.
19. (17) Christian Eckes #, Chevrolet, 163.
20. (37) Mason Massey, Chevrolet, 163.
21. (28) Ryan Ellis, Chevrolet, 163.
22. (15) Blaine Perkins, Chevrolet, 163.
23. (36) Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, 163.
24. (35) Nick Leitz, Chevrolet, 163.
25. (31) Kris Wright, Chevrolet, 163.
26. (2) Austin Hill, Chevrolet, 158.
27. (38) Mason Maggio, Ford, 153.
28. (8) CJ McLaughlin, Chevrolet, Accident, 138.
29. (25) Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet, Accident, 53.
30. (13) Ryan Sieg, Ford, DVP, 46.
31. (16) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, Accident, 42.
32. (1) Sheldon Creed, Ford, Accident, 41.
33. (14) Sammy Smith, Chevrolet, Accident, 40.
34. (23) Katherine Legge(i), Chevrolet, Accident, 40.
35. (20) Patrick Staropoli, Toyota, Accident, 40.
36. (12) William Sawalich #, Toyota, Accident, 4.
37. (18) Parker Retzlaff, Chevrolet, Accident, 3.
38. (30) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, Accident, 3.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 96.402 mph.
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 36 Mins, 14 Secs. Margin of Victory: .104 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 9 for 58 laps.
Lead Changes: 12 among 9 drivers.
Lap Leaders: S. Creed 1-37;S. Mayer 38-40;T. Gray # 41-50;C. Zilisch # 51-82;C. Kvapil # 83-85;B. Jones 86-90;T. Gray # 91-94;A. Almirola 95-142;N. Sanchez # 143-145;J. Love 146-147;N. Sanchez # 148-156;J. Love 157;N. Sanchez # 158-163.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Aric Almirola 1 time for 48 laps; Sheldon Creed 1 time for 37 laps; Connor Zilisch # 1 time for 32 laps; Nick Sanchez # 3 times for 18 laps; Taylor Gray # 2 times for 14 laps; Brandon Jones 1 time for 5 laps; Sam Mayer 1 time for 3 laps; Carson Kvapil # 1 time for 3 laps; Jesse Love 2 times for 3 laps.
Stage #1 Top Ten: 54,41,10,48,26,88,44,70,1,99
Stage #2 Top Ten: 20,1,2,99,44,26,48,28,31,71
