Coming Off of a Brawl and $5,000 Fine, NASCAR’s Young Star Takes the Pole at Homestead-Miami

The NASCAR Truck Series made the headlines a few weeks ago for all the wrong reasons. At the Talladega Superspeedway on September 30, a bloody brawl ensued between veteran Matt Crafton and 22-year-old Nick Sanchez. The incident drew a lot of criticism from the NASCAR community. Sanchez was attacked open by the veteran racer. Now, less than a month after the fight, the Rev Racing star has got his redemption.

Matt Crafton was subjected to the brunt of the criticism, as he was the seasoned driver in the exchange. Despite the ThorSport Racing driver taking to Twitter to tell people his side of the story, he got the worst of the consequences. Apart from thorough fan criticism, the 47-year-old was hit with a hefty $25,000 fine. Nick Sanchez, on the other hand, was only fined $5,000.

22-year-old Truck Series driver makes a solid comeback after a hideous incident

Nick Sanchez, who is a playoff contender in the 2023 Truck Series, took pole position ahead of his playoff rival Carson Hocevar. It was the 22-year-old’s fifth pole of the season, an impressive performance for a man in his rookie season. Matt Crafton, on the other hand, was nowhere near him.

The 47-year-old ThorSport Racing star will start from P22 on the grid. It will be the first time either driver is racing in the Truck Series since the incident at Talladega. They might be starting far away from one another, but things could get tense if they’re close to one another during the race.

Nick Sanchez is a Miami native and winning pole position in his home race is a special achievement. The struck a $1,200 payday after setting a blistering lap. The average speed recorded during his pole run was a thumping 167.084 mph.

The Rev Racing star’s bloody battle three weeks ago will be remembered by NASCAR fans for quite a few years to come. The issue might have been put to bed right now, but at the time, things were quite confusing. Both Nick Sanchez and Matt Crafton had come out with contrasting versions of what went down. There was no way to discern the truth.

The two drivers had a coming together at the Talladega Superspeedway. The result was Matt Crafton failed to finish the race while Nick Crafton finished P7. A video footage after the race showed a bloodied Sanchez screaming profanity at the veteran. Safe to say that tensions will run high in Miami.

Neither driver was suspended, but NASCAR plans to hold a mediating session with both drivers. However, Nick Sanchez has already made it public that he has no respect for someone like Matt Crafton.

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Nick Sanchez says he has no respect for Talladega assaulter

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In an interview with SiriusXM Radio, the 22-year-old made his feelings crystal clear about what went down at Talladega three weeks prior.

“I don’t personally respect people that do stuff like that. I know NASCAR has a plan to sit us both down in Holland, go over the dos and don’ts. Obviously, from my side, I mean it’s over with. I have no ambition to get him back in any regard,” Nick Sanchez said.

“If I have to do the same move tomorrow, I’d do it again. In that situation, in speedway racing, you got a gap in racing and you got to fill up, especially in Talladega, where every position counts. […] That’s how you make moves late in the race in Talladega, and I’d do the same thing again, turning this around,” he added.

It will be an interesting race for fans to see, especially if Nick Sanchez and Matt Crafton are side-by-side on track. Hopefully, things won’t end as distastefully as it did after Talladega.

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