Nick Sanchez leading the SpeedyCash.com 250 at Texas Motor Speedway. (Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podium Finish)
FORT WORTH, Texas — Throughout the first part of the 2024 season, Nick Sanchez and his team have put together a string of solid finishes that will allow them to contend to make another run at the Championship 4 this season including getting his first Craftsman Truck Series win at Daytona and top-5 finishes at Martinsville and Atlanta.
Sanchez did not show any less speed this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, taking home a third-place finish. The Miami, Florida, native started the weekend with notable speed earning the pole position to start the SpeedyCash.com 250 on Friday night.
Nick Sanchez during qualifying at Texas (Photo: Sean Folsom | The Podium Finish)
The 22-year-old was able to lead the first two laps of the race before the first caution came out. Sanchez was able to maintain the lead over Christian Eckes after the restart. Following the second caution of the night Sanchez lost the lead to Eckes, settling in the second position in front of Kyle Busch. With eight laps to go in the first stage, Busch was able to pass Sanchez, leaving the Rev Racing driver with a third-place stage finish.
Sanchez was able to maintain his track position, fending off Eckes throughout the opening laps of Stage 2. With six laps to go in the stage, Sanchez had worked his way up to second place behind Busch and was able to drive to a runner-up stage finish, earning at total of 17 valuable stage points from the first two stages.
Sanchez restarted fourth for the final stage of the race. With 67 laps in the race, Sanchez was able to get the third position back after passing Corey Heim. Sanchez made his final pit stop of the night with 46 laps to go in the race and was running seventh when the final green flag pit stops were being completed and a caution came out on Lap 131.
With 26 laps to go, Sanchez had driven up to the fifth position, again behind Heim. Zane Smith had passed Sanchez with 22 laps to go in the race when another caution came out. On the restart, Sanchez was able to pass Smith before another caution occurring. After the restart with 10 laps to go, Sanchez was able to drive up to the third position.
“I mean it was a solid night in the top 3,” Sanchez said when interviewed by Bob Pockrass. “Obviously I wanted to win but I think the long run pace I had the truck to contend with Kyle (Busch) on a short run I was just free and I feel like I would overstep my boundaries a little bit and just lose overall time where maybe if I would go back and do it, I would just kind of ride and wait for it to come to me. But yea, it was a solid race. Top three, it’s kind of what we needed to in our points position. I think if we keep running this way eventually we’ll get another one.”
“This is track position orientated,” Sanchez added. “I was going to need the 11 (Corey Heim) and the 7 (Kyle Busch) to screw up. I kind of lost position every restart and the last one I was able to gain it all back so I was probably one restart away from contending but everyone was so close there and the runs happened so quick and this track is, it widened up to two groves but its really hard to pass so I probably needed at least another restart.”
