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Nick Sanchez Wins Truck Race in Charlotte

Update 11:22 pm: After post-race inspection, Corey Heim was disqualified after initially finishing 2nd for having 3 loose lug nuts. As a result, Kaden Honeycutt is credited as the stage 1 winner and Tanner Gray is credited with winning stage 2.

After a calm first two stages of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series’ North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, stage three had some cautions disrupt the flow, and when the dust settled, it was Nick Sanchez who captured a surprise win.

Despite a late charge from Corey Heim, who led 72 laps, Sanchez was able to hold the lead and captured his second win of the season after winning the opener at Daytona International Speedway.

“We started off bad, we knew it,” Sanchez said to FOX Sports 1 post-race. “It didn’t affect us; we went to work when it mattered most.”

Sanchez also won $50,000 in the first of three races in the Triple Truck Challenge which will continue through the next two races.

“Probably put it in the savings,” Sanchez said when asked by FS1 what he would do with his winnings.

Heim finished second before his DQ, while Stewart Friesen, Grant Enfinger, and Matt Mills rounded out the top five.

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Ben Rhodes, Jake Garcia, Kaden Honeycutt, Connor Mosack and Dean Thompson completed the top 10.

The race seemed early on to be a battle between TRICON Garage teammates Heim and polesitter Tanner Gray. In both stages after Gray briefly led, Heim flexed his muscles and won both stages without any incident.

Tyler Ankrum took a massive hit from Thad Moffitt shortly after the final stage began. Ankrum was turned by Brett Moffitt heading into turn 3 and quickly slid up the hill, leaving Thad Moffitt with nowhere to go.

Jeffrey Earnhardt and Keith McGee collided trying to avoid the spinning Ankrum, with Earnhardt’s No. 67 nosing into the outside wall. All four drivers were done for the evening.

Heim continue to show the way on the restart. However, on lap 83 after a caution brought out by Matt Crafton, Heim suffered a slow stop due to a broken jack. Despite some quick thinking by the pit crew, it set Heim back, forcing him to show the true power of his No. 11 Toyota. He quickly made work of the field and drove into the top five.

With Heim mired in traffic, Honeycutt emerged as the driver who looked to have a shot at winning the race. He was running third behind Chase Purdy and Christian Eckes, both on alternate pit strategies and fuel mileage, when Purdy hit the wall and brought out a late caution.

Honeycutt led the field to pit road where his team had a broken air gun, ending his chances of winning. He still finished in seventh.

Rajah Caruth finished 16th after rebounding from contact early on pit road with Eckes. Meanwhile, Eckes finished 10th after a chance to win late in the closing laps slipped away due to older tires.

Charlotte Truck Series Results

The next race for the Craftsman Truck Series will be next Saturday, June 1 at 1:30 p.m. ET on FOX at World Wide Technology Raceway.