HAMPTON, Ga. — One year ago, Nick Sanchez stood victorious at EchoPark Speedway for his first career NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series win.
The future appeared bright for the young driver in his first season with Big Machine Racing.
One year later, on Saturday night (July 11), Sanchez nearly revisited victory lane at Atlanta. He was running second as the field took the white flag before diving under leader Brennan Poole entering turn 1.
The problem was Justin Allgaier was there when Sanchez went low. The Nos. 87 and 7 cars collided, sending Sanchez up into Poole and the outside wall, ruining his bid for the win. Instead, the 25-year-old finished 19th — his first time finishing outside the top five at the Georgia track in four starts.
“I thought my move in [turn] 1 was the right move,” Sanchez told Frontstretch. “It didn’t work out. I’d rather end up like this going for the win than just lifting and giving someone else the win.
“[I’m] just happy to be back at the track contending, first and foremost.”
This year at Atlanta, Sanchez’s career circumstances were completely different from when he scored his first career win. The Miami native was all set to return with Big Machine for this season as of September of 2025, but just over two months later, the team informed him he would not be back.
Sanchez then landed a ride with AM Racing for this season, but that team shut down just seven races into 2026, despite a third place run at the spring Atlanta race. The once-hot prospect sat out the next nine races before landing a partial ride with Peterson Racing Group. But that was just a four-race deal, with Atlanta being the second-to-last one.
After all that turmoil and the uncertainty going into the future, Sanchez looked like a driver determined to get back to victory lane Saturday night. And had things gone a little differently, he just may have.
“I’ve been in these positions before, and it’s not guaranteed till you cross the line,” Sanchez said. “I’m just proud of the whole Peterson Racing team for having me in the first place and giving me this opportunity.
“It’s a wild race. We were up front on merit, and at the end, we went for it. I think I got a little bit of a hook, a bad push, there going into [turn] 1, and that’s all she wrote.”
Sanchez’s last scheduled race with Peterson is Indianapolis Motor Speedway in two weeks, but don’t expect that to be the last time he’s spotted in NOAPS this year. When Frontstretch asked him about his future plans, he hinted that there is more but he kept his cards close to his chest.
“Yeah, I think there’s more to come on that,” Sanchez said. “But obviously, I’m excited to get to Indianapolis with the team. We have an off week and regroup for Indy and just keep on clawing our way.
“[Chicagoland Speedway], we had a decent showing there, and I think it could have been better. Obviously, Atlanta is a little bit unique, but the car still had speed and the team did a great job throughout the weekend. So I think that’s important, and I think we’re just building more chemistry. So I think for us, the best is yet to come and we’re just gonna continue to claw our way to the front and show up, hopefully contending for top fives soon.”
Michael Massie joined Frontstretch in 2017 and has served as the Content Director since 2020.
Massie, a Richmond, Va., native, has covered NASCAR, IndyCar, SRX and the CARS Tour. Outside of motorsports, the Virginia Tech grad and Green Bay Packers minority owner can be seen cheering on his beloved Hokies and Packers.
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