Nick Sanchez’s NASCAR Xfinity Series Rookie of the Year campaign got off to a rough start on Saturday night in the United Rentals 300 at Daytona International Speedway. No, he wasn’t bad, in fact he had the No. 48 Big Machine Racing Chevrolet near the front of the field near the end of Stage 2 of the race.
However, on the final lap of Stage 2, Sanchez received a bad bump draft from Sheldon Creed at the end of the backstretch. The shove sent Sanchez skidding into the outside wall with the right front of his No. 48 machine.
Here is a look at Sanchez’s crash:
.@Nicksanchez080 hits the wall with 1 lap to go in Stage 2. #XfinitySeries pic.twitter.com/5GYdzAixzR
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After taking his car on a trip down pit road, the Big Machine Racing team concluded there was simply too much damage for them to be able to get Sanchez back on track. Sanchez will be credited with a 35th-place finish in the first race of his NASCAR Xfinity Series rookie season.