June 28, 2025 | By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service

Rookie Nick Sanchez scores first career NASCAR Xfinity Series win at EchoPark Speedway

HAMPTON, Ga.—Nick Sanchez charged to the front after a restart with seven laps left in Friday night’s Focused Health 250 and held off fellow Sunoco rookie Carson Kvapil to secure his first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory.

Sanchez, who rallied from a spin through the frontstretch grass at EchoPark Speedway on Lap 68, lost the top spot to Jesse Love on the final restart on Lap 157 of 163, but regained it on the following circuit.

Sanchez spent the next five laps doing everything in his power to keep Kvapil behind him. The win earned the 24-year-old from Miami, Fla., a berth in the Xfinity Series Playoffs.

“It’s a weight lifted off my shoulders, that’s for sure,” Sanchez said after climbing from his car on the frontstretch. “Now we can go chase checkered flags.”

Kvapil was lined up in front of third-place finisher Sam Mayer, fourth-place Connor Zilisch and fifth-place Taylor Gray as he chased Sanchez over the closing laps, trying to find a way around the race winner.

“To be that close really does sting,” said Kvapil, who started from the rear of the field after unapproved adjustments to his No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. “I couldn’t really generate a run there. I didn’t feel like we had enough cars nose-to-tail and organized.

“We were all kind of just too far away from each other. I tried backing up on the last lap… I probably could have made a move earlier. I just felt like, if we got side-by-side, we’d get swallowed up by somebody.”

For his part, Sanchez was fortunate his No. 48 Big Machine Racing Chevrolet sustained minimal damage on the slide through the grass, which caused the fourth of nine cautions.

“I’m still a little embarrassed about that,” Sanchez said. “It was certainly a rookie mistake, but we rebounded.”

It was after midnight when Sanchez took the checkered flag, thanks to some threatening weather near the 1.54-mile track. Lightning forced NASCAR to halt the race after 36 laps.

After a delay of one hour, 18 minutes, 55 seconds, the race resumed. Sheldon Creed, who led the first 37 laps from the pole, tried to flip the stage by pitting under caution after the resumption, but the strategy backfired.

Creed was one of 10 drivers involved in a massive wreck on the backstretch moments after a restart on Lap 41. Contact from Sanchez turned Jesse Love across traffic near the front of the field.

Love’s Chevrolet collided with Ryan Sieg’s Ford, turning it into the outside wall. A broken axle eliminated Sieg’s No. 39 RSS Racing Ford. Other victims included series leader Justin Allgaier, who exited the race in 31st place, Sammy Smith, Katherine Legge, Patrick Staropoli, Jeb Burton and Christian Eckes.

Creed, credited with 32nd place, suffered his fifth DNF (did not finish) in the last nine races and sixth of the season.

“It was probably the best car I’ve had all year,” Creed said ruefully after leaving the infield care center. “Just really fast, could control lanes and felt really good up front. So we were just trying to keep ourselves up front by short-pitting there, and it didn’t work out.”

Notes: Sanchez led 32 laps to Aric Almirola’s 48 and Creed’s 37… The nine cautions put the race under yellow for 58 laps… Mayer was the only non-rookie to finish in the top five… Love, Almirola, Daniel Dye, Kyle Sieg and Jeremy Clements finished sixth through 10th, respectively… Austin Hill, trying for his fourth straight win at EchoPark Speedway, lost six laps early with fuel pickup issues and finished 26th.


NASCAR Xfinity Series Race Number 17
Race Results for the Focused Health 250 - Friday, June 27, 2025
EchoPark Speedway - Hampton, GA - 1.54 - Mile Paved

Total Race Length - 163 Laps - 251.02 Miles

Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Saturday, 6/28/2025 @ 12:54 AM Eastern

Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Stage 1 Pos Stage 2 Pos Pts Status Tms Laps Playoff Pts
1 11 48 Nick Sanchez # Big Machine Spiked Coolers Chevrolet 163 4 7 51 Running 3 18 5
2 24 1 Carson Kvapil # Registix Chevrolet 163 9 2 46 Running 1 3
3 3 41 Sam Mayer Audibel Ford 163 2  43 Running 1 3
4 6 88 Connor Zilisch # Blues Hog Chevrolet 163 6  38 Running 1 32
5 7 54 Taylor Gray # Operation 300 Toyota 163 1  42 Running 2 14 1
6 5 2 Jesse Love Roland Chevrolet 163  3 39 Running 2 3
7 10 19 Aric Almirola Young Life Toyota 163   30 Running 1 48
8 22 10 Daniel Dye # bproauto Chevrolet 163 3  37 Running  
9 21 28 Kyle Sieg Big House Construction Ford 163  8 31 Running  
10 26 51 Jeremy Clements Fly and Form Structures Chevrolet 163   27 Running  
11 29 26 Dean Thompson # Thompson Pipe Group Toyota 163 5 6 37 Running  
12 19 70 Leland Honeyman DPR Construction Chevrolet 163 8  28 Running  
13 9 25 Harrison Burton DEX Imaging Ford 163   24 Running  
14 4 20 Brandon Jones Menards/Watts Toyota 163  1 33 Running 1 5 1
15 33 99 Matt DiBenedetto Micromeritics Chevrolet 163 10 4 30 Running  
16 27 27 Jeb Burton AJ Transport Chevrolet 163   21 Running  
17 32 44 Brennan Poole For Cliff Chevrolet 163 7 5 30 Running  
18 34 35 Joey Gase NFPA Chevrolet 163   19 Running  
19 17 16 Christian Eckes # Campers Inn RV Mobile Medic Chevrolet 163   18 Running  
20 37 45 Mason Massey Special Olympics of Georgia Chevrolet 163   17 Running  
21 28 71 Ryan Ellis Classic Collision Chevrolet 163  10 17 Running  
22 15 31 Blaine Perkins WERNER Chevrolet 163  9 17 Running  
23 36 14 Garrett Smithley T3 Vodka Chevrolet 163   14 Running  
24 35 07 Nick Leitz Jim Ellis Chevrolet Chevrolet 163   13 Running  
25 31 5 Kris Wright First National Bank Corp. Chevrolet 163   12 Running  
26 2 21 Austin Hill Bennett Transportation Chevrolet 158   12 Running  
27 38 53 Mason Maggio ControlAltProtect Ford 153   10 Running  
28 8 91 CJ McLaughlin Main Street Auto Chevrolet 138   9 Accident  
29 25 42 Anthony Alfredo Brand South Africa Chevrolet 53   8 Accident  
30 13 39 Ryan Sieg Sci Aps Ford 46   7 DVP  
31 16 7 Justin Allgaier BRANDT Chevrolet 42   6 Accident  
32 1 00 Sheldon Creed Friends of Jaclyn Ford 41   5 Accident 1 37
33 14 8 Sammy Smith Pilot Chevrolet 40   4 Accident  
34 23 32 Katherine Legge(i) Desnuda Tequilla Chevrolet 40   0 Accident  
35 20 24 Patrick Staropoli SYFOVRE Toyota 40   2 Accident  
36 12 18 William Sawalich # Soundgear Toyota 4   1 Accident  
37 18 4 Parker Retzlaff QuixRX Chevrolet 3   1 Accident  
38 30 11 Josh Williams Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet 3   1 Accident  

Fastest Lap Bonus:  # lap 136 / 31.059
21                                                                   

Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 36 Mins, 14 Secs. Average Speed: 96.402 MPH Margin of Victory: .104 Seconds

Stage 1 Top 10: 54, 41, 10, 48, 26, 88, 44, 70, 1, 99
Stage 2 Top 10: 20, 1, 2, 99, 44, 26, 48, 28, 31, 71

Race Comments: Nick Sanchez has won the Focused Health 250 at EchoPark Speedway, his first career victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Prior to the start of the race, the following vehicle(s) dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reason(s) indicated: Nos. 1, 27, 91 (Unapproved adjustments) and No. 53 (Engine).

Failed to Qualify: None.

Caution Flags: 9 for 58 laps; Laps: 5-15 (No. 16, 11, 31, 18, 4 Incident Turn 4 [None]); 35-40 (Weather [Red Flag: 1:18:55] [31]); 42-54 (Nos. 2, 32, 00, 27, 7, 8, 39, 16, 24, 48 Incident Backstretch / Stage 1 Conclusion [31]); 69-73 (No. 48 Spin Frontstretch [27]); 82-85 (No. 25, 70, 10 Incident Backstretch [16]); 87-93 (No. 51 Spin Turn 2 / Stage 2 Conclusion [16]); 127-130 (No. 91 Spin Turn 4 [45]); 136-139 (Debris Fronstretch [53]); 153-156 (Debris Turn 2 [21]).

Lead Changes: 12 among 9 drivers; S. Creed 1-37; S. Mayer 38-40; T. Gray # 41-50; C. Zilisch # 51-82; C. Kvapil # 83-85; B. Jones 86-90; T. Gray # 91-94; A. Almirola 95-142; N. Sanchez # 143-145; J. Love 146-147; N. Sanchez # 148-156; J. Love 157; N. Sanchez # 158-163.

(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

Next Race: July 5, 2025 - Chicago Street Race

NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications @ P.O. Box 2875, Daytona Beach, FL 32120-2875




NASCAR Xfinity Series Points Report
EchoPark Speedway
Focused Health 250

UNOFFICIAL Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Saturday, 6/28/2025 @ 01:39 AM Eastern UNOFFICIAL

Rank Driver Car Starts GL Points Ldr Nxt Race Wins Stage Wins Playoff Pts
1. Justin Allgaier 7 17 0 624 0 0 3 6 21
2. Sam Mayer 41 17 -1 561 -63 63 0 1 1
3. Austin Hill 21 17 1 548 -76 13 3 6 21
4. Jesse Love 2 17 0 541 -83 7 1 1 6
5. Connor Zilisch # 88 16 0 526 -98 15 2 3 13
6. Carson Kvapil # 1 17 0 488 -136 38 0 1 1
7. Brandon Jones 20 17 0 466 -158 22 1 2 7
8. Taylor Gray # 54 17 -4 453 -171 13 0 1 1
9. Jeb Burton 27 17 1 445 -179 8 0 0 0
10. Nick Sanchez # 48 17 -4 436 -188 9 1 1 6
11. Sheldon Creed 00 17 2 425 -199 11 0 0 0
12. Ryan Sieg 39 17 2 425 -199 0 0 0 0
13. Harrison Burton 25 17 0 424 -200 1 0 2 2
14. Sammy Smith 8 17 3 419 -205 5 1 2 7
15. Christian Eckes # 16 17 0 374 -250 45 0 0 0
16. Daniel Dye # 10 17 0 373 -251 1 0 0 0
17. Dean Thompson # 26 17 0 372 -252 1 0 1 1
18. Brennan Poole 44 17 -1 326 -298 46 0 0 0
19. Jeremy Clements 51 17 -1 320 -304 6 0 0 0
20. Josh Williams 11 17 2 299 -325 21 0 0 0
21. Anthony Alfredo 42 17 0 281 -343 18 0 0 0
22. Aric Almirola 19 7 -1 268 -356 13 1 1 0
23. Matt DiBenedetto 99 17 -1 268 -356 0 0 0 -5
24. William Sawalich # 18 17 2 248 -376 20 0 0 0
25. Kyle Sieg 28 17 -3 233 -391 15 0 0 0
26. Parker Retzlaff 4 16 1 230 -394 3 0 0 0
27. Blaine Perkins 31 17 1 223 -401 7 0 0 0
28. Ryan Ellis 71 17 1 219 -405 4 0 0 0
29. Kris Wright 5 17 0 169 -455 50 0 0 0
30. Leland Honeyman 70 10 -2 138 -486 31 0 0 0
31. Josh Bilicki  10 1 138 -486 0 0 0 0
32. Garrett Smithley 14 13 1 136 -488 2 0 0 0
33. Mason Massey 45 9 0 108 -516 28 0 0 0
34. Joey Gase 35 8 0 106 -518 2 0 0 0
35. Nick Leitz 07 7 -1 73 -551 33 0 0 0
36. Corey Day  3 1 66 -558 7 0 0 0
37. Mason Maggio 53 8 -1 66 -558 0 0 0 0
38. Thomas Annunziata  6 1 59 -565 7 0 0 0
39. Justin Bonsignore  5 0 55 -569 4 0 0 0
40. Alex Labbe  3 0 54 -570 1 0 0 0
41. Brad Perez  4 0 37 -587 17 0 0 0
42. CJ McLaughlin 91 4 -6 33 -591 4 0 0 0
43. Greg Van Alst  8 1 33 -591 0 0 0 0
44. Caesar Bacarella  2 1 31 -593 2 0 0 0
45. Jordan Anderson  1 1 30 -594 1 0 0 0
46. Austin Green  4 1 30 -594 0 0 0 -5
47. Myatt Snider  3 1 26 -598 4 0 0 0
48. Logan Bearden  2 1 24 -600 2 0 0 0
49. Kasey Kahne  1 0 23 -601 1 0 0 0
50. Patrick Staropoli 24 2 -1 23 -601 0 0 0 0
51. Jeffrey Earnhardt  2 1 23 -601 0 0 0 0
52. Ryan Truex  1 0 20 -604 3 0 0 0
53. Jesse Iwuji  1 0 17 -607 3 0 0 0
54. Carson Ware  3 0 15 -609 2 0 0 0
55. Sage Karam  2 0 14 -610 1 0 0 0
56. Vicente Salas  1 0 13 -611 1 0 0 0
57. David Starr  1 0 11 -613 2 0 0 0
58. Dawson Cram  3 0 11 -613 0 0 0 0
59. Jj Yeley  1 0 9 -615 2 0 0 0
60. Preston Pardus  1 0 1 -623 8 0 0 0
61. Baltazar Leguizam?n  1 0 1 -623 0 0 0 0
62. Ruben Rovelo  1 0 1 -623 0 0 0 0
63. Kyle Larson(i)  3 0 0 -624 1 2 2 0
64. William Byron(i)  2 0 0 -624 0 1 3 0
65. Alex Bowman(i)  1 0 0 -624 0 0 1 0
66. Chase Elliott(i)  2 0 0 -624 0 0 0 0
67. Riley Herbst(i)  2 0 0 -624 0 0 0 0
68. Ross Chastain(i)  3 0 0 -624 0 0 0 0
69. Corey Heim(i)  3 0 0 -624 0 0 0 0
70. Patrick Emerling(i)  6 0 0 -624 0 0 0 0
71. Austin Dillon(i)  1 0 0 -624 0 0 0 0
72. Ty Gibbs(i)  1 0 0 -624 0 0 0 0
73. Chase Briscoe(i)  1 0 0 -624 0 0 0 0
74. Christopher Bell(i)  2 0 0 -624 0 0 0 0
75. Andres Perez De Lara(i)  1 0 0 -624 0 0 0 0
76. Katherine Legge(i) 32 5 0 0 -624 0 0 0 0
77. Carson Hocevar(i)  1 0 0 -624 0 0 0 0
78. Tyler Tomassi  0 0 0 -624 0 0 0 0
79. Glen Reen  0 0 0 -624 0 0 0 0
80. Jake Garcia(i)  0 1 0 -624 0 0 0 0
81. Daniel Su?rez(i)  1 -1 0 -624 0 1 0 0

-Ldr/-Nxt = Points behind Leader/Next higher, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series