Both Nick Sanchez and Matt Crafton faced punishment from NASCAR for their roles in a fight following the Truck Series race at Talladega. The sport fined Crafton $25,000 and Sanchez $5,000 for the incident.
The stemmed from a late-race wreck in the NASCAR Truck Series race at Talladega. The incident left Sanchez bloodied, saying he was sucker-punched by Crafton.
Following NASCAR’s penalty announcement, Sanchez released a statement.
“At this time I will accept NASCAR’s penalty issued after the post-race occurrence at Talladega. It is a very unfortunate situation that negatively impacted a lot of individuals and the sport we all are so very passionate about and privileged to participate in each day,” Sanchez wrote.
“As for the incident, anything that doesn’t pertain to bettering myself as a race car driver or winning doesn’t have my energy or focus and never will. I look forward to continuing my quest for the Championship in Miami.”
NASCAR also released a statement to announce the punishment for both drivers.
“NASCAR competition officials issued behavioral penalties Tuesday to Craftsman Truck Series drivers Matt Crafton and Nick Sanchez for their roles in a post-race altercation last weekend at Talladega Superspeedway,” NASCAR reported. “Crafton, driver of the ThorSport Racing No. 88 Ford, was fined $25,000 for his actions in a fight after Saturday’s Love’s RV Stop 250. Sanchez, a rookie in the No. 2 Rev Racing Chevrolet, was fined $5,000.
“Sanchez’s father, Rene, was also penalized for his involvement in the fracas, with officials suspending him from NASCAR for the remaining two races on the 2023 schedule.”
Sanchez, Crafton offer varying stories
Both Sanchez and Crafton offered their side of the story from the fight at Talladega. Sanchez claims Crafton took a “cheap shot,” while Crafton said Sanchez issued a threat.
“Yeah, I mean, I was walking back, tap on my back, got punched in the face,” Sanchez said. “Cheap shot but it is what it is, I guess. I’m all for fighting but, no cheap shots. I got a cheap shot, didn’t have a chance to get him back. But, it is what it is. Part of racing.”
Crafton took to X to share his side of the story.
“First let’s address the ‘sucker punch.’ Before the cameras started rolling I approached Nick and said ‘hey.’ When he turned around I said ‘what the ----?!’ to which he looked right at me and threatened me.
“That is when it all went to hell. I had his attention, words were exchanged, all before anything physical took place, so I did not ‘sucker punch’ the guy. There may not be video, but there were plenty of eye witnesses.”
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