Nick Sanchez earns career-best Xfinity Series finish at Atlanta

Nick Sanchez earned every bit of his fifth-place finish in Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

The 23-year-old Xfinity Series rookie sustained damage in a lap six incident, which was enough to punch a hole in the front of his car. After many repairs, Sanchez's car wasn't in optimal condition but was fast enough to keep pace with the leaders. 

When the checkered flag flew, the Miami, Florida, native earned a career-best finish and a solid points day. 

"I'm going to be honest, it drove a lot better than it looks," Sanchez told Fox Sports' Bob Pockrass regarding the condition of his No. 48 Chevrolet. "Pretty amazing (that) we were able to even keep up with the pack with that damage. Obviously, I think tires helped me. I had to get an advantage on the front 10-15 cars to try and make something happen. Fortunately, the seas parted and I was able to go where they weren't and kept it (the car) clean relative to the field."