'Nobody cares about second': Nick Sanchez happy to finally reach Victory Lane in NASCAR Xfinity Series

Perhaps the most difficult thing for young drivers to do as they work their way through the ranks of NASCAR is adapting to each series they move up to. 

Xfinity Series rookie Nick Sanchez has seen that firsthand in 2025. 

After two full-time seasons in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series that produced two wins and points finishes of sixth and fifth, Sanchez signed on to pilot the No. 48 Chevrolet for Scott Borchetta's Big Machine Racing team in 2025. BMR was losing Parker Kligerman, and as a relatively new organization, the team was paired with a rookie driver. 

Going into Friday's race at EchoPark Speedway, Sanchez had been a serviceable driver. But the No. 48 was still on the outside looking in regarding the playoff picture, and with the regular season winding down, Sanchez needed to make something happen. 

He did just that in the early minutes of Saturday morning, earning his first career Xfinity Series win on a night where he went for a spin through the infield grass. 

Sanchez had shown flashes of brilliance through the first half of 2025, but his ability to hold off a hard-charging pack in the closing laps was concrete evidence that the 24-year-old from Miami, Florida, belongs in the upper echelons of stock-car racing. 

"When I show up to a racetrack, my goal is to win," Sanchez said in his post-race news conference. "This is what I expect to do, and it's not easy. It's not easy at all. I learned that in my rookie year in (the Truck Series).

"In this sport, winning is everything," Sanchez continued. "Nobody cares about second or third, nobody cares that I ran great at Pocono or Texas. They look at the results and that's all they see. That's frustrating, obviously. I feel like I'm a lot better than what I've shown this year. I feel like I'm a lot better than a lot of my results. I'm not going to shy away from the fact that winning is the only way you're going to advance in this sport."