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Nick Sanchez wins pole award for Buckle Up South Carolina 200 at Darlington

JHby: Jonathan Howard05/10/24Jondean25
nick sanchez
Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren-USA TODAY Sports

The No. 2 truck is going to be out front once again. Nick Sanchez won his sixth career pole award at Darlington this afternoon. Sanchez will lead the NASCAR Truck Series to green tonight in the Buckle Up South Carolina 200.

A couple of drivers ended up with Darlington stripes. Nick Sanchez was able to get his truck around the corners in a much more calm and stable manner than others. It wasn’t even close by the time he crossed the line, earning the pole by a comfortable margin.

This is the second pole award this year for Sanchez. He was the pole winner at Texas and finished P3. Sanchez won the season-opening race at Daytona.

UPDATE: Nick Sanchez will start from the rear despite winning the pole in qualifying. Corey Heim and Taylor Gray will be the front row.

Nick Sanchez has had a good season but there is more to achieve. He has his first career win and he’s great at qualifying. When drivers like Corey Heim and Christian Eckes win multiple races early, drivers like Sanchez are always looking for more.

I think that Sanchez sees himself as a championship contender and he’s probably not wrong. He has as good of a shot at making the Championship 4 as anyone else in the field. Those Spire and Spire affiliated trucks are so fast in the Truck Series.

Nick Sanchez will have to beat Cup Series talent

There are not one but two Cup Series drivers in the Buckle Up South Carolina 200 tonight. Ross Chastain and Kyle Busch are both in the field. Busch is racing his fifth and final truck race of the season. Chastain is racing for the second time in the series this season.

Both Busch and Chastain have had success in the Truck Series. Busch is the winningest driver in the series. However, these young drivers are tough. Busch has not been able to walk all over them in 2024.

Nick Sanchez, or any other full-time tailgater, is going to have to earn it tonight. Chastain and Busch will not make anything easy for the young drivers. If the weather spares us for another week and this race gets going tonight, it should be a fun 200 laps.

The Truck Series has had some good races this season. Take away the Daytona disaster and it has been a competitive and interesting year for these drivers. Let’s hope we get another great race for this Throwback Weekend.