Stewart Friesen grabs Nick Sanchez by the neck in pit road scuffle at Bristol
Following the Weather Guard Truck Race at Bristol, Stewart Friesen and Nick Sanchez got into quite a scuffle on pit road. Friesen went up to the young NASCAR driver and grabbed him by the neck.
It appeared that Friesen was ready to swing, but crew members from both teams were there to stop it from being more than just pushing and shoving. Let’s not forget that Nick Sanchez got into it with Matt Crafton last season.
There is something about Sanchez that rubs these older drivers the wrong way. Tonight, it was the fact Sanchez made contact with Friesen trying to pass on the outside. Both drivers took damage in the wreck and had to pit.
After finishing P22 and two laps down, Friesen went to Sanchez to handle things himself.
The video captured by Devin Kupka shows us the extent of the incident. Stewart Friesen tells Nick Sanchez that he “could have waited one f***ing corner!” Whatever Sanchez said as a retort was not what the veteran driver wanted to hear.
This photo of the incident by Chris Owens captures it just about perfectly. 22-year-old Sanchez grinning ear to ear while 40-year-old Friesen shakes him around. It’s a great capture.
Another year, another veteran rival for Nick Sanchez.
For those wondering, Christian Eckes won the race. He was able to beat Kyle Busch to take his first win of the season and first win at Bristol.
Nick Sanchez off to a solid start in 2024
This year, the season opened great for Sanchez. He was the big winner at Daytona in that mess of a Truck Series race. Prevailing for the first time in his young career in the series, Sanchez was able to get that milestone off his list quickly.
At Atlanta, Sanchez went on to finish P5. It was another strong showing. In the last couple of races, the result hasn’t been the best, two P17 finishes. However, at Bristol, Sanchez got stage points, ran up front at times, and had a fast truck.
When he made that contact with Stewart Friesen, Nick Sanchez had to pit and figure things out from there. Here’s the incident on the track.
It looks like Friesen moved up the track as Sanchez was going for the pass. That door closed up quickly after Sanchez got his front bumper to the rear end of Friesen’s truck. Racers being racers, Friesen got upset about it and made it an issue after the race.
Nick Sanchez is a promising young racer, and right now he’s making a lot of noise both on and off the track. We’re going to hear about him for years to come, I think.