O’REILLY: Nick Sanchez scores first NASCAR last-place finish after intense battle among several struggling teams

Mar 14

by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief

Nick Sanchez picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series career in Saturday’s The LiUNA! at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway when his #25 Paynuity / Travel Curious Ford fell out with a busted fuel pump after he completed 141 of 200 laps.

The finish came in Sanchez’ 46th series start and his 93rd combined start between both the O’Reilly Series and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. In the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 9th for the #25, the 10th for fuel pump issues, and the 177th for Ford. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 38th from the fuel pump, the 51st for the #25, and the 1,085th for Ford.

Though only starting his second full-time season in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, the 25-year-old driver from Miami is already entering a challenge phase in his young career. Last year, he drove for Big Machine Racing, the same team that in 2022 hired him to run six late-season races with a best finish of 7th. This coincided with his clinching of that season’s ARCA championship for Rev Racing. Sanchez and Rev turned their attention to the Truck Series, where in 2023 he racked up five poles and frequently came close to victory. He broke through the next year, winning the season opener at Daytona, then again at Charlotte in May. Last season, Big Machine re-hired Sanchez to replace Parker Kligerman, and together scored a close victory over Carson Kvapil at EchoPark Speedway.

Surprisingly, Sanchez didn’t stay with Big Machine for this season, losing his ride to rookie Dr. Patrick Staropoli and his backing from Syfovre, an eye treatment. The driver without a ride ended up joining forces with a team that didn’t expect to compete in 2026. AM Racing and Harrison Burton had a solid but unspectacular season in 2025, which was still a significant improvement over the team’s disastrous 2024. The plan had been to sell to ARCA team Sigma Performance Services Racing (SPS), which would field two cars in 2026. But the deal fell through, and AM scrambled to hire Sanchez in the flagship #25. For Daytona, he’d be joined by Daniel Dye, who Sanchez beat for the ARCA title by 14 points, now in the #52. But Saturday marked just the third race where AM fielded Dye’s car, leaving Sanchez as the standard-bearer for the team.

Running some of the only Fords on the O’Reilly tour – along with Hettinger Racing’s start-up team with the #5 entry – Sanchez began the year swept up in an early crash at Daytona, finishing 36th. But returning to Atlanta, site of his lone series win, Sanchez had one of the strongest cars in the final run, posing a significant threat for the win before he crossed the line in 3rd. But a slide into the gravel at COTA preceded a 25th-place finish, and at Phoenix, Sanchez’ car started to shut off then re-fire, costing him four laps. Judging from what happened this past Saturday, it’s likely Sanchez was driving the same car in Las Vegas.

In Vegas, Sanchez was one of 41 drivers entered to attempt the 38-car field, meaning three teams would be sent home. In practice, he ranked 34th with a best lap of 30.823 seconds (175.194mph), seven spots behind teammate Dye. After drawing the tenth spot in the qualifying order, he put up a faster time of 30.067 seconds (179.599mph), good enough for 20th on the grid, with Dye back in 27th. Missing the show were Myatt Snider, Alex Bowman’s relief driver in COTA’s late stages, who piloted Barrett-Cope Racing’s #30 Rollin’ Smoke BBQ Chevrolet, along with Chad Finchum as a late-announced selection for the #35 Ace Hardware of Hopestown Chevrolet, plus Dawson Cram in Mike Harmon’s #74 Outlaws Sim Series Chevrolet. Cram didn’t take a lap in qualifying after a mechanical issue in practice.

Securing the 38th and final starting spot was Josh Bilicki in SS-Green Light Racing’s #07 Cowboy Pillows Chevrolet. He’d be joined by three drivers who incurred pre-race penalties for unapproved adjustments: 12th-place Parker Retzlaff in the #99 Funkaway Chevrolet, 33rd-place Blaine Perkins in the #31 City Lights Shine Chevrolet, and the previously-mentioned Patrick Staropoli, who was set to start 22nd in the Big Machine #48.

When the green flag dropped, Staropoli was last in the running order, running by himself in the middle of the track as both Retzlaff and Perkins pulled ahead on the inside line, joined on the outside by Joey Gase in the #55 Nevada Donor Network Chevrolet and Bilicki’s #07. At the end of Lap 1, Staropoli was 4.691 seconds back of the lead and closing on now 37th-place Gase. By Lap 2, he’d caught and passed Gase just as the first caution fell. In Turn 2, Connor Zilisch in the #1 Carolina Carports Chevrolet banged doors with Jeb Burton’s #27 Bommarito Automotive Group Chevrolet, then washed up into the left-rear of Jeremy Clements’ #51 Alliance Driveway Solutions Chevrolet, sending Clements spinning back into Zilisch. Both continued, but during the caution, Lavar Scott dropped to last place for an extended stop due to a damaged right-front fender on his #45 Urban Affairs Coalition Chevrolet. Scott had tangled with Chandler Smith in the #5 Victory Custom Trailers Ford. Both remained on the lead lap.

The next caution on Lap 14 saw Cole Custer spin the #0 Sysco Chevrolet in nearly the same spot as Zilisch, followed moments later by Austin Green’s #87 3Dimensional.com Chevrolet also spinning moments later. Under this yellow, both climbed out of last place by Lap 18, when Chandler Smith took the last spot. Shortly after the restart, the last spot fell to Nathan Byrd in Randy Young’s #42 Randco Chevrolet. Byrd held the spot through the end of Stage 1 on Lap 46, and just barely stayed on the lead lap. Stage winner Justin Allgaier chased him to the finish line, barely two carlengths behind. With that, all 38 cars were still on track and on the lead lap.

But under caution came disaster for Sam Mayer, who had won the pole, earned what would become the race’s fastest lap on Lap 8, and finished a strong 2nd in Stage 1. His car slowed and needed a push to pit road from a wrecker, the result of a fuel pick-up issue. Now in last place, the crew looked under Mayer’s hood, then on Lap 51 pushed his now lapped car behind the wall. This turned out to be a brief stay, and on Lap 56, he returned to the track shortly after the restart, now showing six laps down.

Though down multiple laps, Mayer’s was the only car off the lead lap at the time, giving him an opportunity to maybe earn some of them back. He earned the Lucky Dog on Lap 59, when Clements’ frustrating day continued with a flat tire and a spin through the infield grass off Turn 4. During this caution, Rajah Caruth stalled his #32 Donut Media Chevrolet, and NASCAR made him drop from the Top 15 to the tail end of the lead lap. Anthony Alfredo’s crew also lifted the hood of his #96 Dude Wipes Chevrolet before sending him back out.

The field then prepared for the restart. Since Clements lost a lap, Mayer and team weren’t sure if it was the best strategy to try and use a slight tire advantage to charge through the field. The team decided on a less aggressive approach on the ensuing restart, where he was now five laps down, four laps behind 37th-place Clements. Clements would earn the next Lucky Dog when Stage 2 ended on Lap 91 – barely – as leader Allgaier had again caught Byrd coming to the stripe, and this time was literally on his rear bumper. Clements again earned his lap back, and once again Mayer was the only driver off the lead lap, still five behind the field.

When the final stage began, Mayer remained in last, hoping for a couple quick cautions to get a couple of his laps back. But it would be 26 more laps before another incident in Turn 2, this time after both Patrick Staropoli and the #26 MCM Transportation Toyota of Dean Thompson spun to the apron. It was during this run that Chase Briscoe’s #19 Wix Filters Toyota brushed the Turn 4 wall coming to Lap 101, cut down a right-front tire, then missed the entrance to pit road before he came in the next time by. The incident cost Briscoe a lap, dropping him to 37th. Meanwhile, the leaders were catching 36th-place Ryan Ellis, whose #02 Tablo TV Chevrolet had to play catch-up with the tail end of the field due to a long pit stop that ended just before the previous restart.

Then on Lap 110, NASCAR reported Sanchez was off the pace. The team’s issue from Phoenix had returned as the driver reported his car had “no power down the back” and was “shutting off in the corners.” He also gave a brief reading on his gauges, showing 240 degrees on the oil and 260 on the water, before the gauges also failed. By Lap 114, Sanchez reported his car had shut off six times, and that it felt like a fueling issue. On Lap 115, he was now two laps down, one lap behind a now 36th-place Briscoe. Sanchez’ crew didn’t see anything physically wrong with the car and sent him back out, telling him to make do with what appeared to be an unfixable drivetrain issue. Back up to speed on Lap 117, Sanchez was now 3 laps down in 37th, then after serving a penalty for speeding in Sections 1 and 2 fell down a fourth lap, putting him just one ahead of last-place Mayer. Sanchez then felt the car shut off again, but was saved by the Lap 118 caution for Thompson and Staropoli’s spin. Under the yellow, Sanchez’ crew talked about replacing the carburetor, but said they’d lose another lap if they did. The team decided to do it, and bolted on a new carburetor. The caution also saved Ryan Ellis, who had been lapped by the leaders just before, forcing Briscoe to take the wave-around.

On Lap 127, just after the restart, Sanchez was about to lose a fifth lap as his crew looked over his car’s wiring, including a check of the car’s kill switch. This caused Sanchez to take last from Mayer. On Lap 132, Sanchez re-fired the engine and was about to return to the track when the next caution fell, this time a two-car spin involving Staropoli and Bilicki. Under caution, Sanchez was now 10 laps down in last place, and Ellis earned his second-straight Lucky Dog to get back on the lead lap.

There were now just over 60 laps remaining with all 38 cars on the track. The only lapped cars were those of Sanchez, still 10 down, and Mayer, who was now shown four laps back. An unlucky Clements cut down a right-rear tire after he was forced into the middle of a four-wide battle off Turn 4, squeezing him against Kyle Sieg’s #28 SynerFuse Chevrolet. As Clements narrowly saved his car from spinning in Turn 2, Sanchez reported his car lost power again. Exasperated, the team felt about all they could do was add more fuel – the issue only seemed to come up whenever his tank was half-empty, so topping it off seemed the only answer. Concerned if they were even meeting minimum speed, the team turned their attention to the fuel pump. A crew member said he'd have to get under the rear of the car, disconnect the cable, and swap out the pump, which could take another 10 laps. Again, the team decided to do it, and on Lap 148 sent him behind the wall, just as trouble broke out in Turn 3.

As Sanchez struggled, Corey Day enjoyed a career race, battling to the lead in his #17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet. On Lap 148, he was leading a four-car pack including 2nd-place Taylor Gray in the Operation300 Toyota, 3rd-place Sheldon Creed in the #00 Ollie’s Chevrolet, and 4th-place Justin Allgaier in the #7 Jarrett Logistics Chevrolet. As the pack tightened up, Gray threw a block on Creed. Creed then took an aggressive entry into Turn 3 that gave Gray a bump at exactly the wrong time, sending Gray skating up the track and into the outside wall. The caution fell as Gray limped around the track with a destroyed right-front, then pulled behind the wall out of the race.

Meanwhile, in the garage, Sanchez’ crew now looked at a battery issue and remarked that something had been “rubbed through.” It was again a quick repair as on Lap 153, just before the restart following Gray’s crash, Sanche was back on track, now showing 19 laps down. With Gray now back in 37th, just 15 laps ahead, Sanchez was set to climb out of last place by around Lap 173. But on Lap 165, when he was just eight laps from climbing out of last place, Sanchez went behind the wall for a second time. NASCAR informed the team they’d owe a pass-through penalty if they returned to the track. But on Lap 168, one of the crew members, said, “Adam, I don't know if you copy, but we're all done.” While NASCAR never officially declared them out before the end of the race, Sanchez was listed out due to the fuel pump issue. Gray, Smith, Mayer, and Alfredo completed the Bottom Five.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked the first last-place finish for the #25 in an O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Las Vegas.

*This was the first last-place finish for Ford in an O’Reilly race since October 18, 2025, when Sam Mayer’s race at Talladega ended with damage suffered in an early crash.

*The 141 laps completed by Sanchez are the fourth-most of an O’Reilly last-place finisher at Las Vegas. The record remains with Ryan Sieg, who turned 199 laps on September 14, 2019 and finished 14th, only to be disqualified in post-race inspection. Sieg’s was also the last Ford to finish last in an O’Reilly race at Las Vegas, which occurred on October 15, 2022 due to steering issues.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

38) #25-Nick Sanchez / 141 laps / fuel pump

37) #54-Taylor Gray / 148 laps / crash / led 21 laps

36) #5-Chandler Smith / 184 laps / ignition

35) #41-Sam Mayer / 196 laps / running / led 32 laps

34) #96-Anthony Alfredo / 197 laps / running

2026 LASTCAR O’REILLY AUTO PARTS SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) AM Racing, DGM Racing x JIM, Joey Gase Motorsports with Scott Osteen, RSS Racing, Young’s Motorsports (1)

2026 LASTCAR O’REILLY AUTO PARTS SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (4)

2nd) Ford (1)

2026 LASTCAR O’REILLY AUTO PARTS SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP