NASCAR issued a behavioral penalty for both drivers in violation of Sections 4.3 A & 4.4 D: NASCAR Member Conduct & NASCAR Member Code of Conduct of the Truck Series Rulebook.
Crafton was fined $25,000 and Sanchez $5,000 for their respective involvement. In addition, NASCAR has suspended Sanchez’s father, Rene, for the remainder of the season for getting involved in the altercation.
According to eyewitnesses and video taken of the incident, shortly after the completion of Saturday’s Truck race, Crafton approached playoff driver Sanchez from behind near Sanchez’s transporter in the garage area and tapped him on the shoulder.
Sanchez immediately turned around and Crafton struck Sanchez.
The two then became entangled in a fight – including Rene Sanchez – and all ended up on the ground before being separated.
Nick Sanchez can be heard threatening Crafton afterward, saying: “I’m going to f****** kill you at Homestead. You f***** with the wrong guy, motherf*****.”
Sanchez was left with a badly bloodied face and broken nose and went to the infield care center, where he was treated and released.
NASCAR’s take on the situation
“I think if you look at our history with our drivers and how we handle these situations, a suspension was definitely considered,” said Elton Sawyer, NASCAR’s vice president of competition, said Tuesday morning in an interview on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “We had long conversations about that yesterday with our group. There is where we landed.
“We felt like some of the comments that were made by Nick – and we totally understand it was in the heat of the battle, understanding the situation – but we just can’t have those type of comments. So, that’s why he received the fine he received. And then on Matt’s side, we looked at the fact that Matt had had some time to think about the situation. It wasn’t like both drivers got out on pit road, heat of the battle, they go down and have a discussion with each other. This one spilled over to the garage some time after the event. We felt like it could have been handled different. That’s why Matt’s fine was at $25,000.
“Then having other people involved, whether it’s family or pit crew members, it doesn’t matter. If you’re in the middle of that and trying to break it up, that’s one thing. If you’re in the middle of that and throwing punches, we’re going to react. We’re going to tolerate that type of behavior.”
Sawyer said NASCAR will sit down will all the involved parties prior to the next Truck race at Homestead, Fla., to ensure there will be no further issues.
The incident stemmed from a late-race accident which started with Sanchez trying to force the issue up the middle of the pack in a three-wide situation. He and Crafton made contact, igniting a pileup that involved several trucks.
Crafton pulled his damaged truck onto pit road and into Sanchez’s team stall, leaving it there as he walked away. Sanchez went on to finish seventh in the race.
Crafton, 47, has 15 career wins in the Truck Series and is a three-time series champion. Crafton’s most recent win came in 2020. He’s made three starts in the Cup Series and four in Xfinity.
Nick Sanchez, 22, is in his first fulltime season in the Truck Series and remains in contention in the playoffs to win the series championship. He released the following statement following the news:
Also on Tuesday, NASCAR fined Xfinity Series regular Chandler Smith $10,000 for a safety violation regarding his driver protective clothing and equipment. He was not wearing a helmet sock during Cup Series qualifying at Talladega.