NASCAR has fined Matt Crafton $25,000 and Nick Sanchez $5,000 for an altercation after last Saturday’s Craftsman Truck playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway.
Sanchez was bloodied by the confrontation. After exiting the infield care center, he told reporters that Crafton tapped him on the back and then punched him, calling it a “cheap shot.”
Crafton stated on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, that he said “hey” to Sanchez and when Sanchez turned around. Crafton stated: “I said ‘what the —?!’ to which he looked right at me and threatened me. … words were exchanged, all before anything physical took place, so I did not ‘sucker punch’ the guy.”
Elton Sawyer, NASCAR senior vice president of competition, said Tuesday morning on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that officials considered a suspension in this matter before deciding against it.
Sawyer explained the reasoning behind the $25,000 fine to Crafton: “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 into the garage sometime after the event, so felt like (it) could have been handled different, and that’s why Matt’s fine was at $25,000.”
Video of part of the incident showed Sanchez’s reaction after being punched. While being held back, he shouted at Crafton: “I’m going to ... kill you at Homestead! You ... with the wrong guy!”
Sawyer explained the fine to Sanchez: “We felt like some of the comments that were made by Nick, and we totally understand that’s in the heat of the battle, understanding the situation, but we just can’t have those type of comments. That’s why he received the fine that he received.”
Crafton was upset with Sanchez for contact on the track that led to Crafton wrecking on Lap 93 and collecting eight other trucks. Greg Van Alst was among those collected in the incident. He suffered a fractured vertebrae in the incident. Crafton eventually stopped his damaged truck in Sanchez’s pits and exited the vehicle
NASCAR plans to meet with both drivers at Homestead.
Sanchez holds the final transfer spot to the championship race at Phoenix with one race left in the Round of (Oct. 21 at Homestead). Crafton was eliminated in the first round.
NASCAR also announced that Rene Sanchez, father of Nick Sanchez, has been suspended from NASCAR through the remaining 2023 schedule through Phoenix.
Sawyer explained on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio the suspension to Rene Sanchez: “If you look at the video, there were punches thrown in that situation. ... Again, no different than crew members getting involved, or any other industry folks that shouldn’t be involved in that. I get it, it’s a dad. We understand that, but we have to make sure that that’s just not tolerated. We can’t let that happen. That’s why we reacted the way we did.”
In the Cup Series, NASCAR fined Chandler Smith $10,000 for improper driver protective clothing/equipment.