Nick Sanchez will move to the NASCAR Xfinity Series next season and drive the No. 48 for Big Machine Racing, the team announced Wednesday.
The 23-year-old Sanchez will take over from Parker Kligerman, who recently announced that he will not compete full-time in racing beyond this season.
Sanchez enters Thursday’s Truck playoff race at Bristol fourth in the standings. Bristol is the second of three races in the opening playoff round for the Trucks. Sanchez has won twice this season in the series.
He ran eight Xfinity races in 2022, including six with Big Machine Racing. His best finish that season was seventh at Martinsville.
“In 2022 we put Nick in our car for a handful of races and he was fast right out of the gate,” said team owner Scott Borchetta in a statement. “At Martinsville in particular, I watched him go full-on, elbows out, putting the car right where it needed to be, with no fear against the best-of-the-best in the series.
“Since then, he’s done a fantastic job in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and I know that he and crew chief Patrick Donahue and the entire Big Machine Racing Team are going to be a force to be reckoned with in 2025.”
Said Sanchez in a statement from the team: “I couldn’t be more excited to join Big Machine Racing with Chevrolet next year in the Xfinity Series. I’m grateful to get the opportunity to work with Scott Borchetta, Patrick Donahue, and the whole Big Machine team next year. ... As a driver, I feel that I’m ready to move to the next level, and I look forward to competing for wins and ultimately a championship next year driving the #48 for Big Machine Racing!”
Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers will be the primary sponsor of the No. 48 car. Gainbridge, a Group 1001 company that has previously backed Sanchez, will be an associate sponsor on the No. 48 car.