NASCAR Xfinity rookie reflects on ‘positives’ of battling Kyle Larson: “I’d rather finish second to him than without him”

NASCAR Xfinity Series rookie Nick Sanchez, was recently featured in an interview with Steven Taranto and talked about the positives of competing with former Cup Series champion Kyle Larson. The duo competed together in three races this season, and Sanchez claimed to have a positive outcome from the opportunity.

Sanchez had an impressive start at the Andy's Frozen Custard 300 race and began the race from P14, six spots ahead of Larson. He showcased his remarkable skills and finished stage one behind Kyle Larson in third place. Sanchez maintained his spot in the top five during stage two of the race.

However, during the overtime in the final stage of the race, the rookie lost control of his car and hit the wall, derailing his chances of a top-five finish. Reflecting upon the same, the NASCAR analyst questioned him:

"You had an opportunity to win Texas there. You took it pretty hard afterwards. You've had a couple of days now, so what do you think of your run overall? Do you view it as a missed opportunity, or do you just chalk it up as a racing deal? A good run overall." [00:29 onwards]

Nicholas Sanchez gave a subtle reply to Taranto, pointing out the positives of racing with Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson.

"Yeah, I look at the positives, right? We were in contention to win that race against someone like Kyle Larson and Chris Nologar. So that's someone that you want to track. And he's not usually in our races. So if we take him out, we're leading," stated the Xfinity Series rookie.

"But that being said, I'd rather finish second to him than win without him. But we obviously had a really good run, really, really fast car in the last three races, starting with Rockingham, Dega, and then Texas. So I don't believe that'll be our last opportunity to win," he added.

Kyle Larson won the Texas Motor Speedway race with a margin of 1.265 seconds over the defending champion, Justin Allgaier. Despite starting the race from P20, Larson led 32 laps in the 208-lap race.

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"He was an XFINITY Series champion, but he's yet to win a race": NASCAR champion Kyle Larson gives his take on the Xfinity Series drivers

In April 2025, during an interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Ch. 90, Cup Series driver Kyle Larson called out the Xfinity Series drivers. Larson claimed that the new generation of the Tier Two stock car racing league lacks adequate experience to compete in the Cup Series. The HMS driver gave Ty Gibbs' example to support his claim.

The #5 Chevy Camaro ZL1 driver pointed out that he competed against drivers like Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Matt Kenseth, and Jimmie Johnson before he debuted in the Cup Series. On the other hand, the younger generation of the Xfinity Series lacks the same experience.

Continuing further, Kyle Larson highlighted that Ty Gibbs failed to secure a win in his three-year stint in the Cup Series and stated:

"I think that's why, you see, you know a guy like Ty Gibbs. I really like Ty Gibbs. He was an XFINITY Series champion, but he's yet to win a race. I think a lot of that comes from just the limits that NASCAR has put on." [00:00]

The 32-year-old has secured 17 wins, 85 top-ten finishes, and eight pole positions in 119 starts in his decade-long run in the Xfinity Series despite running only two full seasons.