Matt Crafton fined $25,000 whereas Nick Sanchez escapes with $5,000 penalty despite allegedly threatening to “kill” the veteran driver

Matt Crafton has been fined $25,000 by NASCAR for assaulting fellow driver Nick Sanchez after the Truck Series race at Talladega Superspeedway last weekend. Meanwhile Sanchez was fined a $5,000 penalty despite allegedly threatening to "kill" Crafton.

Nick Sanchez's father, Rene, has been suspended for the final two Truck Series races of the season for his involvement in the incident.

Sanchez claimed Crafton broke his nose when he "sucker punched" him in the Talladega garage after the race on Saturday.

The altercation was captured on camera which showed Sanchez bleeding and on the ground, where he was restrained by a team member after he allegedly threatened to “kill” Crafton.

Matt Crafton claimed on X (formerly Twitter) that Sanchez threatened him when they faced each other in the garage. Explaining his side of the altercation, Crafton wrote:

"First, let's address the 'sucker punch.' Before the cameras started rolling I approached Nick and said 'hey' when he turned around I said 'what the -?!' to which he looked right at me and threatened me"

He added:

"That is when it all went to hell. I had his attention, words were exchanged, all before anything physical took place, so I did not 'sucker punch' the guy. There may not be video, but there were plenty of eye witnesses."

Matt Crafton stated that it was Sanchez who "sucker punched" him. Crafton has not had a victory this year, has already been eliminated from the playoffs, and is currently ranked tenth.

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What happened between Matt Crafton and Nick Sanchez?

After the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs race at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday afternoon, Nick Sanchez and Matt Crafton got into a physical fight in the pit area.

In a video uploaded on X (formerly Twitter), Sanchez and several other people were seen on the ground in the garage area in the aftermath of the incident. Sanchez's face was covered in blood after the altercation.

Why did the drivers fight?

At lap 93 of the race on Saturday, the two drivers' trucks collided as they were exiting Turn 4, resulting in a massive multi-truck accident just as the race was about to end.

As he turned the corner, Sanchez veered to Crafton's left, placing his pickup in the middle of a three-wide situation. Crafton's truck's left-rear corner was struck by Sanchez, tipping him into oncoming traffic and starting the collision.

After the collision, Crafton, a three-time Series champion, positioned his No. 88 truck between the two pit boxes as his pit stall was next to Sanchez's. Crafton exchanged words with Sanchez's No. 2 Chevrolet Rev Racing crew after getting out of his truck.

Both Craftsman Truck Series drivers received behavioral penalties from NASCAR on Tuesday for their actions in the post-race dispute at Talladega Superspeedway.