NASCAR Issues Slaps on the Wrist for Drivers Involved in Bloody Fight, Suspends Driver's Father

• Apparently the only person suspended from this past weekend's bloody skirmish between NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series racers Matt Crafton and Nick Sanchez was Sanchez's' father.

• Crafton, who Sanchez maintains “sucker punched” him, has been fined $25,000.

• Sanchez was fined $5,000.

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series drivers Matt Crafton and Nick Sanchez, who got into a bloody altercation after the Love’s RV Stop 250 at Talladega Superspeedway, have received a slap on the wrist from the sanctioning body.

Crafton, who Sanchez maintains “sucker punched” him, has been fined $25,000. Sanchez was fined $5,000 for the threats he yelled at Crafton. Sanchez’s father, Rene, has been suspended from NASCAR for the rest of the 2023 season for his involvement in the skirmish.

NASCAR Senior Vice President of Competition Elton Sawyer said Tuesday on “The Morning Drive” on SIRIUSXM NASCAR Radio that officials spent the previous day examining the situation and looking at the timeline of how things unfolded.

“A suspension was definitely considered,” Sawyer says. “We had long conversations yesterday (Monday) about that with our group. We felt like some of the comments that were made by Nick … we totally understand that’s in the heat of the battle … but we just can’t have those type of comments.”

There was video of Sanchez, who had blood running down his face, shouting at Crafton that he was going “to kill him at Homestead.”

On Crafton’s side, Sawyer said NASCAR looked at the fact that he 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 on pit road and they have a discussion with each other,” Sawyer says. “This one spilled over into the garage some time after the event. So, felt like it could have been handled differently.