MIAMI, United States. – The young Nick Sánchez, 21 years old, Cuban-American and NASCAR driver, assured the magazine nascar who is proud of his Cuban and Miami roots.
Sánchez, who was born in 2001 in Miami, has become a regular face of the ARCA Menards Series. He drives as a driver for Rev Racing and the show NASCAR Drive for Diversity Driver Development. With two more races in 2022, the young Cuban-American leads the points classification.
Sánchez’s father came to the United States when he was only eight years old as part of the Mariel exodusin 1980. His son assures that he was never interested in racing, although he did buy some classic cars.
“He wasn’t a racing fanatic; he never saw racing,” Sánchez said. “Actually, he still never follows them… unless I participate; he never sees a full race.”
Sánchez’s passion for racing began when he was five years old and attended an event at the Homestead-Miami track. However, his father wanted him to dedicate himself to more traditional sports such as soccer.
“I started playing football when I was seven years old, and when I was 12, I finally told him [a mi padre] what he had been asking her for probably two years: ‘Hey, I want to run.’ They told me: ‘Great, but where do you run?’” Sánchez said.
Despite that obstacle, Sánchez spent the next few years of his life competing in go kart (wedges) across the United States before being able to race for Rev Racing, in 2017.
Last season, the youngster won three ARCA Menards Series races and is still in contention for the championship. Sanchez also made his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut in 2022, racing for BJ McLeod Motorsports and Big Machine Racing. nascar.
Although Sánchez currently lives in North Carolina, he hopes to return to compete at home, where his Cuban heritage awaits him.
“[En Miami] Latino heritage can be seen coming from a mile away,” said the young man. “I always try to embrace where I come from, Miami and Cuban-American. Mainly [quiero ser] a role model for other people in Miami and Cuban-Americans, and bring NASCAR racing to that demographic.”
“In the past, people could see NASCAR as an all-American sport. You didn’t see much diversity, ”he lamented. However, the panorama has changed with the insertion of pilots such as Aric Almirola, Daniel Suárez and Juan Pablo Montoya, recalls Sánchez himself.
“You don’t have to have a connection to racing at all. You can love something and you can do it. Hopefully we’ll see a lot of Latin Americans get into NASCAR,” she finished.
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