Tag: Grant Enfinger

Enfinger snatches second straight Truck Series win at Homestead

A strategy call from the pit box coupled with a patient move forward landed veteran Grant Enfinger his second consecutive NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Playoff race win in Saturday’s Baptist Health 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway while his closest …

A strategy call from the pit box coupled with a patient move forward landed veteran Grant Enfinger his second consecutive NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Playoff race win in Saturday’s Baptist Health 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway while his closest competitors ran out of fuel behind him in the closing laps.

Enfinger, who won the opening race in this Playoff round at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway three weeks ago denied the other seven Playoff racers a chance at an automatic bid into championship contention. So now at least two drivers will advance based on points-earned with only next Saturday’s race at Martinsville, Va. to settle which other three drivers move onward into the title fight.

Enfinger’s No. 9 CR7 Motorsports Chevrolet suffered damage on an early race restart, and the team opted to move to a different pit strategy – taking tires and fuel on lap 80 while most of the day’s previous race leaders opted to pit later on lap 100. Ultimately Enfinger was able to both save enough fuel and race off to enough advantage that no one was able to catch him as he raced away to his 12th career victory.

Taking the lead for good with 22 laps remaining, Enfinger claimed a 17.5s win over ThorSport Racing’s Ty Majeski as other trucks on a similar alternate strategy to Enfinger – the No. 38 driven by Layne Riggs and the No. 2 driven by Nick Sanchez — began running out of fuel in the final two laps.

 

Enfinger had enough fuel he even did a burnout to celebrate the win.

“At the end of the day, [crew chief] Jeff [Stankiewicz] just had the best truck out here,” said Enfinger, who actually made up a lap on track after contact on a race re-start cut his tire earlier in the day.

“Our car was really fast after about five laps yesterday [in practice] and was the same way today. Jeff did a good job managing me with the tires and then managing me with the fuel. I feel like I saved at least 20 percent more than I did in the first run. Jeff was on me pretty hard obviously and the No. 38 [Layne Riggs] ran out and the No. 2 [Nick Sanchez] did too.

“Hard to beat these two weeks,” he added with a grin.

“We’ve had potential all year,” the 38-year-old Alabama native continued. “There’s been sometimes, I haven’t executed and sometimes we’ve just had bad luck. Maybe it’s just time we get our momentum now.”

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Connor Mosack finished a career best third-place in the No. 7 Spire Motorsports truck. The day’s most dominant truck, driven by TRICON Garage’s Playoff driver Corey Heim finished fourth after leading a race best 68 of the 134 laps. Heim continues to lead the championship standings and is now 49 points above fifth place with the top-four drivers advancing to the title race.

“Overall, a good day for points, but disappointing,” said Heim, who has a series best six wins on the year. “We were so fast last year and wanted to come back and redeem ourselves and win the race of course. But no complaints as far as points go, makes Martinsville a little bit easier if we put together a decent day.”

McAnally-Hilgemann Racing’s Playoff driver Tyler Ankrum, finished fifth – his best finish of the Playoff run to date. Veteran Stewart Friesen was sixth, followed by Daniel Dye.

And three Playoff drivers – Spire Motorsports’ Rajah Caruth, McAnally-Hilgemann’s Christian Eckes and Tricon Garage’s Taylor Gray rounded out the top-10.

Heading into the next race, Heim has that 49-point edge above the cutoff line. Eckes is 38 points to the good and Majeski now holds a 22-point advantage. Caruth is ranked fifth, the first driver outside the Playoff bubble, 22 points back. Gray is 24 points back and Ankrum and Sanchez – who finished 13th after running out of fuel – are 41 and 43 points behind, respectively.

Frankie Muniz, the popular actor from the Malcolm in the Middle television series, finished 33rd in his series debut, his truck suffering mechanical problems early in the race.

The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races in the Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 200 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway next Friday evening (6 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) to settle the Championship Four field. Eckes won the race there this April.

RESULTS

Enfinger roars into final round with Truck Series win at Talladega

The home crowd favorite, Grant Enfinger claimed the victory in Friday afternoon’s Love’s RV Stop 225 Playoff race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway – the Alabama native’s second NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win at the big track and the most …

The home crowd favorite, Grant Enfinger claimed the victory in Friday afternoon’s Love’s RV Stop 225 Playoff race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway – the Alabama native’s second NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win at the big track and the most important, as the victory delivers an automatic entry into the season championship finale next month.

Enfinger’s No. 9 CR7 Motorsports Chevrolet led a race best 34 of the 85 laps, won Stage 2 and held the point on the final lap when a caution came out ending the race.

“We knew stuff was going to get dicey,’’ the 39-year old Enfinger said of having to hold the field off following a restart with nine laps remaining to claim his first victory of the season — first ever for the team — and 11th of Enfinger’s career.

“We didn’t make all the perfect decisions today, but we had a Champion Power Equipment Chevy that was fast enough to get it done today, so even though we chose the outside [lane for a restart] once or twice and maybe we shouldn’t have. … It’s just Talladega right there and hopefully all the fans enjoyed it.

“There’s nothing like winning at your home track. Got my family here and first win with my daughter and my son here. On top of that we get to race for a championship in Phoenix.’’

 

It was a typically wild event on the sport’s biggest track (2.66-mile) with the race once again decided in a final frantic push for the checkered flag – with Enfinger leading fellow playoff driver, Tricon Garage’s Taylor Gray across the finish line under caution.

Daniel Dye and Tyler Ankrum made contact while running fifth and sixth – causing a multi-car accident spinning about 200 yards before the finish line, bringing out the yellow and checkered flag to officially end the event. The McAnally-Hilgemann driver Dye slid across the line in third, Spire Motorsports’ Rajah Caruth, also a playoff driver, finished fourth. Reaume Brothers Racing’s Lawless Alan scored a career best fifth place finish.

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McAnally-Hilgemann’s Christian Eckes, the regular season champion, finished sixth, followed by Ryan Reed, Stefan Parsons, Bret Holmes and Spencer Boyd.

Playoff drivers, Tricon Garage’s Corey Heim and ThorSport’s Ty Majeski finished 11th and 12th. McAnally-Hilgemann’s Tyler Ankrum was 14th.

“We had a fast truck and made a bad decision,” a frustrated Majeski said. “I hopped out of line and cost ourselves some Stage 2 points, so I don’t know where that puts us in the points, but I guess it could have been worse if we finished 12th. We’ll move on to Homestead.”

Rev Racing’s Nick Sanchez, who led 10 laps, finished 22nd after an eventful day. He was involved in multiple incidents and ultimately called to pit road by NASCAR on that final restart with nine laps remaining for an equipment check.

Enfinger’s win marks the first time in nine Talladega playoff races that a playoff driver won the race. He was not playoff-eligible when he won at the track in 2016. This win lands him one of four positions in the championship race at Phoenix on Nov. 8 – the third time the popular Alabama driver has competed for the championship trophy.

“Obviously we can start focusing on Phoenix right away and that’s a huge advantage, I think,’’ Enfinger said. “The way I look at it, we don’t have to worry about points for the next two races. … Very very proud of what this win means but realistically, we still have a lot to do to prepare for the championship.”

With two races remaining in this Round of 8 to decide which three drivers join Enfinger in the Championship race, Heim leads Eckes by a single point. Majeski is 25 points back but only five points ahead of Caruth.

Gray is 13 points behind Majeski, Sanchez 20 points back and Ankrum, 23 points back. A win by any of these seven is the automatic ticket for a shot at the title.

The series has a three-week break before the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoff Race at Homestead-Miami on Oct. 26 at South Florida’s 1.5-mile Homestead-Miami Speedway (noon ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Carson Hocevar is the defending race winner.

RESULTS

Grant Enfinger to join CR7 Motorsports for 2024 NASCAR Truck Series season

Grant Enfinger will drive the No. 9 truck full-time for CR7 Motorsports during the 2024 NASCAR Truck Series season.

[autotag]CR7 Motorsports[/autotag] announced on Tuesday morning that [autotag]Grant Enfinger[/autotag] will drive full-time for the organization in the No. 9 truck in 2024. This won’t be the first time Enfinger drives for CR7 Motorsports after he drove part-time with the team during the 2021 NASCAR season. The former GMS Racing driver had one top-5 finish and three top-10 finishes in nine starts.

Enfinger made the Championship 4 in GMS Racing’s final NASCAR Truck Series race at Phoenix Raceway and almost won the 2023 series title. Unfortunately for Enfinger, he lost the Truck Series championship after Corey Heim intentionally wrecked fellow Championship 4 competitor Carson Hocevar on purpose with under five laps to go.

Overall, this is a massive addition for CR7 Motorsports, who secures Enfinger’s services on a multi-year contract. As for Enfigner, better options were available on paper, but he decided to go to a place that felt right for him. Enfinger’s future in NASCAR appears to be secured as he chases his first Truck Series title.

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Rhodes edges Enfinger for Truck Series title as Eckes wins at Phoenix

Cautions, restarts, retribution, extra laps and high action marked Friday night’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway. And that was just the final 50 laps. In the end, ThorSport Racing’s Ben Rhodes claimed his second …

Cautions, restarts, retribution, extra laps and high action marked Friday night’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway. And that was just the final 50 laps.

In the end, ThorSport Racing’s Ben Rhodes claimed his second series championship in the last three years with a hard-earned fifth-place finish in the No. 99 Ford while McAnally Hilgemann Racing’s Christian Eckes raced to his fourth win of the season by a slight 0.421s over rookie teammate Jake Garcia in four dramatic overtime periods.

That’s the conclusion to an evening that featured 12 caution periods, 29 laps of overtime competition and plenty of high-stakes racing – especially among the four championship contenders that earned a chance to settle the season title.

Perhaps indicative of the night, Rhodes’ finish and ultimate trophy haul wasn’t secure until the checkered flag with championship runner-up Grant Enfinger giving it his all in the No. 23 GMS Racing Chevrolet coming off Turn 4 in an all-out pursuit to the very end.

Both Rhodes and Enfinger had survived close calls in the overtime laps. Rhodes collided with Zane Smith racing for the lead – hitting Smith’s truck when it appeared Smith missed a shift out front in the second overtime restart. Enfinger had close calls in two of the four extra-lap periods and still was able to pull off that final push forward; ultimately finishing one position behind Rhodes in the standings.

 

The regular season champion and race polesitter Corey Heim finished 18th after contact from fellow Championship 4 driver Carson Hocevar with 30 laps of regulation remaining in the scheduled 150-lap race.

“I can’t even believe it,” the 26-year-old Kentucky native Rhodes said of his dramatic title win. “It’s just so awesome, man. To go 25 laps into overtime, do you know what that feels like? It’s crazy. I didn’t think we were going to make it. I thought we were going to pop a tire, that anything that could have gone wrong was going to go wrong.

“Grant almost got me. But hats off to him, he ran a great race. I wouldn’t want to race against anybody else for the championship. He raced me clean, and I respect the heck out of him for it.”

“I saw him,” Rhodes said of Enfinger’s final push forward in the last corner. “He went for everything, but he ran me clean, and I thank him for that. That’s what these championships are all about.”

Enfinger, whose GMS Racing team is closing shop at the end of the season, was especially gutted to come so very close to his first championship.

“I don’t know,” Enfinger said of doing anything differently on that last lap.

“Obviously we got loose there at the end,” he continued. “Maybe if he didn’t have such a good run down the backstretch, we’d be able to make that pass. It’s a shame the championship came down to a race like that with 15 green-white-checkers or whatever it was. I feel like we did everything we could to win this and just got used up.”

The other two championship contenders, Heim and Hocevar had a more contentious situation on-track. Heim, whose 47 laps out front in the No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota were second most laps led on the night, was actually leading the championship-eligible drivers when Hocevar hit him going into Turn 2 with 30 laps remaining. The contact sent Heim’s Toyota into Stewart Friesen’s Toyota which hit the wall and brought out a caution. Hocevar continued on and Heim had to pit for repairs and went down a lap.

Heim viewed the hit as intentional and later in the race, collided with Hocevar, bringing out another caution period. Heim insisted his car just wasn’t steering properly at the time, while Hocevar said he had fully expected the payback. It was enough to sideline Hocevar’s No. 42 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet which was credited with a 29th-place finish from the garage.

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“My only goal was to try slow him down,” Hocevar said. “I didn’t want to do that at all. With my track record, I can’t sit here and say I didn’t mean to. I just messed up. I was trying really hard to slow him up and just messed it up.

“I feel bad I robbed him of that and feel sorry for that,” an apologetic Hocevar added of Heim’s championship chances. “I just messed up.”

The 21-year-old Heim had a streak of 15 consecutive top-10 finishes coming into the race and was considered the favorite by many. He had three wins on the season in only his first fulltime year of competition.

“It was a great year, a phenomenal year for us and our worst finish in like six months,” a disappointed Heim said. “Really put together a good race and really hoped the guys would race clean. I had a lot of respect for everybody in the field, but clearly I don’t anymore. It is what it is; it’s part of racing.”

As for the later contact with Hocevar, Heim said it was purely coincidental.

“It wasn’t retaliation,” he said. “I had no side force; he put it on my door, and I wrecked [into him].

“I’ve been racing Carson for a long time. Racing since I was eight or nine years old,” Heim said later. “That’s kind of just what he does. He’ll wreck you and apologize and do it again the next week. So that’s not going to be the last time he does it and certainly [wasn’t] the first time he’d done it. I’ve known him for a long time. … it is what it is. I completely expected it.”

As for his victory, the 22-year-old Eckes tried to reconcile the championship race win with having just been eliminated from Playoff contention. He had a win (at Kansas) and a pair of runner-up finishes (Indianapolis Raceway Park and Bristol, Tenn.) during the Playoff stretch but was eliminated after finished of 19th and 20th in the two races leading into the championship finale.

“Those two races that killed the whole Playoffs pretty much and that’s just kind of the nature of it,” Eckes said. “I didn’t do my job last week and really the week before either.

“That gets us out and that puts us in this situation, but it’s motivating for next year and it was motivating for this race too.

“This one kind of stings, I know it’s a win, but the stupid mistakes the last two weeks of a near perfect Playoffs cost us a championship,” Eckes added.

“It’s kind of hard to be happy right now, but overall, just super proud of everybody for the year that we’ve had and just ready for 2024.

Chase Purdy, Jesse Love and Rhodes rounded out the top five. Enfinger, Dean Thompson, Kaden Honeycutt, Tanner Gray and Nick Sanchez completed the top 10. It was a career best finish for the runner-up Garcia as well as Love and Honeycutt.

RESULTS

Grant Enfinger provides big update on his 2024 NASCAR plans

Grant Enfinger gives a big update on his plans for the 2024 NASCAR season. Find out what Enfinger had to say about the situation!

[autotag]Grant Enfinger[/autotag] and GMS Racing will fight for a NASCAR Truck Series championship at Phoenix Raceway this weekend; however, it is impossible to ignore what comes after the season. GMS Racing will cease operations at the conclusion of 2023 and no longer compete in the Truck Series. As for Enfinger, he talked about his plans for 2024 leading up to Phoenix.

According to Enfinger, he does know what he will be doing in NASCAR during the 2024 season and feels really good about the opportunity. The driver of the No. 23 truck declined to go much further as the sole focus remains on winning a Truck Series championship in GMS Racing’s final start in NASCAR.

Enfinger was definitely a hot commodity on the market as he brings a veteran presence that can help mentor young drivers while competing for a Truck Series title. For now, Enfinger will continue to focus on winning his first career championship in NASCAR’s top 3 levels before shifting it to the 2024 season.

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Enfinger wins in Truck Series return to Milwaukee Mile

After Carson Hocevar crashed a two-driver party, pole winner Grant Enfinger rallied for victory in Sunday’s Clean Harbors 175 at the Milwaukee Mile and clinched a spot in the Round of 8 of the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Playoffs. Enfinger, who …

After Carson Hocevar crashed a two-driver party, pole winner Grant Enfinger rallied for victory in Sunday’s Clean Harbors 175 at the Milwaukee Mile and clinched a spot in the Round of 8 of the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Playoffs.

Enfinger, who led 95 of 175 laps, passed Hocevar for the top spot on lap 159 and pulled away to win his third race of the season by 1.553s. Hocevar was gambling on older tires and led the field to green for the final restart on lap 148.

The victory—the 10th of Enfinger’s career—was a point proven for the Alabama driver, whose GMS Racing truck team announced it would discontinue operations at the end of the season.

“I don’t think anybody’s going to ask if we’re going to lay down again,” Enfinger said after climbing from his No. 23 Chevrolet. “(Crew chief) Jeff Hensley’s been focused the whole year. There’s been distractions going on all year long. So if anything, this has clarity.

“None of these guys, including me, have a job next year, but I feel like we proved we deserve one.”

Fast from the outset of the first NASCAR national series race at Milwaukee since 2009, Enfinger won the first stage wire-to-wire, leading all 55 laps. After surrendering the top spot on pit road during the stage break, he passed Corey Heim for the lead on lap 95 and went on to capture Stage 2 by 2.149s.

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But Enfinger lost three positions on pit road during the second stage break and had to overcome the loss of track position as well as varying strategy from Hocevar and six other non-Playoff drivers who stayed out on older tires during caution for William Sawalich’s contact with the Turn 2 wall on lap 135.

Restarting 14th on lap 141, Enfinger fought his way back to the front, passing Derek Kraus for second on lap 153 and overtaking Hocevar six laps later.

“It’s kind of a bummer to run second,” said Hocevar, who has three victories to his credit this season and holds a 56-point cushion above the cut line with one race left in the Playoffs’ Round of 10. “I haven’t done this in quite a while.

“Luckily, I’ve been fortunate enough to win three races, so it’s close.”

Christian Eckes and Heim finished third and fourth, respectively, and both clinched berths in the Round of 8 on points. Matt Crafton came home fifth and moved nine points above the cutoff for the next round.

Chase Purdy ran sixth, followed by Ty Majeski, who won the Truck Series Playoff opener at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. But Majeski raced under the specter of possible NASCAR penalties this coming week.

NASCAR confiscated the right rear tire from Majeski’s No. 98 Ford and ejected crew chief Joe Shear Jr. Majeski started from the rear of the field and served a pass-through penalty after the opening lap but rallied to finish seventh. Any further penalties the team may accrue will be announced later in the week.

RESULTS

Grant Enfinger sweeps Truck race at Milwaukee, clinches spot in Round of 8

GMS Racing driver Grant Enfinger dominates the NASCAR Truck Series race at the Milwaukee Mile and clinches a spot in the Round of 8.

The NASCAR Truck Series returned to the Milwaukee Mile for the first time since the 2009 season and it put on a show. [autotag]Grant Enfinger[/autotag] dominated the event after sweeping the day for seven playoff points and the victory. This comes after GMS Racing announced it would cease operations at the conclusion of the 2023 season earlier in the week.

Enfinger joins Ty Majeski in the Round of 8 on wins while Corey Heim and Christian Eckes clinched spots on points alone. Now, there are four spots left in the Round of 8 with Ben Rhodes and Matt DiBenedetto below the playoff cut-line.

The Truck Series now goes to Kansas Speedway in two weeks for the final race of the Round of 10. It will be wild as the cut-line is tight for the remaining drivers.

Clean Harbors 175 top-10 finishing order:

  1. No. 23 Grant Enfinger
  2. No. 42 Carson Hocevar
  3. No. 19 Christian Eckes
  4. No. 11 Corey Heim
  5. No. 88 Matt Crafton
  6. No. 4 Chase Purdy
  7. No. 98 Ty Majeski
  8. No. 7 Derek Kraus
  9. No. 35 Jake Garcia
  10. No. 41 Bayley Currey

Enfinger in for Gragson at Sonoma Cup race

Legacy Motor Club has announced that Noah Gragson, regular driver of its NASCAR Cup Series No. 42 Sunseeker Chevrolet, will not compete in Sunday’s race at Sonoma Raceway, as he recovers from the effects of his heavy crash in last week’s race at …

Legacy Motor Club has announced that Noah Gragson, regular driver of its NASCAR Cup Series No. 42 Sunseeker Chevrolet, will not compete in Sunday’s race at Sonoma Raceway, as he recovers from the effects of his heavy crash in last week’s race at World Wide Technology Raceway. GMS Racing and NASCAR Truck Series veteran Grant Enfinger (pictured above) will take over the No. 42 this weekend.

Rookie Gragson was evaluated and released from the infield care center following his crash at WWTR. Upon return home to North Carolina, he began to experience concussion-like symptoms mid-week and is seeking treatment.

The Sonoma road race will be the Cup Series debut for Enfinger. The 38-year-old, who was the 2015 ARCA Menards Series champion, is a nine-time winner in the NASCAR Truck Series with two victories this season, including last weekend at WWTR.

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“Noah’s health is the highest of priorities and we commend him for making the decision to sit out this weekend,” said team co-owners Maury Gallagher and Jimmie Johnson. “We are appreciative that Grant was available and willing to step in since the Truck Series is off this weekend.”

“My thoughts are with Noah, I know how much he loves this team and the guys on it,” said Enfinger. “I’m happy to help out Legacy Motor Club and the No. 42 team.”

Enfinger on a roll with Truck Series victory at WWTR

Taking advantage of Ty Majeski’s and Zane Smith’s wreck at the front of the field, Grant Enfinger grabbed his second NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory of the season in Saturday’s Toyota 200 at World Wide Technology Raceway. During a two-lap …

Taking advantage of Ty Majeski’s and Zane Smith’s wreck at the front of the field, Grant Enfinger grabbed his second NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory of the season in Saturday’s Toyota 200 at World Wide Technology Raceway.

During a two-lap overtime that took the race two laps past its scheduled distance of 160 laps, Enfinger held off Christian Eckes to claim his first win at WWT Raceway and the ninth of his career.

Enfinger crossed the finish line 0.256s ahead of Eckes and collected a $50,000 bonus for winning the second event in the Triple Truck Challenge.

“I forgot about that, to be honest with you right now,” Enfinger said of the Triple Truck Challenge bonus. “It’s just so hard to win these races. And if it was about money, we’d have quit a long time ago… It’s been a rocky year. But these last five races, I feel like we’ve come to our own.

“(Crew chief) Jeff Hensley made great calls and overall just a just a great day, and the stars aligned.”

Enfinger likely would have settled for third place, had Majeski and Smith not wiped out in front on him on lap 155. Smith held the lead at that point, even though he had made his last pit stop on Lap 90.

On older tires, Smith held an advantage of nearly 1.5s when Lawless Alan’s spin on lap 150 necessitated the 10th caution of the race.

After the subsequent restart on lap 155, Majeski, the pole winner, charged into second place and ran side by side with Smith until Majeski spun sideways in Turn 2, destroyed his own truck and knocked Smith into the wall in the process.

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The wreck sent the race to the overtime, with Enfinger in the lead and Eckes beside him for a restart on lap 161. Enfinger cleared Eckes on the first overtime lap and pulled away to win by a truck-length.

“I don’t know if we were just kind of living right there the end or whatever, but Ty kind of did what I did last year… and Ty just got loose underneath him. It’s hard to make those moves here. But I’m just so proud of these guys…

“It’s as good as time as they need to announce that we’re expecting another baby, so I’ll be home tonight to see (my wife), so life is good.”

Stewart Friesen ran third, followed by Carson Hocevar and Chase Purdy. Matt DiBenedetto, Ben Rhodes, Nick Sanchez, Jesse Love and Jake Garcia completed the top 10.

Love was making his first start in the series, substituting for Corey Heim, who was sidelined by illness.

RESULTS

Enfinger motors away from Truck field to win in Kansas

Grant Enfinger stayed ahead of trouble in a race that produced seven cautions for 40 of 134 laps and forged a decisive victory in Saturday night’s Heart of America 200 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at Kansas Speedway. Enfinger crossed the …

Grant Enfinger stayed ahead of trouble in a race that produced seven cautions for 40 of 134 laps and forged a decisive victory in Saturday night’s Heart of America 200 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at Kansas Speedway.

Enfinger crossed the finish line 4.358 seconds ahead of Corey Heim to post his first victory of the season.

Enfinger’s eighth career win was his first at Kansas and his first since winning at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis in the 17th race of 2022.

“It was a huge night for us,” said Enfinger, who led a race-high 65 laps. “From the drop of the green flag, we had a really really good Chevy Silverado. Just started out really tight. Once (crew chief) Jeff (Hensley) made one adjustment on it, I felt like from that point forward, we were potentially the best truck out there.”

Heim won a close battle for second over Zane Smith. Stewart Friesen was fourth, followed by Ross Chastain. Nick Sanchez, Kyle Busch, Jake Garcia, Taylor Gray and Tyler Ankrum completed the top 10.

The final caution dimmed Heim’s chances.

“I think that last caution (for Wright’s second spin) put a hole in our strategy a little bit,” Heim said. “If we had that last run go green and we had the same tires as the No. 23 (Enfinger), I thought we could beat him straight up.

“As soon as we got that last caution and we were on uneven tires, I knew it was going to be all track position. I got hung up trying to block the No. 38 (Smith) and kind of took a step back from there and lost track position.”

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Two of the fastest trucks in the race saw their winning chances end in a shunt on lap 72, when Rajah Caruth spun across the bumper of Ty Majeski’s No. 98 Toyota into the outside wall on the frontstretch.

Caruth’s truck was too heavily damaged to continue, and Majeski’s too heavily damaged to contend.

“It was really close, and we had a long way to go,” Caruth said after exiting the infield care center. “I was trying to cover the top, and he just kind of hooked me there. Good to know.

“I didn’t double-move or anything. I picked the top there, and he just took me.”

From appearances, though, Caruth was late in an attempt to block Majeski’s progress, to the detriment of both trucks. Majeski finished 25th.

Pole winner Christian Eckes likewise was involved in a terminal wreck after the subsequent restart on lap 79. Aggression got the best of drivers at the front of the field, and the trucks of Eckes, Matt DiBenedetto, Carson Hocevar and Chase Purdy all were KO’d in Turn 1.

“Just aggression I guess, Eckes said. “He (DiBenedetto) blocked a little late and got loose, and I tried to go high, and I might have caught his rear quarter panel. Yeah, it sucks.”

Busch won the first stage before tangling with Ben Rhodes after the Stage 2 restart. Enfinger powered past Busch into the lead on lap 40 but came to pit road under the third caution for Kris Wright’s spin through the infield grass.

Enfinger gave up the lead with the stop but charged back to second by the end of the stage, which Majeski won.

RESULTS