Enfinger Excels in Truck Playoff Race One

Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR

NASCAR

Grant Enfinger Takes First Win of 2022 in Playoff Opener from IRP

BROWNSBURG, Ind. – The opening race of the 2022 Truck Series Playoffs was a thriller to say the least. The first race at Indianapolis Raceway Park in 11 years ended with Grant Enfinger in victory lane. Coming in as the ninth seed, Enfinger is now advanced on past the Round of 10. Aside from the victory though, there was plenty of short track Friday night drama.

Both opening Stages were relatively uneventful. John Hunter Nemechek led wire-to-wire in Stage 1, only to spin out late battling for third late in Stage 2. After this yellow shook up the running order, the Stage 2 win went to Ty Majeski.

After inheriting the lead late in Stage 2, Ty Majeski seemed well on his way to career win number one. However, many cautions kept the field in close proximity all night. Majeski also lost the lead in lapped traffic, allowing Grant Enfinger to stalk him down inside of the final 15 laps.

Right as Enfinger took the lead though, another caution flew. This brought most of the leaders in for fresh tires, but not Nemechek. After his earlier spin, the 4 was on the front row with two laps left. On fresher tires, Taylor Gray in the 17 initially got position on Nemechek, only for the 4 to punt him in turn three.

On an overtime restart, Nemechek was a sitting duck, as Zane Smith ran the 4 wide through turns one and two. This allowed Enfinger and his new tires to sneak by on the inside, getting the spot at the white flag. After having a season marred by inconsistency, Grant Enfinger is the lone Playoff driver safe after the opening race from IRP.

“We’re finally moving forward,” Enfinger said of positive momentum for his team. “This is the first laps we’ve led since Atlanta. Terrible all season, not because of these guys here, but we’ve been off as an organization. Can’t say thank you enough to Mike Beam, Maury Gallagher, Ron Booth, everyone at GMS Fabrication. We’ve all been working so hard, because we’ve been sucking. It hurts to say it, but we’ve had a terrible season to this point.”

“But we had a great No. 23 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet all day. Felt like every time we got the lead a caution came out, it put Hensley (crew chief) in a bad spot. I knew from experience to just trust his gut. I couldn’t keep my mouth shut some of the times. Still trying to edge him along. I had one of my Pop-pop’s Bible verses in (the truck) so it’s a pretty special night, definitely very very thankful.”

Behind Enfinger, Ben Rhodes, Zane Smith, Stewart Friesen, and Corey Heim were the top five. Tyler Ankrum, Layne Riggs, Ty Majeski, Matt Crafton, and John Hunter Nemechek rounded out the top 10.

IRP marks Enfinger’s first win of 2022, first with GMS Racing, and his first since Martinsville in October 2020. Career win number seven allows the 23 team to move onto the Round of 8.

While Enfinger is safe for the next two races, it’s a dogfight in points further back. Zane Smith holds a 50-point gap above the cut line in second, but nobody else has much room to be comfortable with two races left in this round.

The Truck Series is off for a few weeks, as race two of their Playoffs is not until August 13 at Richmond. The Worldwide Express 250 will be nine driver’s next chance to ward off elimination. Coverage begins Saturday at 8:00 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Enfinger won this race just two years ago, so the 23 could go back-to-back.

Written by Peter Stratta

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Photo Credit to Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR