NASCAR
KANSAS CITY, Kan. – An attrition-filled Kansas Truck race came down to a late three-wide pass for the win. After having the best Truck all night long, Grant Enfinger is back in victory lane for the first time in 2023. Kansas marks the halfway point of the regular season for the Truckers. Oddly enough, Enfinger becomes the fifth different contender to win a race, making the Playoff grid half full.
Both Stage wins would be split between Kyle Busch and Grant Enfinger. After each Stage only saw one caution apiece, the start of Stage 3 quickly turned chaotic. While racing for third on lap 72, Rajah Caruth and Ty Majeski both crashed hard out of turn four. The race up to this point was a career night for the young Caruth, who left Kansas with a disappointing DNF.
The caution is out for an incident involving the No. 98 and No. 24.@TyMajeski | @rajahcaruth_ pic.twitter.com/j6Wp8uQyaT
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) May 7, 2023
The very next restart would also see carnage, as Matt DiBenedetto would be turned across the pack entering turn one. Collected by the No. 25 would be Carson Hocevar, Christian Eckes, Dean Thompson, and Chase Purdy.
Trouble on the restart.
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) May 7, 2023
Multiple trucks are collected in an incident on lap 79. pic.twitter.com/Yc8aV1wfUA
Only one more caution flag would fly the rest of the night for a single-truck spin. The run to the finish would see a few potential winners emerge, with the lead changing hands multiple times.
With 32 laps left, leaders Corey Heim and Zane Smith were stalled out door-to-door. This allowed Grant Enfinger to capitalize with a huge head of steam, making a three-wide pass for the lead.
As laps wound down, the 23’s lead only grew more and more. By the checkers, Enfinger had amassed a four-second lead and finished with 65 laps led on the night. The GMS Racing driver was happy to find victory lane again after some early-season struggles.
“Kansas has been a good track for us, but we haven’t had a dominant truck like this in a long time,” Enfinger said. “(Crew chief) Jeff Hensley did this for me a few years ago, lights out we had the best Chevy Silverado out here.”
“Thank you to Champion Power Equipment for sticking with me, it’s been a dismal year and a half. I know we came up with a win last year, but overall the season was a little sluggish. The first seven races of this year were a little sluggish too. I was a little disappointed in our execution, but Jeff talked to me before the race. He gave me some encouragement, he did a heck of a job tonight, but the biggest thing is these guys just brought me an unbelievable Chevy Silverado.”
“Thanks to GM and their Military Appreciation initiative, it’s pretty special to have a red, white and blue truck here. Definitely very very cool. Thanks to everyone at Chevrolet. I definitely think this team is capable of doing this each and every week. I’m glad we sealed the deal today.”
Behind Enfinger, the top-10 Kansas finishers were: Corey Heim, Zane Smith, Stewart Friesen, Ross Chastain, Nick Sanchez, Kyle Busch, Jake Garcia, Taylor Gray, and Tyler Ankrum.
Through eight races in 2023, Grant Enfinger is the fifth championship-eligible driver to secure a Playoff spot by winning. He joins Zane Smith, Christian Eckes, Carson Hocevar, and Corey Heim as 2023 race winners.
The next chance for a Truck Series driver to win their way into a Playoff spot will be Friday night at Darlington. The Buckle Up South Carolina 200 will go green at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Darlington marks the second of five-straight Truck Series races. The odds of a new winner are high on the historic track.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to Johnathan Bachman/Getty Images for NASCAR
