NASCAR
Grant Enfinger Comes in Clutch for Gateway Win, Triple Truck Challenge Bonus
MADISON, ILL. – GMS Racing and Grant Enfinger are back in victory lane again, this time from Worldwide Technology Raceway at Gateway. The 23 was far from the class of the field all race long, playing alternate strategy to get track position. Once the leaders took each other out late, Enfinger was in the right spot to capitalize. Even with an overtime restart, the 23 held on for win two of 2023, also taking home the $50,000 Triple Truck Challenge bonus.
Despite being fastest all weekend long, neither Stage would go to polesitter Ty Majeski. Two late-stage restarts would give the bonus points to Grant Enfinger and Stewart Friesen. Both times the 98 was a close runner-up. Enfinger grabbed the opening Stage thanks to not pitting with everyone else, beating the 98 on a one-lap shootout.
Majeski would be buried in the field to restart the final Stage. The 98 would not sniff the lead again until a restart with five laps left. Entering turn three, the 98 dove to the inside of Zane Smith but with no grip. As a result, Majeski spun and collected the 38. Third at the time and now the leader for overtime would be Grant Enfinger.
In overtime, Enfinger easily had the upper hand over Christian Eckes. A five-week stretch of racing for the Truck Series gets bookended with Grant Enfinger victories. Two wins across the last month now have the GMS Racing 23 solidly in the 2023 Playoffs.
“It’s just so hard to win these races, if it was about money we’d have quit a long time ago,” Enfinger said. “Thank you to Craftsman for that. Thanks so much to Champion Power Equipment, Maury Gallagher, Mike Beam, Ron Booth, Jeff Hensley and those guys behind pit wall. Thank you to everybody for keeping on the belief in us, it’s been a rocky year. But these last five races, I feel like we’ve come into our own with speed.”
“I was pretty disappointed yesterday, I feel like I nailed my lap and we were 10th. I looked at the lap tracker and I didn’t think we were a contending truck. Jeff Hensley made great calls though, and overall it was just a great day. The stars aligned. Ty (Majeski) did what I kind of did last year with Zane (Smith), just getting loose underneath him. It’s hard to make those moves here. I’m just so proud of these guys and Champion Power Equipment.”
Enfinger also used this moment to announce that himself and his wife are expecting another baby. Along with two wins, things are going great for the Enfinger family.
Behind Enfinger, the Gateway top-10 finishers were: Christian Eckes, Stewart Friesen, Carson Hocevar, Chase Purdy, Matt DiBenedetto, Ben Rhodes, Nick Sanchez, Jesse Love, and Jake Garcia.
Thanks to a second 2023 victory, Grant Enfinger is now second on the Playoff grid. Only four races remain in the Truck Series regular season, with four postseason berths still up for grabs.
The Truck Series returns to action from Nashville Superspeedway. The Rackley Roofing 200 will go green Friday, June 23rd at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. The Playoffs loom ever closer, and Nashville provides an excellent chance for a breakthrough winner.
Written by Peter Stratta
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