Regular Season Champion Grant Enfinger Is Ready To Take on Thunder Valley In Round 1 Of The Gander T
Grant Enfinger, No. 98 ThorSport Racing/Curb Records Ford F-150
NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series
Bristol Motor Speedway – UNOH 200
Race No. 17 of 23
Team Info/Stats:
Crew Chief: Jeff Hensley
2019 Driver Points Standings: 2nd (-3)
2019 Owner Points Standings: 2nd (-1)
Spotter: Chris Lambert
News and Notes:
Regular Season Crown… For the first time in his NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series career, Enfinger was crowned the Regular Season Champion following last Saturday’s race at Michigan International Speedway, locking up a berth in the eight-driver postseason field by merely starting the race.
Welcome to the 2019 Playoffs… For the second consecutive season, Grant Enfinger and the No. 98 ThorSport Racing team earned a spot in the 2019 Gander Trucks Playoffs. Enfinger, who is seeded second in the Playoffs, is only three points behind leader Brett Moffitt, entering the first of three races in Round 1, which kicks off Thursday night at Bristol Motor Speedway (BMS).
Mr. Consistency… Despite no victories, Enfinger is having the best season of his career. The ThorSport Racing driver has earned two poles (Texas_1 & Kentucky), four stage wins and led 236 laps en route to seven top-five and 13 top-10 finishes.
Thunder Valley Stats… Enfinger will make his third start at BMS in Thursday’s 22nd annual UNOH 200. In two previous starts, the ThorSport Racing driver has a track-best start of fifth (2018) and a track-best finish of fourth (2017).
This Week's No. 98 ThorSport Racing/Curb Records Ford F-150... The No. 98 ThorSport Racing team will unload chassis No. 43 for Thursday’s 200-lap event at BMS. This particular chassis has made two starts this season, leading 52 laps and securing two top-10 finishes at Martinsville Speedway (seventh) and World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway (sixth).
Ford Fact… Ford powered F-150's have found victory lane 99 times since 1995 in the Gander Trucks, including five times at BMS with drivers Joe Ruttman (1995), Carl Edwards (2004), Mark Martin (2006), Brad Keselowski (2014) and Ryan Blaney (2015).
Take Me Back – Michigan… Enfinger started ninth, finished sixth in Stage 1, third in Stage 2 and finished seventh in the Corrigan Oil 200 at Michigan International Speedway.
Truck Series Stats… Enfinger has 76 career Gander Trucks starts to his credit. His success includes five poles, and 507 laps led en route to two wins, 25 top-five and 48 top-10 finishes.
Chatting with Grant Enfinger...
On those 15 bonus Playoff points for winning Regular Season Champion…
“It’s huge. That’s equivalent to three wins and obviously we’ve got a goose egg in the win column right now. I’m not happy about that, but really we’re not freaking out about it either. We’ve had the speed to get it done, the races just haven’t played out in our favor. But, to go ahead and have that little cushion, those 15 points, going into the Playoffs, is huge. It allows us to maintain the strategy we’ve had all year, for at least the first race and try to keep accumulating points and doing everything right. Sooner or later we’ll have to get into victory lane and we’re ready for that, but that little cushion definitely helps us out.”
On Bristol Motor Speedway and being the first race in the first round of the Playoffs…
“I love it; Bristol is obviously an exciting track. A lot of us came from the short tracks, I know that’s where I got my start and Bristol is the epitome of that short track we all wanna be racing at, at this level. So, I think opening the Playoffs there is awesome. Obviously some stuff can happen, tempers tend to flare there, but they flare everywhere these days. Bristol is always an exciting race, but I don’t think that’s the wild card of Round 1 of the Playoffs – I think that’s Canada, next week.”
