Grant Enfinger goes back-to-back with superior strategy at Homestead

Grant Enfinger denied his fellow drivers eligible for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series playoffs the opportunity to compete in Championship 4 after earning a second straight win Saturday at Homestead.

The Fairhope, Alabama native captured the win in the Baptist Health 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway after an alternate strategy call from Jeff Stankewicz put the No. 9 on the defensive during the final stage of the race.

In reality, that strategy only became possible when Enfinger and Christian Eckes made significant contact on a restart, causing the Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet to suffer a severe tire rub and a mandatory pit road trip to repair the damage.

The only caution in the final stages of the race, which represented the alternative strategy played by several drivers in the closing laps, gave Enfinger the chance to secure the free pass, get back on the lead lap and a lap later then make the pit stop. race leaders.

RELATED: 2024 NCTS Baptist Health 200 Race Results

“Man, we had a truck at Darlington that was actually just as good, we just had bad conditions,” Enfinger said. “My friend Tyler Young dropped a crack on our grille, which put us out of contention there a little bit, but I think the truck we had here was just as good.”

Enfinger, a veteran NASCAR Truck Series driver, battled other drivers following the same strategy – including Layne Riggs and Nick Sanchez – but took the lead from the Front Row Motorsports driver with 22 laps to go and never looked back until the checkered flag was hoisted. displayed.

“I feel like we were able to catch up no matter what happened on that restart. I didn’t think I did anything wrong, and my friend Christian (Eckes), who I think was trying to split the middle, just cut our bond. a little. Just race.”

Corey Heim, who led 68 laps, was the main pursuer on the final run of the race after making his final green flag stop on lap 100. Ultimately it didn’t work when the TRICON Garage pilot finished. fourth, 18.664 seconds behind the race winner.

While Layne Riggs, Nick Sanchez and several others with a similar strategy ran out of gas as they came to the finish, Enfinger used his prowess to take the lead and won the race by 17.516 seconds over ThorSport Racing driver Ty Majeski.

Connor Mosack earned a career-best third-place finish in the No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado for Spire Motorsports. Corey Heim came home fourth, while Tyler Ankrum took a miraculous fifth-place finish.

Stewart Friesen made sure the strategy worked and finished sixth, while chasers Daniel Dye, Rajah Caruth, Christian Eckes and Taylor Gray completed the top 10.

Leaving Homestead-Miami Speedway, Grant Enfinger remains the only driver in the NASCAR Truck Series Playoffs guaranteed a spot in the season finale at Phoenix Raceway with a shot at the championship.

Corey Heim (+49), Christian Eckes (+38) and Ty Majeski (+22) are currently above the cutoff heading into the final elimination race in Martinsville, while Rajah Caruth (-22), Taylor Gray (-24) , Tyler Ankrum (-41) and Nick Sanchez (-43) are below the cut line.

The Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 200 at Martinsville Speedway takes place on Friday, November 1 at 6:00 PM ET. Coverage of the event will be on FOX Sports 1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (channel 90).