Grant Enfinger - Michigan Preview
Grant Enfinger, No. 98 ThorSport Racing/Curb Records Ford F-150
NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series
Race No. 16 of 23
Team Info/Stats:
Crew Chief: Jeff Hensley
2019 Driver Points Standings: 1st (+52)
2019 Owner Points Standings: Tied with the No. 51 for 1st
Spotter: Chris Lambert
News and Notes:
Championship-Sized Start… Grant Enfinger, who is in his third full-time season at ThorSport Racing, is set to clinch his first Regular Season Championship title, by just starting Saturday’s Corrigan Oil 200 at Michigan International Speedway (MIS). The Alabama native, who has 622 points in the regular season, only needs four points to clinch, and the final finishing position pays 5 points.
Welcome to the Playoffs… For the second consecutive season, Enfinger will earn a Playoff berth in the 2019 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Trucks Playoffs. Additionally, the Regular Season Champion will earn 15 bonus Playoff Points. The ThorSport Racing driver currently has four.
The Great Lakes State Stats… Enfinger will make his fourth start at MIS in Saturday’s 20th annual Corrigan Oil 200. In three previous starts, the ThorSport Racing driver has led 16 laps en route to a track-best start of sixth (2017 & 2018) and a track-best finish of seventh (2018).
This Week's No. 98 ThorSport Racing/Curb Records Ford F-150... The No. 98 ThorSport Racing team will unload chassis No. 52 for Saturday’s 200-lap event at MIS. This particular chassis has led laps in each of the three races it’s started this season, scoring one top-five and two top-10 finishes.
At A Glance - 2019… In 15 starts this season, Enfinger has earned two poles (Texas_1 & Kentucky), four stage wins and led 233 laps en route to seven top-five and 12 top-10 finishes.
Ford Fact… Ford powered F-150's have found victory lane 99 times since 1995 in the Gander Trucks, including five times at MIS with drivers Greg Biffle (1999 & 2000), Travis Kvapil (2007), Erik Darnell (2008) and Colin Braun (2009).
Take Me Back – Eldora Speedway… Enfinger started 15th, finished 11th in Stage 1, fifth in Stage 2 and finished the seventh annual Eldora Dirt Derby in the third position. The strong run was his third top-five finish in three starts at Eldora Speedway.
Truck Series Stats… Enfinger has 75 career Gander Trucks starts to his credit. His success includes five poles, and 504 laps led en route to two wins, 25 top-five and 47 top-10 finishes.
Chatting with Grant Enfinger...
On Michigan International Speedway
“Michigan is kinda like the old school Richard Petty days at Daytona and Talladega. You need the draft to run fast there, but you can’t stay side-by-side, otherwise your draggin’ everybody back. So, if you’re going to get around somebody, you gotta do it in a hurry. If you dive underneath them, and don’t clear’em you may lose six, seven, eight spots. In my opinion, this race is the most entertaining races we have all year, from a fan standpoint. If you make a little mistake and don’t lose a spot, it’s not a big deal, you can suck back up to the pack, but if you make a mistake in terms of getting out of line, or get freight trained, you can lose your air really quick and hit the wall, hard. So there’s definitely a different level of intensity and a different style of racing there.”
On the 2019 season
“We’re disappointed that we haven’t won a race so far this year, but non of us are concerned. We’ve put ourselves in position a few times, and we’ve had the speed, it just hasn’t worked out yet. We’ll get there. It’s huge to be able to clinch the Regular Season Championship, those additional Playoff Points are an advantage moving forward.”
