Grant Enfinger -- Kentucky Speedway Preview

Chatting with Grant Enfinger...

How tough has it been with the one-day shows - no practice, no qualifying and your first lap in the truck is on the pace laps before the green flag?

“It’s definitely different. As a driver you have a lot different mind set going into Turn 1, when you haven’t felt your truck out at all. So it definitely changes how we approach things and the package Jeff Hensley brings to the race track. But the fact that we do have those couple wins under our belt now gives us a big advantage with that, in my opinion. We can maybe be a little bit more aggressive, I can be on the track for sure. We don’t have quite as much to lose, but we still have a lot to gain. So, it’s just a different mind set. It’s something I haven’t done much of. Normally, in practice, I would be kinda slow getting up to speed – I would just make sure not to do anything stupid right off the truck. Now when the green flag waves, we all go stupid. It’s just part of it and if you don’t, you get passed. We’ve been fortunate enough to have great F-150’s that have helped that.”

Where does Kentucky rank on your fun/difficulty meter?

“I love Kentucky. Mile-and-a-half tracks in general have been good to ThorSport Racing over the years. I feel like myself and Jeff Hensley know what each of us want in the package we’re bringing. We’re bringing a lot of confidence in what we have there. This is our best truck, truck 44, but Kentucky has not always been good to us. I made a big mistake last year and killed our truck. A couple years ago, we unloaded truck 44 there as well and someone else made a mistake and killed that truck. So, twice we’ve left Kentucky and our baby, truck 44, has been out of commission. So, hopefully Kentucky is better to us this year and we’re better at Kentucky. But man, it seems like it’s a place where we always have speed, we’re in contention, we just haven’t got the results there. Like you mentioned, Turn 3 is pretty hairy since they reconfigured it, it’s really flat. You’ve got a lot of banking to hold you in Turns 1 and 2, but not much, if anything, to hold you going into Turn 3. As a driver, you build up your confidence in Turns 1 and 2 and it takes it all away there in Turn 3. It’s a place I enjoy and I feel like we’ll be in contention.”

News and Notes:

Bluegrass State Stats… Enfinger has four NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series starts at Kentucky Speedway since 2016, including one pole (2019) and a track-best finish of sixth (2018). Additionally, the ThorSport Racing driver has five ARCA Menards Series starts, which include 35 laps led, and three top-five finishes.
2020 Playoff Outlook… Enfinger’s two wins in 2020 have him atop the Playoff standings, as he is the only driver locked in on wins.
This Week's No. 98 Champion Power Equipment/Curb Records Ford F-150... The No. 98 ThorSport Racing team will unload chassis No. 44 for Saturday’s Buckle Up In Your Truck 225 at Kentucky Speedway. This chassis will make it’s third start this season and is the same chassis Enfinger piloted at Kentucky Speedway in 2019.
Welcome Back… Champion Power Equipment, a market leader in the power equipment field, will be back on board the No. 98 Ford F-150 of Enfinger at Kentucky Speedway. Champion Power Equipment, who is in their seventh consecutive season with Enfinger, was last seen at Charlotte Motor Speedway, in May.
Intermediate Track Strength… In 39 starts on an intermediate-size track (1.5-1.54-miles) in his Gander Trucks career, Enfinger has three poles (Homestead, 2018, Texas-1, 2019 and Kentucky, 2020), two wins (Las Vegas, 2018 and Atlanta, 2020), and has led 288 laps en route to 11 top-five, and 25 top-10 finishes.
Truck Series Stats… Enfinger has 89 career Gander Truck starts to his credit since 2010. His success includes 622 laps led en route to four wins, five poles, 30 top-five and 55 top-10 finishes.
Take Me Back – Pocono… Enfinger started fifth, based on a random draw, finished sixth in Stage 1, 30th in Stage 2 and f11th in the Pocono Organics 150 at Pocono Raceway.
Ford Fact… Ford-powered F-150's have found victory lane 101 times since 1995 in the Gander Truck Series, including three times in 22 races at Kentucky Speedway with Greg Biffle (2000), Carl Edwards (2003), and most recently with ThorSport Racing teammate, Ben Rhodes (2018).