Hometrack win Grant-ed for Enfinger at Talladega
LINCOLN, Ala. — A year after facing the possibility of not having a ride in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Grant Enfinger locked himself into the Championship 4.
Grant Enfinger will race in the Championship 4 after a decisive defense put him in victory lane after the Love’s RV Stop 225 at Talladega Superspeedway — a track just 4.5 hours from his hometown of Fairhope, Alabama.
Enfinger led the final 15 laps Friday and held off challenges from playoff competitors Christian Eckes and Taylor Gray to win for the first time in 2024. It is also the first win for CR7 Motorsports, who brought Enfinger on for this season after GMS Racing shut down at the end of the 2023 season.
Not only did CR7 Motorsports earn their first win but they also earned their first Championship 4 berth. Neither them nor Enfinger will have to worry about trying to lock themselves into the Nov. 9 championship race at Phoenix Raceway with a win Oct. 26 at Homestead-Miami Speedway or Nov. 2 at Martinsville Speedway.
Taylor Gray will have to wait for one of those two opportunities to lock in a chance at the title in Phoenix. Gray finished second, just 0.041 seconds shy of a season-changing win.
Christian Eckes finished sixth after running second to Enfinger on the final lap. While Gray made his move at the right time, Eckes waited a little too long. Eckes peeked to the outside of Enfinger in the tri-oval but Ryan Reed misjudged his push to Eckes, setting off a fiery wreck for Reed that involved several others.
TOP-10 FINISHERS (LAP 85): Grant Enfinger, Taylor Gray, Daniel Dye, Rajah Caruth, Lawless Alan, Christian Eckes, Ryan Reed, Stefan Parsons, Bret Holmes, Spencer Boyd
Playoff drivers Corey Heim, Ty Majeski and Tyler Ankrum finished 11th, 12th and 14th, respectively.
Playoff driver Nick Sanchez finished 22nd after leading four times for 10 laps despite spinning twice — on laps 39 and 72. After the second time, NASCAR reportedly made Sanchez come to pit road just before the restart which took him out of contention for the win.
Matt Mills finished 31st after leading 14 of the 61 laps he completed. Mills also won the first stage, which went caution-free.
STAGE ONE TOP-10 (LAP 20): Matt Mills, Grant Enfinger, Jake Garcia, Connor Zilisch, William Sawalich, Dean Thompson, Ty Majeski, Lawless Alan, Taylor Gray, Tanner Gray
During the stage break, Nick Sanchez stayed out after pitting just before the break. He had the lead when the race restarted on lap 27 but didn’t hold it for long. He dueled with Grant Enfinger for the lead until lap 36.
Three laps later, Sanchez got a bad bump from Connor Zilisch, which triggered a five-truck wreck also involving Chase Purdy, Ben Rhodes and Johnny Sauter. Zilisch, Rhodes and Sauter fell out of the race after this, finishing 33rd through 35th.
Bayley Currey finished 36th — last — due to a gear issue knocked him out after stage one.
Stage two ended under caution with Grant Enfinger out in front.
STAGE TWO TOP-10 (LAP 40): Grant Enfinger, Jake Garcia, Christian Eckes, Lawless Alan, Dean Thompson, Rajah Caruth, Stefan Parsons, Corey Heim, Tanner Gray, Tyler Ankrum
In the final stage, two cautions fell:
- Lap 63 wreck involving Jake Garcia, Layne Riggs, Tanner Gray, Matt Mills, Connor Zilisch, Tyler Ankrum, Taylor Gray and Dean Thompson
- Lap 72 wreck involving Keith McGee, Mason Maggio, Nick Sanchez and Daniel Dye
Sanchez led the inside lane before a bump from Eckes set the wreck off.
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES PLAYOFF STANDINGS AFTER TALLADEGA
- Grant Enfinger: ADVANCED
- Corey Heim: 3078 points, +30 points to the cutline
- Christian Eckes: 3077, +29
- Ty Majeski: 3053, +5
- Rajah Caruth: 3048, -5 points to the cutline
- Taylor Gray: 3040, -13
- Nick Sanchez: 3033, -20
- Tyler Ankrum: 3030, -23
NEXT: Oct. 26 at Homestead-Miami Speedway (12 p.m. ET; FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Carson Hocevar and Niece Motorsports won last year. Ben Rhodes, Corey Heim, Grant Enfinger and Bayley Currey rounded out the Top-5 finishers.
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com