Trackin’ Trucks: Grant Enfinger Wins at Las Vegas

Credit: Debbie Ross for Skirts and Scuffs

by Courtney Horn

Grant Enfinger survived three overtimes at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Friday night to earn his second win of the season, beating Johnny Sauter by .142 seconds. 

Enfinger, who led 40 laps during the World of Westgate 200, took the lead for the final time after the No. 16 Toyota of Brett Moffitt ran out of fuel on the final restart. 

“We’ve put together individual performances that coulda won a race throughout the year," Enfinger said. “Probably had a handful of coulda, woulda, shouldas, and this was the first time we put the whole package together.”

“There’s only two of us comfortable going into Talladega, and I’m one of those two. It’s kind of the culmination of the whole year.”

The win came during the 500th race for ThorSport general manager, David Pepper, who is also Enfinger’s spotter. 

Brett Moffitt came within 200 feet of winning before a multi-car wreck forced a red flag on Lap 138. The wreck collected playoff contender Stewart Friesen, John Hunter Nemechek, Timothy Peters, and six other drivers. 

Friesen finished 17th after being involved in multiple wrecks throughout the night. 

Johnny Sauter finished second after having a fast truck in the final stage of the race. Sauter didn’t get a good restart and fell behind Enfinger with no time left. 

 “My restarts absolutely sucked tonight — just awful,” Sauter said. From first to second gear, it was terrible. The 16 (Moffitt) ran out of gas, and I had to snake around that, and we just lost a little bit of momentum.

Justin Haley finished third, Ben Rhodes fourth, and Matt Crafton fifth. 

Polesitter Noah Gragson finished in the 18th position after suffering a cut tire in the final laps. Gragson was unable to make it below the commitment line to pit road and had to serve a pass through penalty. 

A Look Ahead (Into the Playoffs)

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series has a month off before heading to Talladega, Alabama for the first cutoff race of the Playoffs. 

Sauter holds a 17 point lead on Gragson, with Rhodes and Friesen on the outside looking in. 

Will a playoff driver get it done at Talladega to advance into the Round of 2, or will a non-playoff driver be a factor at the 2.66-mile track?

Find out on Saturday, October 13th at 1 PM/ET for the Talladega 250 on FOX. 

Trackin’ Trucks: Grant Enfinger Wins at Las Vegas Trackin’ Trucks: Grant Enfinger Wins at Las Vegas Reviewed by Anonymous on Saturday, September 15, 2018 Rating: 5