Grant Enfinger earned this third Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series victory of the season on Thursday night, passing teammate Matt Crafton in the final laps of the ToyotaCare 250.
Enfinger overcame early contact with Ben Rhodes that forced the driver of the No. 98 Ford to pit.
“Can’t say enough about [crew chief] Jeff Hensley,” Enfinger said “We’ve both been beating our head against the wall lately, but we go into the playoffs with some momentum now.”
Crafton finished second, Rhodes third, while Brett Moffitt and Tyler Ankrum rounded out the top-five finishers.
Ankrum earned himself a spot inside the series playoffs, alongside Todd Gilliland who rounds out the 10-driver post-season field for the championship.
“I think if I was telling you I wasn’t nervous before today, I was lying,” said Gilliland, who drives the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford F-150. “I have confidence in my team. It’s crazy I was fourth on that last restart and ended up getting lapped. This place is tough. Trying to put this one behind us and reset and work toward Bristol. Just take it race by race.”
“So cool to be part of the Playoffs, my first time in three years [of competition],” he added.
Enfinger bookended the regular season with victories in the season opener at Daytona and finale at Richmond. He also earned a victory at Atlanta in June. He is the fourth seed in the playoffs.
Zane Smith earned the Stage 1 victory, while Rhodes earned Stage 2.
Former champion Johnny Sauter was in need of a victory in order to make the playoffs. A mechanical problem forced Sauter to make several pit stops throughout the night, resulting in a 27th place finish, eight laps down.
It’s the first time in the ThorSport Racing driver’s full-time Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series career that he will finish worse than ninth in the standings. He is currently 15th.
A Look Inside the Playoffs
The Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series kicks off the Playoffs next Thursday at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Austin Hill clinched the series regular season championship by finishing the first two stages at Richmond in third place. He will have a 15-point advantage going into the Playoffs.
Truck Series Playoff standings:
Driver | Diff | |
1 | ||
2 | -4 | |
2 | -4 | |
4 | -7 | |
5 | -11 | |
6 | -12 | |
7 | -17 | |
8 | -21 | |
9 | -23 | |
10 | -24 |