Credit: Debbie Ross for Skirts and Scuffs
Grant Enfinger earned his second win of the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season on Saturday afternoon, holding off Christian Eckes by 0.256 seconds.
Enfinger led 65 laps during the Toyota 200 and collected an extra $50,000 for the win courtesy of the series' second Triple Truck Challenge race of the year.
“I forgot about that, to be honest with you right now,” Enfinger said of the extra cash, “It’s just so hard to win these races. And if it was about money, we’d have quit a long time ago… It’s been a rocky year. But these last five races, I feel like we’ve come to our own.
“(Crew chief) Jeff Hensley made great calls and overall just a just a great day, and the stars aligned.”
Stewart Friesen finished third, while Carson Hocevar and Chase Purdy rounded out the top-five finishers.
Matt DiBenedetto finished sixth, Ben Rhodes finished seventh, while Nick Sanchez, Jesse Love, and Jake Garcia came home in eighth through 10th place, respectively.
The event went into overtime after leaders Ty Majeski and Zane Smith went for a spin and collected each other.
There were about a dozen cautions for accidents, including a hard hit by Hailie Deegan that left her with a 32nd place finish.
Deegan was running just outside the top 10 when she received contact from Sanchez, which subsequently sent the driver of the No. 13 Ford into the outside wall. Her truck lifted off the ground due to the impact from Sanchez.
She was evaluated and released from the infield care center.
Taylor Gray finished in the 13th position despite being in a wreck on Lap 80 in which he was trying to avoid contact with the No. 2 of Sanchez.
A Look Ahead
The Craftsman Truck Series will return in Music City at Nashville Superspeedway on Friday, June 23rd.
Only four races remain before the start of the series playoffs for the 2023 championship.
Corey Heim, who was sidelined at Gateway by an illness, remains the points leader by only one single point over Majeski.
Sanchez is on the outside looking into the Playoffs. He is 11th in the standings, four points behind Tanner Gray.