Sunday, August 27th, 2023
Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, WI
After Carson Hocevar crashed a two-driver party, pole winner Grant Enfinger rallied for victory in Sunday’s Clean Harbors 175 at the Milwaukee Mile and clinched a spot in the Round of 8 of the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Playoffs.
Enfinger, who led 95 of 175 laps, passed Hocevar for the top spot on Lap 159 and pulled away to win his third race of the season by 1.553 seconds. Hocevar was gambling on older tires and led the field to green for the final restart on Lap 148.
The victory—the 10th of Enfinger’s career—was a point proven for the Alabama driver, whose GMS Racing truck team announced it would discontinue operations at the end of the season.
“I don’t think anybody’s going to ask if we’re going to lay down again,” Enfinger said after climbing from his No. 23 Chevrolet. “(Crew chief) Jeff Hensley’s been focused the whole year. There’s been distractions going on all year long. So if anything, this has clarity.
“None of these guys, including me, have a job next year, but I feel like we proved we deserve one.”
Fast from the outset of the first NASCAR national series race at Milwaukee since 2009, Enfinger won the first stage wire-to-wire, leading all 55 laps. After surrendering the top spot on pit road during the stage break, he passed Corey Heim for the lead on Lap 95 and went on to capture Stage 2 by 2.149 seconds.
But Enfinger lost three positions on pit road during the second stage break and had to overcome the loss of track position as well as varying strategy from Hocevar and six other non-Playoff drivers who stayed out on older tires during caution for William Sawalich’s contact with the Turn 2 wall on Lap 135.
Restarting 14th on Lap 141, Enfinger fought his way back to the front, passing Derek Kraus for second on Lap 153 and overtaking Hocevar six laps later.
“It’s kind of a bummer to run second,” said Hocevar, who has three victories to his credit this season and holds a 56-point cushion above the cut line with one race left in the Playoffs’ Round of 10. “I haven’t done this in quite a while.
“Luckily, I’ve been fortunate enough to win three races, so it’s close.”
Christian Eckes and Heim finished third and fourth, respectively, and both clinched berths in the Round of 8 on points. Matt Crafton came home fifth and moved nine points above the cutoff for the next round.
Chase Purdy ran sixth, followed by Ty Majeski, who won the Truck Series Playoff opener at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. But Majeski raced under the specter of possible NASCAR penalties this coming week.
NASCAR confiscated the right rear tire from Majeski’s No. 98 Ford and ejected crew chief Joe Shear Jr. Majeski started from the rear of the field and served a pass-through penalty after the opening lap but rallied to finish seventh. Any further penalties the team may accrue will be announced later in the week.
ENTRY | # | DRIVER | HOMETOWN | DOB | AGE | MAKE | SPONSOR | TEAM | CREW CHIEF |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 21 | Dexter Bean | Westby, WI | Jan 5, 1987 | 37 | Chevrolet | BADGER ENVIRONMENTAL\IUOE 139 | Blackjack Racing | Mario Gosselin |
2 | 23 | Grant Enfinger | Fairhope, AL | Jan 22, 1985 | 39 | Chevrolet | Champion Power Equipment | GMS Racing | Jeff Hensley |
3 | 88 | Matt Crafton | Tulare, CA | Jun 11, 1976 | 48 | Ford | Ideal Door/Menards | ThorSport Racing | Jeriod Prince |
4 | 25 | Matt DiBenedetto | Grass Valley, CA | Jul 27, 1991 | 33 | Chevrolet | Rackley Roofing | Rackley WAR | Chad Kendrick |
5 | 02 | Josh Bilicki | Menomonee Falls, WI | Jun 3, 1995 | 29 | Chevrolet | Insurance King | Young's Motorsports | Andrew Abbott |
6 | 41 | Bayley Currey | Driftwood, TX | Oct 29, 1996 | 27 | Chevrolet | GlobalTranz | Niece Motorsports | Mark Hillman |
7 | 12 | Spencer Boyd | Creve Coeur, MO | Jun 26, 1995 | 29 | Chevrolet | Cronauer Law | Young's Motorsports | Tyler Young |
8 | 51 | Matt Mills | Lynchburg, VA | Nov 14, 1996 | 27 | Chevrolet | J.F. Electric | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Brian Pattie |
9 | 9 | Colby Howard | Simpsonville, SC | Oct 28, 2001 | 22 | Chevrolet | Grant County Mulch | CR7 Motorsports | Michael Shelton |
10 | 22 | Josh Reaume | Redlands, CA | Oct 11, 1990 | 33 | Ford | TBA | AM Racing | Ryan London |
11 | 56 | Tyler Hill | Port Tobacco, MD | Jun 2, 1994 | 30 | Toyota | MF1 Fantasy Racing | Hill Motorsports | Terry Elmore |
12 | 38 | Zane Smith | Huntington Beach, CA | Jun 9, 1999 | 25 | Ford | Birch Gold Group | Front Row Motorsports | Chris Lawson |
13 | 52 | Stewart Friesen | Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario | Jul 25, 1983 | 41 | Toyota | Ferris Commercial Mowers | Halmar Friesen Racing | Bob Heilbrun |
14 | 99 | Ben Rhodes | Louisville, KY | Feb 21, 1997 | 27 | Ford | Farm Paint/1848 Coffee | ThorSport Racing | Brian Ross |
15 | 16 | Tyler Ankrum | San Bernardino, CA | Mar 6, 2001 | 23 | Toyota | LiUNA! | Hattori Racing Enterprises | Doug Randolph |
16 | 19 | Christian Eckes | MIddletown, NY | Nov 10, 2000 | 23 | Chevrolet | Gates Hydraulics | McAnally-Hilgemann Racing | Charles Denike |
17 | 4 | Chase Purdy | Meridian, MS | Nov 11, 1999 | 24 | Chevrolet | Bama Buggies | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Jimmy Villeneuve |
18 | 7 | Derek Kraus | Stratford, WI | Sep 1, 2011 | 13 | Chevrolet | gener8tor Skills Accelerator | Spire Motorsports | Bono Manion |
19 | 98 | Ty Majeski | Seymour, WI | Aug 18, 1994 | 30 | Ford | Road Ranger | ThorSport Racing | Joe Shear |
20 | 42 | Carson Hocevar | Portage, MI | Jan 28, 2003 | 21 | Chevrolet | Worldwide Express | Niece Motorsports | Phil Gould |
21 | 15 | Tanner Gray | Artesia, NM | Apr 15, 1999 | 25 | Toyota | Serial 1 Premium E-Bikes | TRICON Garage | Jerame Donley |
22 | 13 | Hailie Deegan | Temecula, CA | Jul 18, 2001 | 23 | Ford | Ford Performance | ThorSport Racing | Rich Lushes |
23 | 11 | Corey Heim | Marietta, GA | Jul 5, 2002 | 22 | Toyota | Safelite | TRICON Garage | Scott Zipadelli |
24 | 45 | Lawless Alan | Los Angeles, CA | Feb 2, 2000 | 24 | Chevrolet | AUTOParkit | Niece Motorsports | Wally Rogers |
25 | 5 | Dean Thompson | Anaheim, CA | Aug 30, 2001 | 23 | Toyota | Thompson Pipe Group | TRICON Garage | Derek Smith |
26 | 32 | Bret Holmes | Munford, AL | May 5, 1997 | 27 | Chevrolet | Precision Garage Door | Bret Holmes Racing | Jeff Stankiewicz |
27 | 17 | Taylor Gray | Denver, NC | Mar 25, 2005 | 19 | Toyota | JBL | TRICON Garage | Jake Hampton |
28 | 2 | Nicholas Sanchez | Miami, FL | Jun 10, 2001 | 23 | Chevrolet | Gainbridge | Rev Racing | Danny Stockman |
29 | 30 | Brad Perez | Hollywood, FL | Jan 21, 1997 | 27 | Toyota | TBA | On Point Motorsports | Carol Hines |
30 | 24 | Rajah Caruth | Atlanta, GA | Jun 11, 2002 | 22 | Chevrolet | Wendell Scott Foundation | GMS Racing | Chad Walter |
31 | 35 | Jake Garcia | Monroe, GA | Mar 3, 2005 | 19 | Chevrolet | Adaptive One Calipers | McAnally-Hilgemann Racing | Mark Hillman |
32 | 43 | Daniel Dye | DeLand, Florida | Dec 4, 2003 | 20 | Chevrolet | Hamlin & Associates | GMS Racing | Blake Bainbridge |
33 | 1 | William Sawalich | Eden Prairie, MN | Oct 3, 2006 | 18 | Toyota | Starkey/Soundgear | TRICON Garage | Seth Smith |
34 | 66 | Conner Jones | Fredericksburg, VA | Feb 22, 2006 | 18 | Ford | TSPORT | ThorSport Racing | Bud Haefele |
35 | 20 | Greg Van Alst | Anderson, IN | Jul 1, 1981 | 43 | Chevrolet | CB Fabricating | Young's Motorsports | Joe Lax |
36 | 33 | Derek Lemke | Charlotte, NC | Jan 1, 1970 | n/a | Ford | TBA | Reaume Brothers Racing | Todd Parrott |
37 | 61 | Sean Hingorani | Newport Beach, CA | Oct 13, 2006 | 17 | Toyota | Fidelity Capital | Hattori Racing Enterprises | Jon Leonard |