Friday, October 4th, 2024
Talladega Superspeedway, Lincoln, AL
The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series begins the final three-race Playoff round to set the Championship Four with Friday’s Love’s RV Stop 225 at Talladega Superspeedway (4:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Last weekend’s Kansas winner Corey Heim arrives at the 2.66-mile superspeedway now boasting six wins on the season – double that of any other competitor, The 22-year-old TRICON Garage driver scored the win in the final race of the opening round last week when race leader, ThorSport’s Ty Majeski ran out of gas on the final lap. Heim finished just ahead of Front Row Motorsports’ Layne Riggs, who had won the previous two races but is not among the Playoff drivers.
Regular Season Champion , McAnally-Hilgemann’s Christian Eckes, Majeski and REV Racing’s Nick Sanchez sit safely atop the cutoff mark entering the first race of this all-important round. Rajah Caruth trails Sanchez by eight points just outside the Playoff bubble with Tyler Ankrum and Grant Enfinger both -11 points and Taylor Gray -15 points back.
Enfinger is the only current Playoff driver with a previous Talladega win, earning his trophy in 2016. Former series champion Johnny Sauter – the 2013 Talladega trophy winner – will be competing this weekend for Hattori Racing Enterprises. Brett Moffitt is the defending race winner.
There have been eight different winners in the last eight Talladega races. Heim, Eckes and Enfinger (2) are the only Playoff drivers to have scored top-five finishes at the big track.
Among those entered this week, William Sawalich (No. 1 TRICON Garage Toyota) and 18-year-old Connor Zilisch (No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet) are hoping to make their first career superspeedway start. And crowd favorite, veteran Norm Benning is hoping to qualify for his first race of the season.
Cometic Gasket Qualifying is set for 1 p.m. ET Friday (FS2). Chase Purdy is the defending polesitter.
The home crowd favorite, Grant Enfinger claimed the victory in Friday afternoon’s Love’s RV Stop 225 Playoff race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway – the Alabama native’s second NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win at the big track and the most important, as the victory delivers an automatic entry into the season championship finale next month.
Enfinger’s No. 9 CR7 Motorsports Chevrolet led a race best 34 of the 85 laps, won Stage 2 and held the point on the final lap when a caution came out ending the race.
“We knew stuff was going to get dicey,’’ the 39-year old Enfinger said of having to hold the field off following a restart with nine laps remaining to claim his first victory of the season – first ever for the team – and 11th of Enfinger’s career.
“We didn’t make all the perfect decisions today, but we had a Champion Power Equipment Chevy that was fast enough to get it done today, so even though we chose the outside [lane for a restart] once or twice and maybe we shouldn’t have. … it’s just Talladega right there and hopefully all the fans enjoyed it.
“There’s nothing like winning at your home track. Got my family here and first win with my daughter and my son here. On top of that we get to race for a championship in Phoenix.’’
It was a typically wild event on the sport’s biggest track (2.66-mile) with the race once again decided in a final frantic push for the checkered flag – with Enfinger leading fellow Playoff driver, Tricon Garage’s Taylor Gray across the finish line under caution.
Daniel Dye and Tyler Ankrum made contact while running fifth and sixth – causing a multi-car accident spinning about 200 yards before the finish line, bringing out the yellow and checkered flag to officially end the event. The McAnally-Hilgemann driver Dye slid across the line in third, Spire Motorsports’ Rajah Caruth, also a Playoff driver, finished fourth. Reaume Brothers Racing’s Lawless Alan scored a career best fifth place finish.
McAnally-Hilgemann’s Christian Eckes, the regular season champion, finished sixth, followed by Ryan Reed, Stefan Parsons, Bret Holmes and Spencer Boyd.
Playoff drivers, Tricon Garage’s Corey Heim and ThorSport’s Ty Majeski finished 11th and 12th. McAnally-Hilgemann’s Tyler Ankrum was 14th.
“We had a fast truck and made a bad decision,” a frustrated Majeski said. “I hopped out of line and cost ourselves some Stage 2 points, so I don’t know where that puts us in the points, but I guess it could have been worse if we finished 12th. We’ll move on to Homestead.”
Rev Racing’s Nick Sanchez, who led 10 laps, finished 22nd after an eventful day. He was involved in multiple incidents and ultimately called to pit road by NASCAR on that final restart with nine laps remaining for an equipment check.
Enfinger’s win marks the first time in nine Talladega Playoff races that a Playoff driver won the race. He was not Playoff-eligible when he won at the track in 2016. This win lands him one of four positions in the championship race at Phoenix on Nov. 8 – the third time the popular Alabama driver has competed for the championship trophy.
“Obviously we can start focusing on Phoenix right away and that’s a huge advantage I think,’’ Enfinger said. “The way I look at it, we don’t have to worry about points for the next two races.’ … very very proud of what this win means but realistically, we still have a lot to do to prepare for the championship.”
With two races remaining in this Round of 8 to decide which three drivers join Enfinger in the Championship race, Heim leads Eckes by a single point. Majeski is 25 points back but only five points ahead of Caruth.
Gray is 13 points behind Majeski, Sanchez 20 points back and Ankrum 23 points back. A win by any of these seven is the automatic ticket for a shot at the title.
The series has a three-week break before the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoff Race at South Florida’s 1.5-mile Homestead-Miami Speedway. Carson Hocevar is the defending race winner.
FIN | ST | # | DRIVER | MAKE | TOT PTS | FIN PTS | STG PTS | PO PTS | LAPS | LED | X LED | S1 | S2 | STATUS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
34 | 36 | 16 | Johnny Sauter | Toyota | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | DVP |
21 | 31 | 6 | Norm Benning | Chevrolet | 16 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 85 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
1 | 4 | 9 | Grant Enfinger | Chevrolet | 65 | 40 | 19 | 6 | 85 | 34 | 9 | 2 | 1 | Running |
23 | 17 | 88 | Matt Crafton | Ford | 14 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 85 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Running |
7 | 22 | 91 | Ryan Reed | Chevrolet | 30 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 85 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
36 | 32 | 41 | Bayley Currey | Chevrolet | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Rear Gear |
10 | 20 | 76 | Spencer Boyd | Chevrolet | 27 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 85 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
31 | 8 | 42 | Matt Mills | Chevrolet | 17 | 6 | 10 | 1 | 61 | 14 | 5 | 1 | 0 | Accident |
8 | 23 | 75 | Stefan Parsons | Chevrolet | 29 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 85 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
17 | 28 | 44 | Danny Bohn | Chevrolet | 20 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 85 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
13 | 26 | 52 | Stewart Friesen | Toyota | 24 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 85 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Running |
35 | 2 | 99 | Ben Rhodes | Ford | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Accident |
15 | 21 | 95 | Clay Greenfield | Chevrolet | 22 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 85 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
14 | 7 | 18 | Tyler Ankrum | Chevrolet | 23 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 85 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
16 | 25 | 04 | Cory Roper | Chevrolet | 21 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 85 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
6 | 15 | 19 | Christian Eckes | Chevrolet | 38 | 31 | 7 | 0 | 85 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 4 | Running |
25 | 6 | 77 | Chase Purdy | Chevrolet | 12 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 71 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Running |
12 | 3 | 98 | Ty Majeski | Ford | 29 | 25 | 4 | 0 | 85 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | Running |
30 | 34 | 15 | Tanner Gray | Toyota | 11 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 61 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 8 | Accident |
11 | 9 | 11 | Corey Heim | Toyota | 30 | 26 | 4 | 0 | 85 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | Running |
5 | 16 | 33 | Lawless Alan | Ford | 43 | 32 | 11 | 0 | 85 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 3 | Running |
32 | 14 | 5 | Dean Thompson | Toyota | 16 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 61 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 5 | Accident |
9 | 19 | 32 | Bret Holmes | Chevrolet | 30 | 28 | 2 | 0 | 85 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | Running |
26 | 24 | 28 | Keith McGee | Chevrolet | 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 70 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Accident |
2 | 5 | 17 | Taylor Gray | Toyota | 37 | 35 | 2 | 0 | 85 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | Running |
22 | 11 | 2 | Nicholas Sanchez | Chevrolet | 15 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 85 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | Running |
4 | 13 | 71 | Rajah Caruth | Chevrolet | 38 | 33 | 5 | 0 | 85 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | Running |
29 | 10 | 13 | Jake Garcia | Ford | 25 | 8 | 17 | 0 | 61 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | Accident |
19 | 18 | 45 | Kaden Honeycutt | Chevrolet | 18 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 85 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Running |
18 | 29 | 21 | Mason Maggio | Toyota | 19 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 85 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
28 | 33 | 38 | Layne Riggs | Ford | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 61 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | Accident |
3 | 35 | 43 | Daniel Dye | Chevrolet | 34 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 85 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Running |
20 | 27 | 22 | Jason M White | Ford | 17 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 85 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Running |
27 | 1 | 1 | William Sawalich | Toyota | 16 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 64 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | Running |
33 | 12 | 7 | Connor Zilisch | Chevrolet | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 61 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | Accident |
24 | 30 | 25 | Dawson Sutton | Chevrolet | 13 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 81 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Running |
Penalties imposed prior to or during the race.
Driver | Infraction | Penalty | Lap | Lap Assessed | Flag |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bayley Currey | Pre-Race to the Rear Engine Change | Tail End | 0 | 0 | White |
Keith McGee | Pre-Race to the Rear Driver Change | Tail End | 0 | 0 | White |
Ben Rhodes | Jumping the start | Pass Thru | 0 | 2 | Green |
Ben Rhodes | Going above the blend line exiting the pits | Pass Thru | 3 | 4 | Green |
Bayley Currey | Crewmember(s) over the wall too soon Garage | Tail End | 17 | 0 | Green/Yellow |
William Sawalich | Pitting before pit road is open Garage | Tail End | 23 | 0 | Yellow |
William Sawalich | Too many crewmember(s) in contact with pit service area Garage | Tail End | 23 | 0 | Yellow |
Kaden Honeycutt | Pitting before pit road is open | Tail End | 25 | 27 | Yellow |
Taylor Gray | Pitting before pit road is open | Tail End | 26 | 27 | Yellow |
Ryan Reed | Pitting before pit road is open | Tail End | 37 | 46 | Yellow |
Ryan Reed | Speeding on pit road | Tail End | 37 | 46 | Yellow |
Johnny Sauter | Pitting before pit road is open Garage | Tail End | 38 | 0 | Yellow |
Connor Zilisch | Pitting before pit road is open | Tail End | 38 | 46 | Yellow |
Bryan Dauzat | Pitting before pit road is open | Tail End | 39 | 46 | Yellow |
Chase Purdy | Pitting before pit road is open | Tail End | 39 | 46 | Yellow |
Mason Maggio | Crewmember(s) over the wall too soon | Tail End | 42 | 46 | Yellow |
Taylor Gray | Crewmember(s) over the wall too soon | Tail End | 44 | 46 | Yellow |
Danny Bohn | Pitting before pit road is open | Tail End | 44 | 46 | Yellow |
Dawson Sutton | Pitting before pit road is open | Tail End | 44 | 46 | Yellow |
Matt Crafton | Pitting before pit road is open | Tail End | 44 | 46 | Yellow |
Kaden Honeycutt | Pitting before pit road is open | Tail End | 44 | 46 | Yellow |
Jason M White | Pitting before pit road is open | Tail End | 44 | 46 | Yellow |
Keith McGee | Pitting before pit road is open | Tail End | 45 | 46 | Yellow |
William Sawalich | Speeding on pit road | Pass Thru | 52 | 56 | Green |
Rajah Caruth | Speeding on pit road | Pass Thru | 56 | 59 | Green |
Rajah Caruth | Too many crewmember(s) in contact with pit service area | Pass Thru | 56 | 59 | Green |
Bret Holmes | Pitting before pit road is open | Tail End | 63 | 68 | Yellow |
Bret Holmes | Too many crewmember(s) in contact with pit service area | Tail End | 63 | 68 | Yellow |
Chase Purdy | Too many crewmember(s) in contact with pit service area | Tail End | 65 | 68 | Yellow |
Stefan Parsons | Pitting before pit road is open | Tail End | 67 | 68 | Yellow |
Dawson Sutton | Pitting before pit road is open | Tail End | 71 | 76 | Yellow |
Bryan Dauzat | Pitting before pit road is open | Tail End | 71 | 76 | Yellow |
Mason Maggio | Pitting before pit road is open | Tail End | 71 | 76 | Yellow |
Daniel Dye | Pitting before pit road is open | Tail End | 71 | 76 | Yellow |
William Sawalich | Pitting before pit road is open | Tail End | 72 | 76 | Yellow |
Jason M White | Crewmember(s) over the wall too soon | Tail End | 72 | 76 | Yellow |
Mason Maggio | Crewmember(s) over the wall too soon | Tail End | 73 | 76 | Yellow |
Chase Purdy | Pitting before pit road is open Garage | Tail End | 74 | 0 | Yellow |
William Sawalich | Crewmember(s) over the wall too soon | Pass Thru | 76 | 81 | Green |