Enfinger Captures First Career Talladega Win

Grant Enfinger will win the Fred’s 250 at Talladega Superspeedway. This is his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race. GMS Racing will sweep the superspeedway races in 2016 as the victor. Enfinger was the 2015 ARCA champion.

 

“It’s unbelievable. This is my home track. It’s just so special for everybody thats here. We came here as fans; thats how this whole deal started. This is for these guys (the team) right here. It’s pretty unbelievable,” said Enfinger in a post race interview.

 

The first half saw Enfinger taking an early lead after starting on the front row. He attempted to block the momentum from both the outside and inside lane. However, the bottom lane had the momentum in the early stages of the race. The caution flew for John Hunter Nemechek, who blew up as the field was on the backstretch. When the field went back to green, the inside lane continued to have the momentum. Korbin Forrister dropped back of the pack because he was shuffled out of the back. After shuffling Austin Cindric out of the lead of the outside lane, Timothy Peters was able to lead the outside lane to the front. Cody Coughlin was shuffled out of the draft, but stalled on the backstretch. After going back to green, the caution flew due a spin by John Wes Townley, who was battling for the lead, that caught Daniel Hemric, who was racing his way out of being eliminated. Peters was the leader, William Byron was second, Ben Rhodes was third, Ben Kennedy was fourth, and Brandon Brown rounded out the top five as the race entered the second half.

 

At the beginning of the second half, Peters started as the leader, but the outside lane pushed Kennedy to the lead. However, the caution flew after a spin by Dylan Lupton that caught Brandon Hightower and Cody Ware on the front stretch. When the field went back to green, the inside and outside lane had the same momentum, but the caution flew for a big wreck that started when Ben Rhodes shot to the outside wall and went back down into the pack to collect numerous cars. After a lengthy cleanup, the race went back to green with Enfinger as the early leader, but Matt Tifft continued to swap the lead. The outside lane lost momentum as drivers were working on the bottom. The caution flew for a single car spin by Hemric. When the field went back to green, it was a GMS Racing trio with Enfinger, Gallagher, and Kennedy, but the caution flew as Crafton blew an engine. The field went back to green with two laps remaining, but Enfinger ended up with the victory, Gallagher finished second, Peters finished third, Rico Abreu finished fourth, and Kennedy rounded out the top-five.

 

The race saw seven cautions for 33 laps. The average speed of the race was 119.161 mph. The time of race was 2 hours, 5 minutes, and 54 seconds. The margin of victory was 0.107 seconds.

 

Hemric and Nemechek are the two drivers who will not advance to the “Round of 6” in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series chase. Going into Martinsville, Byron will be the top seed with his win in New Hampshire. Bell, Peters, Kennedy, Sauter, and Crafton remain in the Chase.

 

Next up for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will be the Texas Roadhouse 200 at Martinsville Speedway. Fox Sports 1 and Motor Racing Network will have the call at 1:30 p.m. EST.

Caleb Whisler
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