Enfinger Finishes 12th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Grant Enfinger finished 12th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the No. 29 Reese Towpower RAM on Saturday night. Enfinger began the race from the ninth position and has a solid performance in his fifth career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) start and first start for Brad Keselowski Racing (BKR).

 

The Smith’s 350 got off to a slow start with multiple cautions in the opening laps. On lap one, Todd Bodine brought out the first yellow flag of the night with a spin in turn four. Enfinger narrowly avoided the incident with driving skill and precise assistance from spotter Wayne Setterington. On lap four, the No. 29 Reese Towpower RAM restarted in the 14th position. Another quick yellow flew on lap 5 with Travis Pastrana spinning in fourth turn. Crew chief Doug Randolph declined to service the BKR RAM during each of the first two caution periods.

 

On lap 13, a spin on the front stretch brought out the yellow flag for the third time of the night. Enfinger pitted, and the Reese Towpower crew changed four tires, made a track bar adjustment, and packed the fuel cell full of gasoline. Enfinger restarted in the 21st position on lap 16. The yellow flew again on lap 29 for another incident exiting turn four. Randolph played the strategy card and elected to pit for fuel only. Restarting in the fourth position, Enfinger roared to the front of the pack passing Parker Kligerman for the lead on lap 36. The Reese Towpower RAM was up front for a lap and filed back into fifth position on lap 37.

 

Lap 75 brought the sixth caution flag of the night out for an incident in turn three. Randolph called Enfinger’s Reese Towpower RAM back onto pit road for four stickier tires and fuel. During the pit stop, the left rear tire hit the inside wall and rolled onto pit road. NASCAR issued the team a penalty for equipment leaving the pit box, and Enfinger started at the tail end of the longest line in the 17th position. The caution waved on lap 101, and Randolph called Enfinger back in for four fresh tires and fuel. Enfinger assumed the 13th position for the lap 105 restart.

 

A major crash involving Justin Lofton, Johnny Sauter, and Miguel Paludo at the start / finish line led to another yellow flag on lap 114. The Reese Towpower RAM restarted in the ninth position with 26 laps to go. Lap 125 saw the final caution flag of the night wave for a crash in turn two. Enfinger and the rest of the leaders pitted for four tires. The No. 29 Reese Towpower RAM restarted in the 14th position on the lap 130 restart with 16 laps remaining. Enfinger fought hard to gain a few more positions and was able to pick up two spots to finish 12th in his first start with the BKR team.

 

“It was a solid run for everyone at BKR and definitely felt like we had a sixth to eighth place truck there at the end, but due to the circumstances, we lost a little track position at the end when it counted,” said Enfinger. “Doug Randolph made a great call though for us to regain a lot of track position. I learned a lot driving these trucks with the aero, and the pit crew did a hell of a job at the end. My spotter, Wayne (Setterington), made some great calls too from the roof. It definitely felt like we didn’t leave anything on the table. I have to thank Brad Keselowski, Reese Towpower, Draw-Tite, and Cooper Standard for the opportunity. This is an incredible team to be a part of.”

 

Ryan Blaney will return to the driver’s seat of the No. 29 Draw-Tite RAM next weekend at Talladega Superspeedway for the Coca-Cola 200 powered by Fred’s. Blaney will pilot the No. 29 BKR RAM for the remainder of the 2012 NCWTS season. Race coverage for Talladega Superspeedway begins at 3:30 P.M. EDT on SPEED Channel. Radio coverage can be found on MRN and Sirius XM Channel 90 beginning at 3:45 P.M. EDT.

 

BKR PR