GMS Racing NCTS Race Preview: Talladega Superspeedway

Race Information

–Round: NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race no. 21 of 23 (Playoffs Round of 8)

–Track Location: Talladega Superspeedway – Talladega, Alabama

–Race Name:Love’s RV Stop 250

– Broadcast: Saturday, September 30th at 1:00 PM ET live on FS1 (TV), MRN (Radio), and Sirius XM NASCAR Channel 90

–Team Entrants:

• No. 23 | Grant Enfinger & Jeff Hensley – Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet
• No. 24 | Rajah Caruth & Chad Walter – Wendell Scott Foundation Chevrolet
• No. 43 | Daniel Dye & Blake Bainbridge – Solar-Fit / LiftedTrucksForSale.com Chevrolet

Grant Enfinger, No. 23 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet Silverado RST

Talladega Superspeedway Stats

– NCTS Starts: 9; Wins: 1 (2016); Best start: 2nd (2016); Top 5s: 2;Top 10s: 3; Laps led: 96

– ARCA Starts: 6; Poles: 1 (2014); Best finish: 3rd (2009); Top 5s: 1;Top 10s: 3; Laps led: 89

2023 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Season Stats

– Starts: 20; Wins: 3 (Kansas I, WWT Raceway, Milwaukee); Poles: 1 (Milwaukee); Stage wins: 3; Top 5s: 8; Top 10s: 11; Laps led: 232; Current points position: 4th (+14 to the cutline)

– About Champion Power Equipment: Since 2003, Champion Power Equipment has earned a reputation for designing and producing the market’s finest power equipment. From our original headquarters in Santa Fe Springs, California, Champion has expanded its North American footprint to include facilities in Jackson, Tennessee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Toronto Canada. Today, Champion’s product line has expanded to include portable generators, home standby generators, inverter generators, engines, winches and log splitters. With over 2.5 million generators sold in North America, Champion is a market leader in the power equipment field. VisitChampionPowerEquipment.comfor more information.

–Chassis History/Info:Enfinger and the No. 23 team will compete with GMS Racing chassis no. 146 in Talladega. This truck was purpose-built for the super speedways over the off season, only racing one time before in this year’s season opener. Grant qualified 16th and finished fifth with it in Daytona after scoring points in both stages.

– Bristol Recap: Survive and advance was the keynote for the No. 23 team in the previous race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Starting from the 13th position in a race that was difficult to pull off many passes, Enfinger and crew utilized strategy to gain track position by only pitting once throughout the night. This call proved to be a great one, as it resulted in a fifth place run in stage two, and ultimately, a third place finish at the drop of the checkered flag.

– Sweet Home Alabama: The pride of Fairhope, Alabama returns to his home racetrack this weekend, and has always considered Talladega as one of his favorite races of the season. The local fans have showed their support of Grant for years, usually receiving some of the most cheers during driver introductions. There will be no shortage of No. 23 flags flying high throughout the enormous campgrounds this weekend.

– First Truck Series Start: Enfinger made his CRAFTSMAN Truck Series debut at Talladega back in 2010. Starting from the 12th position, the Alabama native would hang tough with the pack through his first race, until he was ultimately sidelined just four laps from the finish and credited with a 22nd place finish. 170 races later, Grant will make his 10th Truck Series start at Talladega on Saturday.

– Past Talladega Winner: Running on a limited Truck Series schedule in 2016, Talladega was one of only eight races on Grant Enfinger’s radar. Knowing that he had something to prove to keep his name relevant in the sport, he gave it his all and put it all out on the line. Enfinger qualified on the front row and stayed up front all race long, leading 45 laps en route to his first-career victory. A special day for those who root for the home team, Enfinger was able to celebrate his first win with several close family members and friends that attended the race.

– Hensley at Talladega: Jeff Hensley is one of the only crew chiefs that has contended in every single NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race ever held at Talladega. Making 17 starts since the inaugural race, his drivers have finished in the top-10 eight times including a pair of runner up finishes with Mike Skinner in 2006 and Spencer Gallagher in 2016. Hensley has also called 10 NASCAR Xfinity Series races at ‘Dega, holding one top-10 finish – a seventh place result in 2000.

– GMS at ‘Dega: GMS Racing has won three races at Talladega Superspeedway across two national series. Enfinger was the team’s first Truck Series driver to score a victory at the track in 2016, and in 2018, it was Timothy Peters that ran away with the checkered flag. Earlier that year, GMS broke through to win their first, and only win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, won by Spencer Gallagher.

–#FearTheFinger Playoffs Profile: Currently fourth in CRAFTSMAN Truck Series points, Enfinger heads to Talladega with a slim 14 point buffer to the Round of 8 cut line. His three race wins at Kansas Speedway, WWT Raceway, and the Milwaukee Mile are tied for the most of any driver in the series, but strong finishes in the next two races will be crucial to determine his Championship 4 eligibility.

– Roll Tide: A huge University of Alabama football fanatic, Grant has shared similar interests with iconic NASCAR personality and former crew chief, Larry McReynolds, over the Crimson Tide. In nearly every one of his interviews with McReynolds, the two always make it a point to give a big ole’ “Roll Tide” shoutout over the air.

– Breast Cancer Awareness: As we enter the month of October, a team tradition that has taken place for many years will continue for the next two races at Talladega Superspeedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway. All three GMS Racing trucks will carry pink ribbons onboard to honor family members of the respective truck’s crew members that have been affected by breast cancer.

–From The Drivers Seat:You earned your first Truck Series win with GMS Racing here, how special would it be to cap off your time with the team with another win at home?

“Yeah, it was a huge day for my career back in 2016 when we were able to get the win at Talladega in front of the hometown and all the friends and family. There were a lot of people that were at that race that have been instrumental in my career and all the opportunities that I had to that point. So that will always be one of the most special moments that I’ve had in my career. To come back and do it again with our last opportunity to run in that race with GMS Racing would be special from a personal standpoint, but it would be pretty big career-wise to be able to lock ourselves into the Championship 4.

Obviously, that’s the goal for all of us; but there’s only one of the eight that can sleep well at night not having to stress out about this race, and that’s Corey [Heim]. I think our game plan is to try and be aggressive, and hopefully get some stage points. We want to be able to contend for the win. I think there’s some different strategies that teams are going to use; I think some guys are going to try and play it safe, and some guys that have nothing to lose are going to race for the win. We’re not one of those guys, but we’re definitely going to be aggressive. We’ve first got to have enough speed in our Champion Power Equipment Chevy, and hopefully the rest will all take care of itself.”

–From The Pit Box (Jeff Hensley):Your team was able to capitalize on stage points and a good finish at Daytona to start the season off, but will your focus change for this superspeedway?

“If you’re getting stage points, that means you are closer to the front, which hopefully means that you’re out of all the trouble. So, I think it kind of goes hand and hand – stage points and track position. We’re just going to have to play our strategy by ear. Things change during that race a lot from lap to lap, so we just have to see how everything plays out, honestly. We would like to score as many stage points as we can, maybe even win a stage, because that will help us out and set us up to where we can race for the win at the end, hopefully.”

Rajah Caruth, No. 24 Wendell Scott Foundation Chevrolet Silverado RST

Talladega Superspeedway Stats

– Rajah Caruth will compete in his first NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at Talladega on Saturday.

– ARCA Starts: 1; Best start: 19th (2022); Best finish: 6th (2022); Top 10s: 1; Laps led: 6

2023 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Season Stats

– Starts: 20; Best start: 3rd (Nashville); Best finish: 6th (Darlington & Bristol); Top 10s: 3; Laps led: 1; Current points position: 17th

–About the Wendell Scott Foundation: Founded in 2011, The Wendell Scott Foundation, Inc. is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization inspired by Wendell Scott, Sr. and provides services such as job-skill training, STEM education opportunities, mentoring, and other supportive services to at-risk, underserved youth between the ages of 8-18 years in Danville, Virginia and surrounding areas.

The Foundation’s mission of using educational attainment to end racial disparities in education and health is vital in addressing economic inequality and improving future success in African-American communities. For more information, please visitwww.wendellscott.org.

– Chassis History/Info: Caruth and the No. 24 team will race with GMS chassis no. 129 at Talladega Superspeedway. This chassis has competed in 11 plate track races since 2017, and was driven to a victory at Daytona International Speedway in 2018 with Johnny Sauter. In six Talladega starts, the chassis has finished inside the top-10 three times including a best run of fourth with Brett Moffitt in 2019. Rajah drove this truck at Daytona this year, finishing in the 29th position after becoming involved in a late-race crash.

– Bristol Recap: Rajah was quick all day in the last race held at Bristol Motor Speedway, starting out the event in fifth – which was his fourth top-five qualifying result of the season. Caruth ran inside the top-10 all race long, taking points in stage one (sixth) and stage two (ninth). Using the same strategy of Enfinger, Rajah would only pit once all night. Like his teammate, the call paid off, resulting in a sixth place finish. This tied Caruth’s best-career result, also finishing sixth earlier in the year at Darlington.

– Closing in on the Top-15: The No. 24 team has quietly been making some serious ground in the points standings over the course of the past four Truck Series races. Following his sixth place finish in Bristol, Rajah Caruth is now only 20 points behind Taylor Gray in 16th and 22 behind Tyler Ankrum in 15th for the championship points. There are three solid chances to move the rookie up a couple of spots in the standings before the end of the year.

–Walter at Talladega: Chad Walter has made two Truck Series starts at Talladega, finishing as high as 16th with Tyler Ankrum in 2020. He has also competed in nine Xfinity Series races held at this track, with highlights including two top-five runs. Walter’s drivers Kyle Busch and Casey Mears finished third in back-to-back seasons in 2006 and 2007.

–Wendell Scott at Talladega: NASCAR Hall of Fame Inductee, Wendell Scott, drove in five NASCAR Cup Series races at Talladega in the early 1970’s. Scott finished in the top-20 twice, and his best finish at this track was a 19th place run in the spring of 1971. He made the penultimate start of his career in 1973 with what he said was the best car that he ever raced, but suffered a large crash early on that left him 55th in the running order.

– STEM Activity: In the spirit of giving back and growing interest of the sport, Rajah Caruth and Chad Walter will meet with a group of local seventh grade students who are attending the race on behalf of NASCAR. Thanks to a program put together by First Bank of Alabama, these students will be able to engage and learn about the importance of STEM fields within the industry. The driver/crew chief duo will explain several key aspects regarding communication, team work, and execution that go into every race weekend.

– From The Driver’s Seat: You’ve only had one prior super speedway race under your belt in the Truck Series, so what was your biggest “learning moment” from Daytona?

“Daytona feels like it was an eternity ago, but I was able to learn a lot in my first Truck Series race there back in February. I found out first hand how much these trucks like to move around in the draft, as well as the decisiveness necessary to make moves and being able to chill for a second. You don’t need to lead every lap in these races, and I learned a lot of the importance of setting yourself up for the finish, because you need to be around for the end of the race. I feel like our Wendell Scott Foundation team proved that they can bring one of the fastest trucks to the racetrack at these plate-style races, and hopefully I have gained enough respect of the other drivers out there to give them confidence in working with me here this weekend.”

Daniel Dye, No. 43 Solar-Fit / LiftedTrucksForSale.com Chevrolet Silverado RST