Enfinger/Crafton/Friesen Need To Capitalize Thursday Night In Eldora

Matt Crafton has won 14 times in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series. That ranks him tied for 10th most all-time. Grant Enfinger has won twice himself while Stewart Friesen has never won a Truck Series race before. All three though, need to capitalize in Thursday night’s Eldora Dirt Derby (9 p.m. ET/FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

See, the three wildcard spots in the Truck Series playoff standings belong to this trio. Enfinger is +82, Crafton, is +29 while Friesen is +13. But, this is the week where all three drivers can contend for the win and at the very least score some very valuable points for the championship.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Eldora Dirt Derby - Practice
ROSSBURG, OH – JULY 17: Stewart Friesen, driver of the #52 We Build America Chevrolet, practices for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Eldora Dirt Derby at Eldora Speedway on July 17, 2018 in Rossburg, Ohio. (Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images)

There are only two races remaining in the regular season and Eldora is one of them. With this week being on dirt, it’s an art some drivers have and some drivers don’t. These three have been good on dirt.

Enfinger, finished fourth in this race in 2017 and runner-up to Chase Briscoe last year. On the season, he has 11 top 10 finishes and six top fives in his No. 98 Ford.

His teammate in Crafton hasn’t won a race since his triumph in the 2017 Eldora Dirt Derby. He’s riding a 49 race winless streak. But, he really took it upon himself to learn to race on dirt and its paid off. Crafton, has never finished outside of the top 10 in Eldora with finishes of first and fourth respectively the last two years. On the season, he has 12 top 10 finishes including 11 of which in the last 12 races overall.

That leaves Friesen who’s a dirt racer by nature. He finished runner-up after leading 93 of 150 laps in 2017 and was third in 2018. While he crashed last week in Pocono, he does have four top five finishes in his last five starts on the season including five of the last seven.

The guys chasing them aren’t known dirt racers. Harrison Burton and Ben Rhodes have struggled on dirt. This is a prime opportunity for the trio to see one of them win and all three come away with top fives.

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