Grant Enfinger looks to keep momentum rolling in South Beach
After claiming the lead on a two-lap overtime restart, ThorSport Racing’s Grant Enfinger was able to grab the checkered flag for the second time this season last weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
The win marked the first ever for a Ford truck at Atlanta and it was Enfinger’s first career victory at the 1.54-mile track. Driving the No. 98 ThorSport Racing Ford, which finished .215-second ahead of Austin Hill, led only seven laps – including the most important one – the final lap.
Enfinger’s win in the season-opener at Daytona and a win at Atlanta marks his first multi-win season of his career.
As the series heads to Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday night for the Baptist Health 200 (7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), expect Enfinger’s recent success to continue. In four starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway he has posted one top five (runner-up finish in 2018), three top 10s and an average finish of 10.0.
Hattori Racing Enterprises’ Austin Hill returns to Miami to defend win
For Austin Hill last season ended with a big win at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and this weekend the Georgia native returns to South Beach to defend his win. The current points leader is 21 points up on second place Zane Smith heading into this weekend.
Hill will definitely be one to watch on Saturday as he has made four series starts at Homestead posting a win and an average finish of 14.8.
“Yeah, it’s always really fun to go back to a track that you’ve won at,” said Hill. “It gives you a lot of confidence, going in. We were really good there last year. It’s going to be a little bit different this year with it being a little bit hotter and when we are racing. It’s probably going to be slicker. It’s going to be nice to have the Xfinity cars go out first to get some rubber down on the track. I’m excited. I’m excited to get going.”
Hill’s early points lead is attributed to his solid performances this season finishing in the top-10 in all four starts in 2020.
Keep your eyes on these guys in Miami
There are four drivers in this Saturday night’s NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race to keep an eye on that already have Homestead-Miami Speedway trophies to their name.
Driver standings leader Austin Hill being one of them, along with Brett Moffitt who won in 2018 to claim the championship, Matt Crafton who won there in 2015 and Johnny Sauter who won in 2011.
Moffitt is sitting in fourth in the series driver standings, 31 points behind points leader Austin Hill. The driver of the No. 23 GMS Racing Chevrolet has two starts at Miami and finished in the top five in both. This includes a fifth-place finish last year in addition to the 2018 victory. His average finish at Homestead is 3.0.
Crafton, driver of the No. 88 ThorSport Racing Ford and reigning series champion, is still trying to raise his title defense game. So far, his only top 10 this season through the first four races is a fourth-place finish at Las Vegas. He’s ranked 11th in the standings currently but has a solid resume at Miami. He has 19 starts at the South Florida track with 11 top 10s and not a single DNF.
Sauter, driver of the No. 13 ThorSport Racing Ford, comes to Miami abundantly motivated. After an inspection failure last weekend at Atlanta, Sauter dropped from a top-10 finish to last place. He has one win at Miami with nine top-10 finishes in 13 starts, including five of his last six starts.
Gander Truck Sunoco Rookies on the rise
With a class of seven drivers in the 2020 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year program it was inevitable that a few would rise to the top of the series’ talent pool. Three of the seven – Zane Smith, Christian Eckes and Derek Kraus – have broken into the top 10 in points and are currently Playoff eligible.
Leading the way amongst the 2020 rookies is GMS Racing’s Zane Smith, driver of the No. 21 Chevrolet, who sits second in the driver standings heading to Homestead-Miami Speedway — 21 points behind points leader Austin Hill. Smith will be making his Homestead-Miami Speedway series debut this weekend but heads to the track with a good bit of confidence after finishing in the top-10 in the last three races; including a season-best third-place showing at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
NGROTS Sunoco Rookie of the Year Standings
Rookies
Points
Awards
Zane Smith
142
2
Christian Eckes
125
1
Derek Kraus
107
1
Tanner Gray
86
0
Raphael Lessard
84
0
Ty Majeski
82
0
Tate Fogleman
51
0
Spencer Davis
42
0
Sitting sixth in the Gander Trucks driver standings is Kyle Busch Motorsport’s Christian Eckes, driver of the No. 18 Toyota – 38 points back from standings leader Austin Hill. Eckes has had a slow start to the season but has rebounded recently posting a pole and a third-place finish last weekend at Atlanta – his first top five of the season.
The third series rookie to crack the top 10 in points is McAnally-Hilgermann Racing’s Derek Kraus, who currently resides ninth in the series driver standings – 56 points back from series standings leader Austin Hill. Kraus has had an up and down season so far, posting a top five (fourth) in the season-opener at Daytona and then another top 10 (seventh) last week at Atlanta.
Of the three rookies, Eckes is the only one with previous experience at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He made his series track debut last season, starting second and finishing third. Both Smith and Kraus will be making their series track debuts this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Honoring Florida nursing home caregivers
NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series drivers Korbin Forrister, Ross Chastain and Jennifer Jo Cobb are joining together to make a special visit to Sunrise Health and Rehabilitation Center to recognize and honor the frontline caregivers and show their appreciation for their efforts to keep residents safe.
The drivers will deliver “Thank You Hero” packets to staff and residents outside of the facility due to COVID-19 restrictions.
The visit is part of an ongoing campaign by Forrister, who went to Charlotte Motor Speedway a few weeks ago with signage to support America’s nursing home. The No. 7 All Out Motorsports Toyota was branded with #NursingHomeCareGivers on the side and a large “Thank
You” sign on the back. Forrister will continue the campaign in partnership with Florida Health Care Association and the American Health Care Association for Saturday’s Baptist Health 200 (7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Executive Director of Florida Health Care Association Emmett Reed said, “We are thrilled to partner with Korbin and to show our support to the dedicated nursing home caregivers who are working tirelessly across Florida and the nation to keep their residents safe from COVID-19. These caregivers are putting themselves at risk every day they come to work and are making heroic efforts to protect their residents. Too often they are overlooked, and we felt it important to spread the message of support for these selfless individuals; they truly are our nursing home heroes.”
Homestead-Miami Speedway quick facts
There have been 24 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series races at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
There have been 19 different pole winners and 22 different race winners. Four races have been won from the pole. Chase Briscoe is the most recent, winning the race from the pole in 2017. Briscoe also holds the race record at 135.556 mph in the same year.
Last year’s margin of victory was the shortest in the last five races (1.569).
The 1.5-mile track in South Florida has a 1,760-foot frontstretch and backstretch with four degrees on banking on straights and 18-20 degrees of banking in corners.
Todd Bodine and Kyle Busch have the most wins at the track with two. David Reutimann, Joe Ruttman, Mike Skinner hold the record for the most poles with two, also.
Matt Crafton is tied with Ron Hornaday Jr. with the most top 10s at the track (11), and Jack Sprague has the record for most top fives (eight).
The most lead changes at the track is 17, three separate times but most recently in 2010. The fewest lead changes is five in 2002.
The most caution laps at the track was 52 in 1997 and the fewest was four in 2002.
Toyota has the most wins by a manufacturer at the track with 10.
The inaugural race Gander Trucks race at Homestead was in 1996, the Florida Dodge Dealers 400, where Dave Rezendes won in a Ford for Geoff Bodine.
Chase Purdy running limited schedule for GMS Racing
GMS Racing announced that Chase Purdy will join the team for five races in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series in 2020. His debut will be at Pocono Raceway on June 27 in the No. 24 Bama Buggies Chevrolet.
He will also pilot the No. 24 at Kentucky Speedway, Kansas Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway.
In 2018, Purdy competed full-time in the ARCA Menards Series for MDM Motorsports alongside his GMS Racing teammates Sheldon Creed and Zane Smith. Purdy gathered 10 top fives and 14 top 10s and finished in fourth place in the championship standings. 2018 was also the year he made his Gander Trucks debut competing at Martinsville Speedway and Phoenix Raceway with GMS Racing crew chief Jeff Stankiewicz.
Gander Trucks Driver Playoff Outlook
Rank
Driver
Points
Race Wins
Stage Wins
Playoff Points
Points From Cutoff
1
Grant Enfinger
132
2
1
11
In On Wins
2
Austin Hill
163
0
0
0
65
3
Zane Smith #
142
0
0
0
44
4
Brett Moffitt
132
0
0
0
34
5
Ben Rhodes
128
0
0
0
30
6
Christian Eckes
125
0
0
0
27
7
Sheldon Creed
117
0
0
0
19
8
Johnny Sauter
108
0
0
0
10
9
Derek Kraus #
107
0
0
0
9
10
Todd Gilliland
106
0
0
0
8
11
Matt Crafton
98
0
0
0
-8
12
Tyler Ankrum
98
0
0
0
-8
13
Stewart Friesen
87
0
0
0
-19
Grant Enfinger is the only driver in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series that is locked into the 2020 Playoffs on wins so far. The series is only four races in though, so there’s plenty of time to switch up the standings come the postseason.
Catching most people’s eye when looking at the Playoff outlook are the three rookies in the Playoff picture right now – Zane Smith, Christian Eckes, and Derek Kraus. Smith has led the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings for the entire season so far.
Only one former series champion is currently eligible for the Playoffs by points, Johnny Sauter, who sits eighth in points; 55 back from the standings lead.
Three-time series champion, Matt Crafton is currently on the Playoff bubble, this first spot outside the postseason cutoff (in 11th). Since the inception of the Playoffs in the Gander Trucks in 2016, Crafton has not missed the postseason. He is currently eight points behind 10th place Todd Gilliland heading into Homestead-Miami.
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