Grant Enfinger continues superior strategy at Homestead

Grant Enfinger denied his fellow NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series playoff-eligible drivers the chance to secure the Championship 4 after scoring a second consecutive victory Saturday at Homestead.

The Fairhope, Alabama, native captured victory in the Baptist Health 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway after an alternate strategy decision by Jeff Stankewicz put the No. 9 on the defensive during the final stage of the race.

In reality, that strategy only became a possibility when Enfinger and Christian Eckes made significant contact on a restart, leaving the Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet with heavy tire rub and a mandatory trip to the pits to repair the damage.

The only yellow flag in the final stage of the race, which established the alternative strategy followed by several drivers in the closing laps, gave Enfinger the opportunity to secure the bye, return to the lead lap and pit one lap. later than the race leaders.

RELATED: 2024 NCTS Baptist Health 200 Race Results

“Man, we’ve had just as good a truck at Darlington, we just had bad circumstances,” Enfinger said. “My friend Tyler Young let our grille break, which took us out of contention there, but I think the truck we had here was just as good.”

Enfinger, a veteran NASCAR Truck Series driver, was battling other drivers with the same strategy, including Layne Riggs and Nick Sanchez, but took the lead from the Front Row Motorsports driver with 22 laps remaining, never looking back until The checkered flag was displayed.

“I feel like we were able to take a disadvantage no matter what happened on that restart. I didn’t think I did anything wrong, and my friend Christian (Eckes), who I guess was trying to split the middle, just cut our tire a little bit. Just running.”

Corey Heim, who led a race-high 68 laps, was the primary chaser during the final run of the race after making his final green flag stop on lap 100. Ultimately, it didn’t work out, and the TRICON driver Garage ended. fourth, 18.664 seconds behind the race winner.

While Layne Riggs, Nick Sanchez and several others with a similar strategy ran out of fuel at the finish line, Enfinger used his skill to take the lead, winning the race by 17.516 seconds over ThorSport Racing driver Ty Majeski.

Connor Mosack earned a career-best third place finish in the No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado for Spire Motorsports. Corey Heim came home in fourth place, with Tyler Ankrum achieving a miraculous fifth-place finish.

Stewart Friesen made the strategy work to finish sixth, with chasers Daniel Dye, Rajah Caruth, Christian Eckes and Taylor Gray completing the top 10 finishers.

Coming out of Homestead-Miami Speedway, Grant Enfinger remains the only driver in the NASCAR Truck Series playoffs guaranteed a spot in the season finale at Phoenix Raceway with a chance to win the championship.

Corey Heim (+49), Christian Eckes (+38) and Ty Majeski (+22) are currently above the cut line heading into the final eliminator race at Martinsville, while Rajah Caruth (-22), Taylor Gray (-24), Tyler Ankrum (-41) and Nick Sanchez (-43) are below the cut line.

The Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 200 at Martinsville Speedway will take place on Friday, November 1 at 6:00 pm ET. Coverage of the event will be on FOX Sports 1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).