AVONDALE, Ariz.—In GMS’s swan song, Grant Enfinger would like nothing more than to send the organization off with one final Craftsman Truck Series Championship on Friday.
After 11 seasons, 45 wins, and two truck titles, the Maury Gallagher-owned company announced in August they would cease truck operations following the finale at Phoenix Raceway.
At 38—and moving to a new team next season—Enfinger doesn’t know how many opportunities he has left. One thing is certain, he’ll never have the chance to win with the No. 23 squad again.
“I think it would mean more to me personally than it would career-wise,” Enfinger said. “That’s just how I look at it. I think personally, it would mean a lot to me for me, but it would mean a lot to me for (crew chief) Jeff Hensley, for Mike Beam (GMS president) for everybody on this 23 group outside of everything we do racing-wise and what it means and jobs for next year and all that kind of stuff.
“I know how hard everybody has worked, including myself, but man, I want nothing more than to bring this championship home for all of these guys. So, yeah, I think for me it’s more personal.”
The average age of Enfinger’s competition is 22.3. Neither Carson Hocevar nor Corey Heim has advanced to the Championship 4 round in their short truck careers. Enfinger’s former teammate Ben Rhodes won the 2021 truck title and returns to the final four for a third-straight season.
While the competition has had time to relax since the truckers last raced at Homestead-Miami Speedway two weeks ago, that hasn’t been the case for Enfinger. Last Friday, his wife Michelle gave birth to their new daughter Caroline.
“I haven’t had time to unwind, but I’ve definitely had some time to not think about racing,” Enfinger said. “We had the birth of our little baby girl, Caroline, last Friday, so there have been a lot of sleepless nights—especially by my wife and my mom and her mom have been in town helping out. That’s been the distraction. I wouldn’t say there’s been any relaxing or anything like that.
“But I feel like our mindset is great going into this thing, not only mine but Jeff’s and our team’s. We’ve had noise and distractions going on all year long. I feel like that’s maybe a little bit of a new thing for some of these other guys. It’s not for us. These guys have dug in and stayed focused the entire time.
“We know what we have to do. We’ve got to approach this race with a must-win mentality and that’s what we’re doing. And yeah, I’m not relaxed. I wouldn’t say that, but I’m enjoying the moment. We’re not stressed or anything like that. We’re going to go out there and do what we set out to do.”
The 38-year-old racer received his first big break with the Maury Gallagher-owned team in 2016—and scored his first truck win seven races later. Unlike most of the drivers moving up through the NASCAR ranks, Enfinger doesn’t look at the truck series as simply a stepping stone. He’s made this tour his home for the last seven years—and GMS for the past two seasons.
“It’s been a long road,” Enfinger said. “It’s been a lot of grinding. There’s been a lot of times in my career where I wasn’t a driver. I was working on the stuff, crew chief-ing the stuff, driving the stuff to the track, whatever to be part of this sport. But I’ve always wanted to be a driver. I never wanted to do those other things, but was always willing to do what it takes.
“But there’s a lot of that mentality on our team as well. So yeah, it means more it. I appreciate these opportunities more. I’ve always appreciated any opportunity I’ve got, but especially since I’ve been in fully funded championship-caliber equipment,I never take that for granted. It’s taking so long to get here, I’ve definitely appreciated every moment.”
Only recently has Enfinger been able to control his destiny in the sport—choosing his own team, his own crew chief. The confidence that comes from that control has enabled the Fairhope, Ala.-native to excel in the truck series, particularly in his last few seasons with GMS.
With the belief he holds in his team and his equipment, Enfinger’s optimism is high entering Friday night’s finale.
“Us, at our best, we beat these other three at their best,” Enfinger said. “I truly feel that way. I don’t feel like we need luck, we don’t need anything special to happen. But if we’re good or we’re excellent, that’s not good enough. At our best, executing on pit road, me executing on restarts, us having the best setup truck out there, I think we beat these other guys.
“But we can’t be good. We can’t be a top-five truck. We can’t be a top-10 truck. We’ve got to be the best. And I’m at peace knowing that we’ve given it our best effort to this point. I’m also at peace knowing we have the organization, we have this speed behind us to where if we do that, we can do that.”
“We have the potential. If we do our jobs, it doesn’t really matter what the other guys do in my opinion.”
Follow Lee Spencer on X | Twitter @CandiceSpencer or email her at: [email protected].
