TALLADEGA, Ala.—Craftsman Truck Series veteran Grant Enfinger won the Love’s RV Stop 225, but second-place Taylor Gray was the comeback kid once again.
Gray, 19, overcame every obstacle presented to him at Talladega Superspeedway to move up to sixth in the Playoff standings.
And while he is 20 years Enfinger’s junior, the patience and poise Gray exhibited on Friday is why he remains in the championship hunt.
“It was definitely a crazy day,” Gray said on pit road. “I’m thankful to say I finished second—usually your luck doesn’t last that long at these places. But I can’t thank my guys at TRICON Garage and Toyota Racing for bring me a fast Place of Hope Toyota Tundra.
“We just needed more there at the end. We’ve finished everywhere we could finish except winning one of these things. Just can’t seem to get that close.”
Gray rolled off fifth and finished ninth in Stage 1. He exited pit road ninth, but after Rajah Caruth noticed the left front tire was punctured on the No. 17 Toyota, Gray was forced to return to the pits. After service, he restarted 32nd and worked his way forward.
“We were about to take the green, and I had to pit really quickly,” Gray said. “It was more to try not to get frustrated and then stay engaged and (figure out) what do we have to do to fight back and get into this thing.
“We did a good job of that. We stayed composed and compartmentalized.”
The second stage ended under caution after Connor Zilisch made contact with Nick Sanchez on Lap 39. Gray earned the free pass and restarted the third stage 22nd. He was running 11th when Stefan Parsons turned Jake Garcia, and Gray ended up in the grass. Gray gathered up the truck and restarted fifth on Lap 69.
“We got really lucky there—not to get any damage, being able to pit and carry on again,” Gray said.
Two laps later, Christian Eckes had a run on Sanchez and sent the No. 2 truck sailing out of the lead for the fourth caution. Gray restarted second for the nine-lap dash to the checkers. With a push from Eckes, Enfinger inched ahead of Gray. Enfinger crossed the finish line 0.041 seconds ahead of Gray as several trucks wrecked behind the leaders in the tri-oval.
“That’s the true definition of never giving up right there,” Gray said. “Our performance, we were decent at the beginning of the day, then got ok stage points—then our day went to crap.
“Then we were able to rally and fight our way back to the front.”
Gray’s crew chief, Jeff Hensley, who has led the charge for such Truck Series champions as Mike Skinner, Ron Hornaday Jr. and Matt Crafton as well as Friday’s winner Enfinger is impressed with what his young driver has accomplished over the first 20 races of 2024.
“That kid is amazing,” said Hensley. “He’s done it all year long. We’ve been in situations where a lot of times it’s not anywhere of his making and he keeps his head down, keeps digging and gives us an opportunity to either fix the truck or make the truck better if we’re not good when we start. We should have won two or three races this year.
“He’s an exceptional talent. He’s going to go a long way in this business.”
Follow Lee Spencer on Twitter @CandiceSpencer or email her at: [email protected].
