Event Preview | 2019 Chicagoland Speedway
Grant Enfinger, No. 98 Champion Power Equipment/Curb Records Ford F-150
NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series
Chicagoland Speedway – Camping World 225
Race No. 12 of 23
Team Info/Stats:
Crew Chief: Jeff Hensley
2019 Driver Points Standings: 1st (+54)
2019 Owner Points Standings: 2nd (-3)
Spotter: Chris Lambert (Race Only)
News and Notes:
• Salute A Vet… In conjunction with the NASCAR Salutes initiative, running from Memorial Day weekend through Independence Day weekend, Grant Enfinger will carry the names of eight veterans close to the No. 98 ThorSport Racing team. Included in those names is Charles “Marty” Richards, with Champion Power Equipment, who served in the U.S. Navy from 1986-1994 and was awarded the Navy Achievement Medal. In all, we have one veteran who served in the U.S. Air Force, three members from the U.S. Navy and four who served in the U.S. Army. All are recognized for their service.
• Windy City Stats… Enfinger has three NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series starts at Chicagoland Speedway since 2016, including a track-best start of eighth (2017) and a track-best finish of fifth (2017). Additionally, the ThorSport Racing driver has five ARCA Menards Series starts, which include three top-five and five top-10 finishes.
• This Week’s No. 98 Champion Power Equipment/Curb Records Ford F-150… The No. 98 ThorSport Racing team will unload chassis No. 52 for Friday night’s Camping World 225 at Chicagoland Speedway. This is the same chassis Enfinger piloted at Atlanta Motor Speedway (third), and Kansas Speedway (seventh), earlier this season.
• Intermediate Track Facts… In 31 starts on an intermediate-size track (1.5-1.54-miles) in his Gander Trucks career, Enfinger has two poles (Homestead, 2018 and Texas, 2019), one win (Las Vegas, 2018), and has led 210 laps en route to 10 top-five, and 23 top-10 finishes.
• Playoff Profile… With 11 of the 16 races complete on the road to the Playoffs, Enfinger is currently ranked fourth on the Playoff Grid, behind Iowa Speedway winner, Brett Moffitt, Daytona International Speedway winner, Austin Hill and Dover International Speedway winner, Johnny Sauter. Enfinger, who is currently first in the driver points standings, has three Stage wins and three Playoff Points.
• 2019 Outlook… Enfinger has been the Gander Trucks points leader through eight of the first 11 races this season. Furthermore, the ThorSport Racing driver has not dropped below second in the points standings. Completing 99.99 percent of the laps attempted (1799 of 1800) in 2019, Enfinger has lead at least one lap in eight of the last 11 races, leading 162 laps this season. The Champion Power Equipment driver has one pole (Texas, March), six top-five and 10 top-10 finishes.
• Ford Fact… Ford powered F-150’s have found victory lane 99 times since 1995 in the Gander Trucks, but they are still looking for their first series win at Chicagoland Speedway.
• Take Me Back – WWT Raceway at Gateway… Enfinger started second, when qualifying was canceled due to weather and the field was set by owner’s points, won both the first and second Stages, and led 52 laps en route to a sixth-place finish in the CarShield 200 at WWT Raceway at Gateway.
• Truck Series Stats… Enfinger has 71 career Gander Trucks starts to his credit. His success includes four poles, and 433 laps led en route to two wins, 24 top-five and 45 top-10 finishes.
• Welcome Back – Champion Power Equipment… Champion Power Equipment, a market leader in the power equipment field, will be back on board the No. 98 Ford F-150 of Enfinger at Chicagoland Speedway, for their seventh race this season.
Chatting with Grant Enfinger…
“I’m looking forward to getting back to Chicagoland Speedway this weekend. We’ve got Champion Power Equipment back on board, and they’ve got a lot of guests and employees coming out to support us Friday night. We’re bringing truck 52 this weekend, which was last run at Kansas, and it was really strong there. I feel good about our mile-and-a-half program in general, but we’ve made a lot of progress on all these rougher, worn-out, intermediate-size tracks. We’ve got three practice sessions Thursday, so there’s plenty of time to try some stuff, and we’ve got an extra set of tires for practice, so just some more time to get our No. 98 Ford F-150 dialed-in for Friday night.”
About Champion Power Equipment:
Since 2003 Champion Power Equipment has earned a reputation for designing and producing the market’s finest power equipment. From our original headquarters in Santa Fe Springs, California, Champion has expanded its North American footprint to include facilities in Jackson Tennessee, Milwaukee Wisconsin and Toronto Canada. Today Champion’s product line has expanded to include portable generators, home standby generators, inverter generators, engines, winches and log splitters. With over 2.5 million generators sold in North America, Champion is a market leader in the power equipment field. For more information visit: ChampionPowerEquipment.com.
About Curb Records:
Curb Records is one of the world’s leading independent music companies. Owned and operated under The Curb Group by Mike Curb since 1962, Curb Records has achieved 433 number one records, over 1,500 hundred Top Ten records and charted over 4,500 total records. Today’s roster includes some of the top names in Country, Christian and Pop/Rock music. Curb Records has produced over 100 Billboard awards and achievements and was recently honored as the 2015 Mediabase Gold Label of the Year. For more information visit: Curb.com.
About Protect The Harvest:
Protect The Harvest, which was created to defend and preserve the freedoms of American consumers, farmers, ranchers, outdoor enthusiasts and animal owners, is a nonprofit organization whose objectives are to inform, protect and respond, providing resources to educate those who may be unaware their rights are in danger. For more information, visit www.ProtectTheHarvest.com.
About ThorSport Racing:
Entering its 24th season of competition, ThorSport Racing, based in Sandusky, Ohio, is the longest-tenured NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series team, competing in the series since 1996.
Blackstone Management Partners | BSMPartners.com
Contact: Jessica O’Brien
Jessica@bsmpartners.com
Mobile: 803-240-5807
