NASCAR Playoff Prospect Grant Enfinger Ready For Wild Card Race at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park

Grant Enfinger, No. 98 Superior Essex/Curb Records/ThorSport Racing Ford F-150
NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series
Canadian Tire Motorsports Park – Gander Trucks 250
Race No. 18 of 23

Team Info/Stats:
Crew Chief: Jeff Hensley
2019 Driver Points Standings: 4th (-28)
2019 Owner Points Standings: 5th (-26)
Playoff Position: 4th (-13)
Spotter: Gary Mann

News and Notes:

• #NASCARPlayoffs Profile… The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Playoffs are heating up! Grant Enfinger, who entered the Playoffs seeded second, is currently fourth in the standings following the first race in Round 1, at Bristol Motor Speedway. Sunday’s Gander Trucks 250 at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (CTMP) will mark the second race in Round 1, and Talladega Superspeedway will round out the third and final race in the three-race elimination round. The top-six drivers following Talladega will advance to Round 2.

• Road Course Prep… Enfinger and his ThorSport Racing teammates have made two starts with Multimatic Motorsports in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Series, on behalf of Ford Performance, in preparation for Sunday’s 64-lap event at CTMP. The ThorSport Racing quartet competed at the 3.74-mile, 17 turn, Sebring International Raceway in the Alan Jay Automotive Network 120 in March and most recently at the 2.459-mile, 10-turn Canadian Tire Motorsports park, in the CTMP 250, in July.

• Off-Weekend Fun… Following Thursday night’s UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway, Enfinger flew to Springfield, Illinois to crew chief for his good friend, Kelly Kovski in the No. 16 Allgaier Motorsports entry, in the ARCA Menards Series Allen Crowe 100 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. Kovski started eighth and finished sixth, at the one-mile clay oval.

• Welcome Aboard – Superior Essex… Superior Essex, the leading manufacturer and supplier of communications cable in North America, will make their debut on board Enfinger’s No. 98 Ford F-150 in Sunday’s Gander Trucks 250 at CTMP.

• Canada Eh’ … Enfinger will make his third start at CTMP in Sunday’s Gander Trucks 250. In two previous starts, the ThorSport Racing driver has a track-best start of 11th (2018) and a track-best finish of 13th (2017).

• Chassis Chatter… The No. 98 ThorSport Racing team will unload chassis No. 47 for Sunday’s 64-lap event north of the border. This is the same chassis Enfinger piloted at CTMP in 2017 and 2018.

• Ford Fact… Ford powered F-150’s have found victory lane 99 times since 1995 in the Gander Trucks, including two times at CTMP with drivers Ryan Blaney (2014) and Austin Cindric (2017).

• Take Me Back – Bristol… Enfinger started 14th, finished 11th in Stage 1, ninth in Stage 2 and led 57 laps in the final Stage to finish fifth in the UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

• Truck Series Stats… Enfinger has 77 career Gander Trucks starts to his credit. His success includes five poles and 564 laps led en route to two wins, 26 top-five and 49 top-10 finishes.

• Catch Grant In Canada… Enfinger will participate in the Gander Trucks autograph session Saturday, Aug. 24, from 2:00 – 2:45 p.m. ET under the tent in Paddock E at CTMP.

Chatting with Grant Enfinger…

On road course racing and this race being the “Wild Card” in the Playoffs
“I’m actually not much of a road course racer, but Ford Performance has allowed us to run a lot of laps on a road course this year, even some at Mosport, so I’m really excited about getting back there this weekend. We had pretty good speed last year with the same group of guys, same truck, with me driving and Jeff Hensley tuning on it, like he does every week. The reason it’s a wild card is because I think we’ve only been there one time when the leader hasn’t been dumped on the last lap, so there’s not much respect that goes on at a road course. With this race being in the Playoffs, there is that much more on the line. You’ll definitely see some tempers flare, but hopefully we can stay out of the drama because I still feel like this is a race we can win. I don’t think I’m going into it as a favorite or anything, but I feel like we’ll unload with a solid top five Ford F-150 and at that point, anything can happen.”

What’s the trickiest part of getting around the course?
“The most important turn at Mosport is Turn 5 because the exit of Turn 5 sets you up for the really long straight away. If you slip, even a little bit, or get hung up with someone trying to pass on the exit of Turn 5, you can lose a second on your lap time. The section I have to work on the most, personally, is Turns 8, 9 and 10. I got a lot better there last year, but that’s where I’m going to focus my energy in practice.”

About Superior Essex
Superior Essex Communications is the leading manufacturer and supplier of communications cable in North America. It is on the forefront of innovation through Power over Ethernet, Intelligent Buildings and Cities, 5G Fiber infrastructure including Hybrid and Composite solutions, as well as technological advancements being made at its Product Development Center. Superior Essex Communications is also setting the pace on sustainability by being the first and only company with a Zero Waste to Landfill Certification at its Hoisington (KS) plant; the first wire and cable producer to contribute points to LEED certification, and the first to offer verified sustainable cables in over 50 products. Superior Essex Communications is Everywhere You Live and Work®. Additional information is available at http://superioressexcommunications.com

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 ThorSport Racing:
Entering its 24th season of competition, ThorSport Racing, based in Sandusky, Ohio, is the longest-tenured NASCAR Gander Outdoors 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