NCWTS Phoenix Raceway Lucas Oil 150 Race Preview

Grant Enfinger, No. 23 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet Silverado RST

Phoenix Raceway Stats

– NCWTS Starts: 5, Poles: 1 (2020), Best finish: 4th (2018), Top-5s: 2, Top-10s: 2, Laps led: 12

2022 NCWTS Season Stats

– Starts: 22, Wins: 1 (IRP), Best start: 3rd, Top 5s: 7, Top 10s: 11, Laps led: 44, Current points position: 7th

— 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. Visit ChampionPowerEquipment.com for more information.

Chassis History/Info: Enfinger and the No. 23 team will compete with GMS Racing chassis no. 345 at Phoenix Raceway. Debuting earlier this season, Enfinger has driven this Chevrolet to two top-five finishes in two starts at Richmond Raceway, where he finished fourth, and Kansas Speedway, where he finished fifth. Grant looks to keep this finishing streak alive in the Arizona desert.

Career Milestone: Friday’s Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix Raceway will mark a special milestone for Grant Enfinger, as the veteran will make his 150th career start in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The driver of the No. 23 Chevrolet made his series debut at his home track of Talladega Superspeedway on October 30th, 2010, and since then has won five pole awards and seven race wins – including two with GMS Racing at Talladega and Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. Champion Power Equipment has been right there with him nearly every step of the way, showcasing one of the strongest driver/partner relationships ever held in the series. In commemoration of this milestone, the team will run a special decal on Enfinger’s truck this weekend.

Season Recap: In his highly-anticipated return to GMS Racing, Grant Enfinger proved that he and the No. 23 team can perform at a championship caliber level. Though he was eliminated from the playoffs after the last race, Enfinger heads into the season finale scored seventh in the drivers’ points standings, with fifth place still in sight. The driver of the No. 23 Chevrolet led 44 laps and posted seven top-fives along with 11 top-10 finishes during the 2022 campaign, and won at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park in dramatic fashion. Enfinger’s best qualifying effort was third place at Darlington Raceway.

Driver Appearances: Fans attending the race weekend in Phoenix will have two opportunities to meet Grant Enfinger on race day, with times highlighted below:

  • Friday, 11/4 – Team Chevy Stage – Both GMS Racing drivers will host a Q&A session at the Team Chevy stage in the Phoenix Raceway fan-zone from 12:45 PM to 1:00 PM local time.

  • Friday, 11/4 – NCWTS Autograph Session – Both GMS Racing drivers will participate in an autograph session inside the Phoenix Raceway infield from 1:30 PM to 2:15 PM local time.

GE Quote: Enfinger ‘s thoughts on Phoenix Raceway and his season with GMS Racing:

“Phoenix Raceway is a unique place on the schedule.  As a driver, you can begin to notice that the track surface is beginning to age a little bit, which is always good.  Both corners are different so you have to compromise and adapt your driving styles for each end of the track.  Jeff Hensley and I have a solid baseline to add onto the already stellar notebook that GMS Racing has here, so I’m definitely looking forward to finishing our season off right this weekend.

2022 has been a challenging season for us at GMS Racing, but everyone has rallied and pulled together to make the absolute most of it. Having the support from everyone at Champion Power Equipment, Chevrolet, and GMS Fabrication has been incredible this year.  While I wish we were going to be fighting for a championship this weekend, I can hang my head high knowing that we have a lot of exciting things ahead of us over the off season. We aren’t looking past this weekend however, as I think we have a great chance at playing spoiler and chasing our second win of the season. It’s going to be fun!”