Enfinger rebounds, GMS Racing stays on top through final NCWTS practice
Grant Enfinger, driver of the No. 98 Champion Power Equipment/Curb Records Ford F-150 for ThorSport Racing, finished third in final practice after having engine issues in the first session. Enfinger is already locked into the next round of the playoffs, so his results at Talladega won’t affect his championship run.
October 12, 2018
Finishing off the second and final NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice, Spencer Gallagher, driver No. 2 Allegiant Chevrolet for GMS Racing, topped the charts. We changed a couple things in there and we made qualifying runs this session … I wish we would’ve gotten in a big pack of trucks, [but] it just didn’t work out. I do feel good about the speed we have. — driver of the No. 98 Grant Enfinger
Gallagher paced the field with a top speed of 180.928 mph and best time of 52.927 seconds. After experiencing engine troubles and a vibration in the first session, Grant Enfinger, driver of the No. 98 Champion Power Equipment/Curb Records Ford F-150 for ThorSport Racing, rebounded to finish second with a top speed of 180.553 mph and a best time of 53.037 seconds.
“We just had a vibration issue, so we just changed the drive shaft. We changed a couple things in there and we made qualifying runs this session,” Enfinger said. “I wish we would’ve gotten in a big pack of trucks, [but] it just didn’t work out. I do feel good about the speed we have. I think we can qualify up front and race up front tomorrow.”
Coming in third was Todd Gilliland, driver of the No. 4 Pedigree Puppy Toyota for Kyle Busch Motorsports, with a top speed of 180.366 mph and a best time of 53.092 seconds, an impressive run for his first time racing at Talladega. Matt Crafton, driver of the No. 88 Fisher Nuts/Menards Ford F-150 for ThorSport Racing, finished fourth with a top speed of 179.480 mph and a best time of 53.354 seconds. Rounding off the top five was Jordan Anderson, driver of the No. 3 Rusty’s Off-Road Chevrolet for TJL Motorsports, with a top speed of 179.168 mph and best time of 53.447 seconds.
Only 25 of 36 drivers participated in the second and final practice session. This included, Brett Moffitt, driver of the No. 16 Toyota for Hattori Racing Enterprises who finished the first session in 17th with a top speed of 184.608 mph and best time of 51.872 seconds. Moffitt is currently fifth in playoff standings with a 18 point lead over the cutoff. Timothy Peters, driver of the No. 25 Kingman Chevrolet for GMS Racing, also didn’t run. Peters scored a tenth place finish in the first practice session with a top speed of 188.872 mph and a best time of 50.701 seconds.
Ben Rhodes, driver of No. 41 Carolina Nut Co. for ThorSport Racing, finished ninth in final NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice at Talladega Superspeedway. Rhodes, who currently sits seven points out of sixth place, needs to have a good finish in the race tomorrow in order to advance to the next round of the playoffs.
“We put a lot of effort into this F-150 we brought here this weekend just to qualify well,” Rhodes said. “We need to be in the front as long as we can, and at the end of every stage rack up as many points as possible. I’m on the outside looking in for the round of six, which is not where we want to be, but I think we have a pretty good F-150.”
Looking ahead to tomorrow’s race, Ben Rhodes, driver of the No. 41 Carolina Nut Co. for ThorSport Racing, and Stewart Friesen, driver of the No. 52 We Build America Chevrolet for Halmar Friesen Racing, need to perform well because both drivers are in danger of be eliminated. Rhodes is currently seven points below the cutoff, while Friesen is out by ten points.
“Hopefully we can stay up front and lead some people,” Enfinger said. “I think we’re good enough if we can get in the right circumstance with our GMS [teammates] that we can make some runs through the pack if need be.”
Austin Hill, from Winston, Georgia, driver of the No. 02 Young’s Building Systems/Randco Chevrolet for Young’s Motorsports, finished 15th in this session with a top speed of 177.907 mph and best time of 53.826 seconds. After not running in first practice, Wendell Chavous, driver of the No. 49 SobrietyNation Chevrolet for Premium Motorsports, placed 24th in final practice with a top speed of 173.321 mph and a best time of 55.250 seconds.
The trucks will be back on the track for qualifying at 4:30 p.m. CDT.
