Local favorite Grant Enfinger earns Truck win at Talladega

TALLADEGA, Ala. — Hometown crowd favorite Grant Enfinger took the win in Friday afternoon's Love's RV Stop 225 playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway, It was the Alabama native’s second and most important NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory at the big track.

The win gives Enfinger an automatic berth into next month's season championship finale at Phoenix Raceway.

Enfinger, driving the No. 9 CR7 Motorsports Chevrolet, led 34 of 85 laps to win the second stage and retained points when the race ended with a caution on the final lap.

“We knew things were going to get dangerous,” the 39-year-old Enfinger said of having to hold on to the lead with nine laps to go after the race restarted to claim his first win of the season – the team's. First victory – said.

“We didn't make all the perfect decisions today, but we had a championship power plant Chevrolet that was fast enough to get the job done today, so even if we chose the outside (restart lane) once or twice, maybe we should have not … Just Talladega is right there and hopefully all the fans enjoy it.

“There's nothing better than winning at your home track. My family is here, my daughter and son and I win here for the first time. And most importantly, we get to compete for a championship in Phoenix.”

It was a typically wild event at the sport's largest track (2.66 miles), with the race once again decided by a mad dash to the checkered flag – Enfinger's leading playoff driver Tricon Garage's Taylor Gray crosses the finish line under caution.

Daniel Dye and Tyler Ankrum collided while running fifth and sixth, resulting in a multi-car accident 200 yards from the finish line and a yellow and checkered flag, The game is officially over. McAnally-Hilgemann Racing driver Dye finished third, while Spire Motorsports' Rajah Caruth (also a playoff driver) finished fourth. Reaume Brothers Racing's Lawless Alan finished a career-best fifth place.

McAnally-Hilgeman's regular season winner Christian Akers finished sixth. He was followed by Ryan Reed, Stefan Parsons, Brett Holmes and Spencer Boyd.

Two playoff drivers, Tricon Garage's Corey Heim and ThorSport Racing's Ty Majeski, finished 11th and 12th respectively. McAnally-Hilgemann's Tyler Ankrum was 14th.

“We had a fast truck and made a bad decision,” said a frustrated Majeski. “I jumped out of line and cost us some points in the second period, so I don't know where that puts us in the points, but I think if we finished 12th it could have been worse. We'll Head to Homestead.

Rev Racing's Nick Sanchez led 10 laps and finished 22nd after a busy day. He was involved in multiple incidents and was eventually called to the pits by NASCAR for an equipment inspection with nine laps left in the race.

Enfinger's victory marked the first time in nine Talladega playoff races that a playoff driver took the checkered flag. Enfinger did not qualify for the playoffs when he won at the track in 2016. Competing for the end-of-season trophy for the third time.

“Obviously, we can start looking at Phoenix right away, which I think is a huge advantage,” Enfinger said. “In my opinion, we don't have to worry about points from the next two games… I'm very, very proud of what this win means, but realistically we still have a lot to do for the next two games. Game ready.

With two races left in the quarter-finals to decide which three riders join Enfinger in the title race, Heim leads Akers by one point. Majeski was 25 points behind but only five ahead of Carruth.

Gray is 13 points behind Majewski, Sanchez is 20 points behind and Ankram is 23 points behind. Any one of these seven who wins automatically gets a ticket to compete for the championship.

The series has a three-week break before the playoffs on Oct. 26 at South Florida's 1.5-mile Homestead-Miami Speedway (noon ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Carson Hocevar is the defending champion.

–By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service. Especially suitable for live level media.