NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Title Contender

With his wide Alabama smile and southern accent, Grant Enfinger is the epitome of a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver.

The 38-year-old racer from Fairhope, Ala., has settled into life at GMS Racing, after returning to the team with which he earned the 2015 ARCA Menards Series title. Prior to that accomplishment, Enfinger was piecing together deals with small, part-time teams and making the most of them.

When Enfinger ventured into the Truck Series with GMS in 2016, it was obvious he had speed. He won in his seventh outing with the organization, earning a full-time ride in 2017 with ThorSport Racing. He stuck with that team until the end of the 2021 season, a year in which he split the schedule between ThorSport and CR7 Motorsports.

Enfinger returned home to GMS last year, determined to find Victory Lane, and he did just that. However, he didn’t qualify for the Championship 4. This year, though, he wants to finally take home the title. His Champion Power Equipment team, led by crew chief Jeff Hensley, has the potential to compete for wins on a weekly basis, and he’s as hungry as ever to do exactly that.

Enfinger recently sat down and answered our questions:

LOOKING BACK, HOW WOULD YOU EVALUATE YOUR 2022 RETURN SEASON WITH GMS?

We ended the year pretty good, but the whole season didn’t go exactly how we planned. We had pretty big expectations, but we fell short of some of them. I’m proud of the progress we made throughout the course of last season for sure.

We ended strong as far as speed, and the trucks we brought to the track at the end of the year were very competitive. We had a shot to win a couple of them. The No. 23 team and all of GMS Racing is in a really strong place going into this year.

WHAT DID IT MEAN TO YOU TO RETURN TO THIS TEAM?

It’s huge. GMS is one of the top organizations out there, and I’m honored to drive their trucks. It comes with a fair amount of pressure because GMS, Maury Gallagher and Mike Beam are used to winning races and championships. Our expectations are very high this year.

I’m appreciative to be back with them and for Champion Power Equipment, which has had my back and has been a major sponsor of mine for nine years now. That’s pretty incredible in its own right, and I’m honored to represent Champion Power Equipment and GMS Racing. From the Chevy side, there are some things different this year and I think we have more support as a whole from Chevrolet. I feel like overall the Chevrolets in the Truck Series will be much stronger. We have a lot of good things going for us this year.

ON THE CUP SERIES SIDE, JIMMIE JOHNSON CAME ON BOARD AS AN OWNER. DOES HIS INVOLVEMENT TRANSLATE OVER TO THE TRUCK SERIES?

From the organization’s standpoint, we had all of the resources we needed on the GMS Racing side last year and they’re not taking resources away from us. Jimmie being in the shop and the quality of people he brings around – we already had a lot of smart guys – with Todd Gordon, himself and people on the marketing side.

Cup racing doesn’t relate to truck racing like it used to because the cars are completely different now. But the mentality stays the same. Jimmie is so mentally tough. He’s done everything we all aspire to do. He’s a leader for our team and a great person to bounce ideas off of. His network that he’s brought into the organization has elevated the whole building to a new level.

THIS IS THE TEAM THAT REALLY BROUGHT YOU INTO THE TRUCK SERIES. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE BACK FOR YOUR SECOND STRAIGHT YEAR?

It’s great. This is my seventh full-time year besides the one year that we weren’t all the way full time. From coming back over here a little over a year ago, it’s been like I was at home. Mike Beam has given us every resource that we can want. Now, it’s up to myself, Jeff Hensley and all of the guys on this No. 23 team to make it happen. We have the tools at our disposal to make it right. They’ve put a lot into my career and it’s been great for both sides of things. It’s been a great relationship.

Definitely. It’s home and it’s a 40-minute drive to the shop. Walking into the shop everyday feels good. It was great before I left and it’s even more welcoming in my second stint here. I have the familiarity of Hensley calling the shots. A lot of people are optimistic and I’m entering the year more optimistic than I’ve ever been with where we’re going to stack up.

WHAT WOULD IT MEAN TO WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP?

Well, that’s the goal. We’ve come close with Hensley before. It’s attainable for us this year. We’re entering this championship hunt with more confidence, not just in our ability, but with our organization’s ability. I feel like everything is at a championship level. We have to hit our speed at the right time. We have to have all of our i’s dotted and our t’s crossed.

I feel like we can do that and we’re entering this season where, if we’re at our best, we can win at any of the tracks we go to. If we’re off a little bit, I’ll be the first one to tell you we’re off and we may run 15th. If we’re at our best and we can contend for wins, I truly believe that this year. This is a great opportunity year for us.

HOW MUCH PERSEVERANCE HAVE YOU NEEDED TO GET TO THIS POINT?

I think my career in general has taken a lot of perseverance. I’ve been more or less a full-time race car driver and that’s what I’ve always wanted to do. I was unfortunate a couple of years ago when I couldn’t continue with the team I was with in a full-time capacity. That didn’t go the way I wanted it to, but I realized I have other friends out there and other guys I could lean on.

I’m grateful for the opportunities I’ve had, and being with an organization like GMS Racing is a great feeling. When you’re a driver, you want the best stuff and you want to be with a team capable of winning races and championships. It’s just a good place to be, and it hasn’t been like that my whole career. There were times before the last seven or eight years when I was scratching around, trying to find any race I could and being more of a mechanic than a driver. I’d say perseverance applies to my career as a whole more than it does the last couple of years.

At the end of the day, my job is to win races and a championship. That’s my focus to do that in the Truck Series. If an opportunity comes along to do that in an Xfinity car or a Cup car, that’s great. But I’ve worked so hard and so long to get in a situation exactly like I’m in this year that I’m not going to let outside influences change any of my mindset. We need to dominate the truck season, win races and the truck championship. Outside of that, you have to see how things go. Throughout the course of my career, I’d say I’ve had limited ways of making my own path or coming up with opportunities. More or less, opportunities found me. I had a great opportunity a year and a half ago, when I had some choices to make in the Truck Series garage, and it felt good to be welcomed to a team like GMS Racing.