Indeed a Stage
The playoffs for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series continued in Florida. Corey Heim won the pole in Miami for the Baptist Health 200 and Taylor Gray started the race on the outside pole. Grant Enfinger, already locked into the championship round, started the race in ninth. The stage lengths were 30 laps for the first two stages and 74 laps for the final stage.
Tick Tock
The field fanned out across the track at the drop of the green flag. Heim and Gray both had great starts. Side by side they dove into turn three but Heim snagged the lead. The field spread out across the track quickly. The top four trucks pulled away from the rest of them. Some drivers found speed, while some drivers could not find any. Honeycutt caught Eckes for third, however, he could not make the pass. Honeycutt was able to pass Gray and Eckes to move into second. Nick Sanchez struggled early, falling to ninth in the early stage. With seven of the eight playoff drivers in the top ten, being ninth did not help with points.
Honeycutt was faster than Heim over the final laps of the stage, closing to within half a second. Heim caught traffic with less than ten to go in the stage. Honeycutt was able to slice through the traffic a little bit better than Heim. He cut the lead down to under half a second, but was not enough as Heim got the stage win!
Late Charge
Nick Sanchez sped on pit road and had to restart the race at the rear of the field. Heim and Gray took the green flag on the front row. Gray had a better restart than Heim. Eckes pushed Gray down the backstretch and into the lead. Honeycutt had a bad restart and slipped to twelfth. Eckes found some speed and passed Gray for the lead as they dove into turn one. Heim used the bottom of the track to slide underneath and by Gray for second.
Heim got back into the lead but Eckes did not give up. He was able to pull away from Eckes in the clean air. Honeycutt was able to get back to sixth after his early stage slip-up. Enfinger moved into second. He slowly moved up several spots each stage. He made a late pass on Heim and snatched the lead with three to go in the stage. Enfinger, with the late charge, got his third stage win of the season!
Wild, Wild East?
Grant Enfinger and Gray restarted on the front row. Enfinger got a bad restart so Eckes got beside him and hit him. Enfinger got a tire rub because of the contact and fell in the running order. While Enfinger fell, Eckes challenged Gray for the lead. Heim and Majeski also slid into the fold. Enfinger had to pit to fix the damage from the earlier incident. Heim was able to get by Eckes for the lead.
Matt Mills got into the wall hard with a lot of help from Connor Jones. Mills was able to get out of the fire-filled truck. Jones had an absolute meltdown under the helmet. He was held for two laps in the pits for reckless driving. Meanwhile, Nick Sanchez and Layne Riggs used this caution to pit for fuel and tires.
Final Countdown
Heim and Eckes took the green flag from the front row and Heim retook the lead. Majeski did not let him go with ease. Caruth got into Eckes and slipped back in the field. Riggs, on brand new tires, took the lead on the outside of Heim. Enfinger zigged and zagged his way through the top ten. He was told to save three laps of fuel. Sanchez slid past Heim and into second place.
Enfinger got by Mosack for the third position and was moving up while saving fuel. Caruth was the first truck down pit road which allowed him to make it to the end of the race. Eckes also pitted for fuel and tires. He had minor damage on his right rear from the contact with Enfinger. This brought most of the trucks down pit road.
The new tires showed as Heim got his lap back and looked to track the leader back down for the lead. With twenty-six to go, Heim was about a second faster than Riggs in the lead. That speed difference equaled out and Heim was unable to make up much more ground. Enfinger retook the lead with twenty-two laps to go in the race. “Draft and save” is what was told to Enfinger.
Fuel Savings
With Heim running in eighth, the seven trucks in front of him were on the same fuel strategy. Heim was the first on the new fuel plan. His tires equaled out so he was unable to make more ground on the lead.
Riggs ran out of fuel with two laps left in the Baptist Health 200. Enfinger took the white and then the checkered flag with just enough gas to win in Miami! Ty Majeski finished in second, and Heim in fourth. Over the radio, “I think we got enough fuel for a burnout,” says Enfinger.
Marvin’s Moment
This was a great strategy and win for Grant Enfinger. He is the only driver locked into the championship race in Phoenix. He has a free race in Martinsville to race for a grandfather clock.
Behind him, Heim is still my favorite to win it all. He has had speed everywhere. He has the ability to turn an average day into a great day. I would not be surprised if he wins the next two weeks. Book it!
