Enfinger, whose No. 23 GMS Racing Chevrolet was clearly the best of the field, took the lead for the final time on lap 103 of 134 by passing both Corey Heim and Zane Smith as those two raced side-by-side.
From there, the race – who had been plagued by several wrecks early – remained green and Enfinger took the checkered flag 4.358 seconds ahead of Heim to earn the win.
The victory is Enfinger’s first of the 2023 season and eighth of his career. All eight of his wins have come at different tracks.
“Kansas has been a good track for us but we haven’t had a dominant truck like this in a long time,” said Enfinger, who claimed a playoff berth with his win. “It’s been a difficult year-and-a-half.
“I know we came up with a win last year but overall the season was a little sluggish. The first seven races this year were a little sluggish. I was disappointed in our execution. The biggest thing is these guys just brought me an unbelievable (truck).”
Asked about his pass on both Heim and Smith to take the lead for the final time, he said, “They helped me out there. They were side drafting each other a little bit there. But at the end of the day what made that pass possible was we had the fastest truck out here.”
Reigning series champion Zane Smith ended up third, Stewart Friesen fourth and Ross Chastain rounded out the top five.
Completing the top-10 were Nick Sanchez, Kyle Busch, Jake Garcia, Taylor Gray and Tyler Ankrum.
Stage 1
Busch, on fresher tires, passed leader Zane Smith on the final of 30 laps to take the Stage 1 win.
Smith had inherited the lead when others, including Busch, elected to pit on lap 25. The resumed with two laps to go.
Ben Rhodes ended up second, Smith third, Enfinger fourth and Chase Purdy rounded out the top five.
Stage 2
Ty Majeski got around Heim with three of 30 laps remaining and held off Enfinger to claim the Stage 2 win, his first stage victory of the 2023 season.
Heim finished third, Rajah Caruth fourth and Zane Smith rounded out the top five.
Stage 3
Most of the lead-lap trucks pit during the break between Stages 2 and 3, with Enfinger leading the way on the restart on lap 68.
Majeski and Caruth wrecked on the frontstretch while battling for position in the top five on lap 73 which placed the race under its fifth caution.
As the race restarted on lap 79, a multi-truck wreck erupted on the frontstretch which collected Matt DiBenedetto, Christian Eckes, Carson Hocevar, Purdy and Dean Thompson.
Big trouble on the restart. pic.twitter.com/2tomDAaWkq
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) May 7, 2023
Enfinger remained the leader as the race returned to green on lap 82.
All the lead-lap trucks pit under a caution on lap 94 with Zane Smith first off pit road. Tanner Gray stayed on the track and inherited the lead.
Enfinger and Heim did battle for the lead late in the race and he cleared both Zane Smith and Heim in one pass on lap 103 to reclaim the top spot.
With 10 laps to go, Enfinger had built almost a 2-second lead over Heim as Zane Smith had moved into third.
Cla | # | Driver | Manufacturer | Laps | Time | Gap | Interval | Laps Led |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 23 | Grant Enfinger | Chevrolet | 134 | 1:59'24.214 | 65 | ||
2 | 11 | Corey Heim | Toyota | 134 | 1:59'28.572 | 4.358 | 4.358 | 13 |
3 | 38 | Zane Smith | Ford | 134 | 1:59'29.643 | 5.429 | 1.071 | 6 |
4 | 52 | Stewart Friesen | Toyota | 134 | 1:59'30.923 | 6.709 | 1.280 | 1 |
5 | 41 | Ross Chastain | Chevrolet | 134 | 1:59'36.747 | 12.533 | 5.824 | |
6 | 2 | Nicholas Sanchez | Chevrolet | 134 | 1:59'37.142 | 12.928 | 0.395 | |
7 | 51 | Kyle Busch | Chevrolet | 134 | 1:59'38.884 | 14.670 | 1.742 | 11 |
8 | 35 | Jake Garcia | Chevrolet | 134 | 1:59'43.091 | 18.877 | 4.207 | |
9 | 17 | Taylor Gray | Toyota | 134 | 1:59'46.610 | 22.396 | 3.519 | |
10 | 16 | Tyler Ankrum | Toyota | 134 | 1:59'46.841 | 22.627 | 0.231 | |
11 | 88 | Matt Crafton | Ford | 134 | 1:59'48.029 | 23.815 | 1.188 | |
12 | 13 | Hailie Deegan | Ford | 134 | 1:59'54.084 | 29.870 | 6.055 | |
13 | 43 | Daniel Dye | Chevrolet | 133 | 1:59'25.494 | 1 Lap | 1 Lap | |
14 | 32 | Bret Holmes | Chevrolet | 133 | 1:59'28.536 | 1 Lap | 3.042 | |
15 | 1 | Toni Breidinger | Toyota | 133 | 1:59'33.341 | 1 Lap | 4.805 | |
16 | 99 | Ben Rhodes | Ford | 133 | 1:59'34.321 | 1 Lap | 0.980 | 17 |
17 | 45 | Alan Lawless | Chevrolet | 133 | 1:59'34.605 | 1 Lap | 0.284 | |
18 | 15 | Tanner Gray | Toyota | 133 | 1:59'39.090 | 1 Lap | 4.485 | 3 |
19 | 04 | Johnny Sauter | Ford | 133 | 1:59'40.283 | 1 Lap | 1.193 | |
20 | 46 | Brennan Poole | Toyota | 133 | 1:59'41.889 | 1 Lap | 1.606 | |
21 | 20 | Nick Leitz | Chevrolet | 133 | 1:59'48.370 | 1 Lap | 6.481 | |
22 | 56 | Tyler Hill | Toyota | 132 | 1:59'30.104 | 2 Laps | 1 Lap | |
23 | 90 | Justin S | Toyota | 132 | 1:59'40.744 | 2 Laps | 10.640 | |
24 | 22 | Josh Reaume | Ford | 132 | 1:59'41.149 | 2 Laps | 0.405 | |
25 | 98 | Ty Majeski | Ford | 131 | 1:59'24.958 | 3 Laps | 1 Lap | 12 |
26 | 12 | Spencer Boyd | Chevrolet | 131 | 1:59'34.344 | 3 Laps | 9.386 | |
27 | 33 | Mason Maggio | Ford | 131 | 1:59'41.370 | 3 Laps | 7.026 | |
28 | 02 | Kris Wright | Chevrolet | 91 | 1:29'34.700 | 43 Laps | 40 Laps | |
29 | 25 | Matt DiBenedetto | Chevrolet | 81 | 1:24'04.350 | 53 Laps | 10 Laps | |
30 | 19 | Christian Eckes | Chevrolet | 78 | 1:15'00.342 | 56 Laps | 3 Laps | 6 |
31 | 42 | Carson Hocevar | Chevrolet | 78 | 1:15'00.358 | 56 Laps | 0.016 | |
32 | 5 | Dean Thompson | Toyota | 78 | 1:15'00.457 | 56 Laps | 0.099 | |
33 | 4 | Chase Purdy | Chevrolet | 78 | 1:15'03.091 | 56 Laps | 2.634 | |
34 | 24 | Rajah Caruth | Chevrolet | 72 | 1:05'43.741 | 62 Laps | 6 Laps | |
35 | 9 | Colby Howard | Chevrolet | 55 | 49'32.365 | 79 Laps | 17 Laps | |
36 | 47 | Tim Viens | Ford | 2 | 1'50.886 | 132 Laps | 53 Laps |