Enfinger showed up late to NASCAR national series competition, debuting as a full-time driver in Trucks in 2017 at age 32. That was two years after he won an ARCA Menards Series title with GMS in 2015.
In his seven-plus seasons in Trucks, Enfinger has been a consistent performer, but only twice has he won more than one race in a season. Both of those years – 2020 and this season – he has reached the Championship 4 competing with GMS.
The end of an era
But GMS owner Maury Gallagher announced earlier this year that he was closing his GMS Racing team at season’s end and focusing on his continued part ownership in Legacy Motor Club and its Cup Series operation.
Since the team was formed in 2012, GMS has won five titles across multiple series, including the 2016 and 2020 Truck titles, Enfinger’s 2015 ARCA Menards Series championship, as well as the 2019 and 2020 ARCA East titles.
“It would be huge career-wise to bring home a championship,” Enfinger, 38, said Thursday at Championship Media Day at Phoenix Raceway. “We’ve been close before, got a regular season (title), been to this point before but we want the big trophy.
“I would mean even more to me from a personal standpoint. It’s something that I’ve worked really, really hard toward. I feel like it’s taken a long road just to get to a point to compete in the Truck Series. There’s the team and organization aspect as well.
“This organization goes away after Friday night. There’s a lot of reasons we want this. I think we have a little bit of extra desire and drive, but at the same time, we’re going to do what got us here. I feel like if we operate at our best, we can beat the other three at their best.”
Also competing for the 2023 title are Ben Rhodes from ThorSport Racing, Corey Heim from Tricon Garage and Carson Hocevar from Niece Motorsports.
Enfinger’s three wins this season are the second-most in a season in his career and his nine top-five finishes and 232 laps led are also second-best in his career.
While Enfinger has a lot of personal satisfaction at stake in the outcome of Friday night’s championship race, he also has a grasp on the “bigger picture.”
“You look out here in the Truck garage, half the guys out here working on these tracks have been affiliated working with GMS in one form, fashion or another. The touch GMS has had on the series as a whole is a lot,” he said.
“They’ve won a lot of races and a lot of championships and invested a lot in this series. It’s more than just me. I have a lot of personal reasons why I want to deliver this championship tomorrow night, but it means a lot to a lot of people.
“It’s definitely bittersweet and sad to see a premier organization go away in any series. Nine years in racing is a long time.”
While the GMS Racing organization will go away, Enfinger has no plans to leave the series anytime soon.
“So, I will be racing next year. I’m not ready to talk about those plans yet, there’s still a lot of details to work out but I will be racing next year, and I am very, very happy to say that everybody on our No. 23 team has had offers and opportunities,” he said.
“So, I think that’s a testament to the hard work and effort that’s been put into this. Nobody has taken our results for granted and these guys have worked really, really hard for everything.”
