Grant Enfinger brings CR7 Motorsports to the championship race at Phoenix
Yesterday at 04:49 PM
AVONDALE, Ariz. — NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series veteran Grant Enfinger saw what Codie Rohrbaugh was building at CR7 Motorsports. He wanted to join in on the growth effort.
After being on the cusp of winning his first championship last year in GMS Racing‘s swansong season, Enfinger jumped to CR7 with former Richard Childress Racing crew chief Jeff Stankiewicz. The driver and crew chief duo previously worked together at GMS on a part-time basis, but they were about to lead a team that contained 10 to 12 people working on the No. 9 Chevrolet.
The duo expected to be competitive immediately, as CR7 entered an alliance with McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, which includes four full-time entries, led by Christian Eckes.
"Neither one of us would have signed up for it if we didn‘t. I think we didn‘t see ourselves struggling as much as we did at the beginning of the year," Enfinger stated on Thursday and NASCAR Championship Media Day. "I don‘t think we envisioned so many unanswered questions throughout the course of the year. When we signed on, we were signing on to something that was legit and real. We have the pit crew, crew chief, driver, organization, support from Chevy. There was no reason why we couldn‘t have success."
Prior to 2024, CR7 had nine top-10 finishes in 93 Truck Series starts. Enfinger drove the No. 9 Chevrolet in 2021, splitting time between CR7 and ThorSport Racing. It took more than three months into the 2024 season for Enfinger to hit his stride in his return to the team.
Through the opening nine races, Enfinger had seven finishes outside the top 10 and only a pair of ninth-place finishes to show for the team‘s investment. Finishing runner-up to Corey Heim at North Wilkesboro Speedway sparked some confidence, and Enfinger ended the regular season with five top-five finishes and jumped to fifth in the championship standings.
"Jeff and I didn‘t have the speed for the first third of the year, which was very disappointing and didn‘t see any trends as to why we didn‘t," Enfinger said. "All of a sudden, we started cleaning it up, the speed came and we contended for a few wins.
"I feel like we let some slip away with stuff that — for the most part — is out of our control. Now, with how everything has gone in the Playoffs for us, I feel like we have a little bit of an advantage, we have momentum and confidence."
When the Playoffs rolled around, the No. 9 team was on the upswing. The opening round was ho-hum, but Enfinger was the first driver to clinch a spot into the Championship 4 by winning at Talladega Superspeedway last month. He followed that up in the series‘ next race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, winning by north of 17 seconds.
Those were the first two victories in CR7 history, and just the third time Enfinger has won multiple races in a given season.
"There is no doubt in my mind that if we show up with our best stuff, we can beat all these guys if they are 100% at their best, as well," Enfinger said. "We haven‘t had as much consistency as we would have liked, but we have all the ingredients for success."
Enfinger will make his third Championship 4 appearance in Friday evening‘s Craftsman Truck Series Championship race. He was in position to claim the title last year until he was involved in a late incident. He will battle Corey Heim, who leads the series with six victories, Eckes (won last year‘s Phoenix race) and Ty Majeski.
