Coming off a thriller at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series visited Southern Florida and Homestead Miami Speedway, another 1.5 mile track.
Last week’s winner, Grant Enfingerhad had momentum on his side rolling into Homestead and looked to capture a victory at a track that he had not won at. Austin Hill, who was runner-up at Atlanta, knew Homestead would be his best shot as the team won there the last two trips.
However, “Rowdy” (Kyle Busch) was back in the field, and after a few weeks of rough races of not finishing where he normally does, it was going to be hard to bet against Busch. After prerace troubles in tech, serving a pass through penalty at the start, Busch rallied his way through the field and took home the victory for the second time this season.
Busch dominated the majority of the race, but there were plenty of other series regulars who shined as well.
Here are this week’s Power Rankings following the Baptist Health 200.
- Austin Hill- It shouldn’t be a surprise that Hill comes at the top spot again. Sure, he didn’t dominate the race like the others do, but remained consistent in the 134 lap event to stay in the top 10. There were really no issues on the No. 16 team, other than a tight truck that pursued throughout the night. Despite the handling issue, Hill had a good enough truck to lead all but one lap in Stage 1 and finished third after a late pass for the lead. The Georgia native also finished third in the second stage. Hill did lead laps, but just 29 of them occurred in the first stage. By finishing seventh, Hill has not finished outside the top 10 through the first five races.
Previous Week Ranking- First - Tyler Ankrum- Ankrum had a quiet Homestead race, but got his best finish of 2020 so far when he finished second. The GMS driver was never really a contender until the last portion of the race, when late race yellows occurred and bunched everyone back up again for restarts. Ankrum was unable to gain stage points or lead any laps, but he gets an atta boy for placing the No. 26 Chevy second, after not having the greatest luck to start the first four races. Here’s hoping this gives some momentum to the team and get some good finishes to carry that momentum throughout the rest of the season.
Previous Week Ranking- Not Ranked - Todd Gilliland- Another solid week for the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Team, who finished sixth after drawing 18th in qualifying. Gilliland also piloted the No. 38 Ford to a sixth place finish in Stage 1 and a fifth place in Stage 2. While the North Carolina native didn’t get to challenge for the lead or victory, Gilliland has been consistent over the last couple of weeks, which could be a boost for the team as we get closer toward the playoffs.
Previous Week Ranking- Third - Johnny Sauter- Johnny Sauter sure has had a wild week with the No. 13 ThorSport team. From being disqualified at Atlanta for tire infringement, Sauter and the crew came back for redemption at Homestead, a place where the Wisconsin native has enjoyed success before. Sauter started 10th based on a draw and had a decent race. He barely missed out on getting stage points, finishing 12th in Stage 1 and 13th in Stage 2, but rallied in the top 10 late in the race. Sauter managed his pace and kept the Ford F-150 out of trouble, and brought home a fifth place finish. A nice rebound for Sauter and the No. 13 team at Homestead.
Previous Week Ranking- Not Ranked - Matt Crafton- Crafton had an up and down night at the 1.5 mile track, but mainly resulting in up. First, he was able to get stage points when he finished fifth in Stage 1. However, things somewhat went downhill through the majority of Stage 2. During the second stage, Crafton had suffered a flat tire and had to come to pit road under green to fix the issue, which put him a lap down and eventually finishing 31st in Stage 2. But, the California native got a lucky break when a caution was thrown and received the free pass. Ultimately, Crafton earned a ninth place finish Saturday night in Southern Florida.
Previous Week Ranking- Fourth
Fell Out
- Christian Eckes- Saturday night could be a disappointment if your Christian Eckes. At Atlanta, he got his best finish of the season so far, finishing third. At Homestead, the Kyle Busch Motorsports driver finished eighth after drawing fourth for a starting position. Eckes did manage to finish seventh in Stage 1 and fourth in Stage 2. But, Eckes finished in the eighth position for a top 10 finish. It is a better result than what the finishes looked liked earlier in the season, but could be a potential disappointing result after getting some momentum on your side the previous week.
Previous Week Ranking- Fifth - Grant Enfinger- Enfinger had a good race going until a slow late race pit stop, which saw him restart mid-pack. This saw the ThorSport driver finish 17th after placing fourth in Stage 1 and ninth in Stage 2.
Previous Week Ranking- Second
