Race Information
- Round: NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race No. 3 of 23
- Track Location: Atlanta Motor Speedway – Hampton, Georgia
- Race Name: FR8 Auctions 208
- Broadcast: Saturday, March 18th at 2:00 PM ET live on FS1 (TV), MRN (Radio), and Sirius XM NASCAR Channel 90
- Team Entrants:
No. 23 | Grant Enfinger & Jeff Hensley – Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet
No. 24 | Rajah Caruth & Chad Walter – Wendell Scott Foundation Chevrolet
No. 43 | Daniel Dye & Travis Sharpe – Heise LED Lighting Systems / Orlando Longwood Auto Auction Chevrolet
Grant Enfinger, No. 23 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet Silverado RST
Atlanta Motor Speedway Stats
- NCTS Starts: 7; Wins: 1 (2020); Best start: 4th; Top 5s: 3; Top 10s: 5; Laps led: 29
2023 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Season Stats
- Starts: 2; Best start: 16th; Best finish: 5th (Daytona); Top 5s: 1; Top 10s: 2; Laps led: 3; Current points position: 6th
- About Champion Power Equipment: Since 2003, Champion Power Equipment has earned a reputation for designing and producing the market’s finest power equipment. From our original headquarters in Santa Fe Springs, California, Champion has expanded its North American footprint to include facilities in Jackson, Tennessee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Toronto Canada. Today, Champion’s product line has expanded to include portable generators, home standby generators, inverter generators, engines, winches and log splitters. With over 2.5 million generators sold in North America, Champion is a market leader in the power equipment field. Visit ChampionPowerEquipment.com for more information.
- Stacking Points: Enfinger has started the 2023 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series season on a roll, finishing inside the top-10 in both races that have been ran so far. Grant has also scored stage points in all four stages that have been completed, vaulting him to sixth in the championship points standings heading into Atlanta Motor Speedway.
- Chassis History/Info: Grant Enfinger and the No. 23 team will compete with GMS Racing chassis no. 344 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The FR8 Auctions 208 will be just the second race that this chassis has been ran in competition, as it debuted at Homestead-Miami Speedway last October. In that event, Enfinger was a consistent front runner up until debris cut down a tire, resulting in a 14th place finish.
- Previous Atlanta Winner: In 2020, Grant Enfinger came in clutch on an overtime finish on the old pavement at Atlanta Motor Speedway. In a thrilling last lap-and-a-half pass that saw the veteran go from third to the lead, Enfinger held on to earn his fourth-career NCTS win. Jeff Hensley was the race-winning Crew Chief paired up with Grant for that race as well, as the two were able to steal the show on that day.
- GE Appearances: Fans attending the FR8 Auctions 208 will have two opportunities to meet Grant Enfinger on Saturday, March 18th:
Team Chevy Stage: All three GMS Racing drivers will participate in a Q&A session at the Team Chevy stage located in the Atlanta Motor Speedway Fan Zone from 10:15 AM to 10:30 AM local time.
NCTS Autograph Session: Grant will sign autographs with the majority of the NCTS field from 10:30 AM to 11:15 AM local time, at the Kids Zone section located in the Atlanta Motor Speedway Fan Zone.
- From The Drivers Seat: What are your thoughts on returning to Atlanta’s newly-renovated reconfiguration for the second time around this weekend?
“Atlanta is a lot different since the reconfiguration. It races more like a superspeedway rather than a conventional mile and a half track. With the banking and newer asphalt we will all have a lot of grip which provides for tight racing. We will have to be aggressive on the track and pit road to position ourselves to be upfront for the end. I’m looking forward to this stretch of 5 races in a row. Our Champion Power Equipment team is preparing well, and I feel like GMS Racing has built us some trucks that we can win with.”
Rajah Caruth, No. 24 Wendell Scott Foundation Chevrolet Silverado RST
Atlanta Motor Speedway Stats
- Rajah Caruth will be making his first start in any series at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday.
2023 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Season Stats
- Starts: 2; Best start: 17th; Best finish: 29th (twice); Current points position: 18th
- About the Wendell Scott Foundation: Founded in 2011, The Wendell Scott Foundation, Inc. is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization inspired by Wendell Scott, Sr. and provides services such as job-skill training, STEM education opportunities, mentoring, and other supportive services to at-risk, underserved youth between the ages of 8-18 years in Danville, Virginia and surrounding areas.
The Foundation’s mission of using educational attainment to end racial disparities in education and health is vital in addressing economic inequality and improving future success in African-American communities. For more information, please visit www.wendellscott.org.
- Chassis History/Info: Caruth and the No. 24 team will compete with GMS Racing chassis no. 347 in Saturday’s event at Atlanta Motor Speedway, debuting a brand new Chevrolet Silverado RST.
- Hometown Race: Though he grew up in Washington, D.C., Rajah Caruth was actually born in Atlanta. This is a special race for the young rookie as he will make his first-ever start on the 1.54-mile superspeedway just on the other side of town from where he was born. Caruth will have several local family members in attendance for the race on Saturday.
- Sunoco Rookie Battle: Heading into the third race of the season, Caruth finds himself amidst a tight battle for the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings. The driver of the No. 24 Chevy was able to earn bonus points in both stages last time out at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and currently sits third place in rookie standings, just five points behind point leader Nick Sanchez.
- RC Appearances: Fans attending the FR8 Auctions 208 will have two opportunities to meet Rajah Caruth on Saturday, March 18th:
Team Chevy Stage: All three GMS Racing drivers will participate in a Q&A session at the Team Chevy stage located in the Atlanta Motor Speedway Fan Zone from 10:15 AM to 10:30 AM local time.
NCTS Autograph Session: Rajah will sign autographs with the majority of the NCTS field from 10:30 AM to 11:15 AM local time, at the Kids Zone section located in the Atlanta Motor Speedway Fan Zone.
- From The Driver’s Seat: Though it hasn’t been quite the start of the year that you had hoped for results wise, you’ve shown some stout speed in both races. What are some of your goals in place for this weekend in Atlanta?
“Definitely, to your point, the results that we’ve had this year haven’t been indicative of our pace. Especially at Las Vegas two weeks ago; where we were running right around the top-10 and earning points in both stages and being right in the mix before green flag stops before we got wrecked. So really, the goals don’t change from week-to-week, at least for me personally, and I would say that the guys on my team agree with me. We work just as hard and treat every race as if it was a playoffs race. The expectations are that we give our best efforts; and that’s what my guys are doing at the shop. I give my best efforts at the shop, and away from the shop, and that’s what I am for sure doing. So hopefully that will set us up for a great race on Saturday in Atlanta, and from there get a good rhythm going, because we have five races in a row. It’s going to be important to have a good tone here and start off this stretch with a bang, so I’m confident in my team and think we can really show out in Atlanta this weekend.”
Daniel Dye, No. 43 Heise LED Lighting Systems / Orlando Longwood Auto Auction Chevrolet Silverado RST
Atlanta Motor Speedway Stats
- Daniel Dye will be making his first start in any series at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday.
2023 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Season Stats
- Starts: 2; Best start: 20th; Best finish: 19th (Las Vegas); Laps led: 5; Current points position: 19th
- About Heise LED Lighting Systems: Metra Electronics, based close to Florida’s racing hotspot, Daytona Beach, has been “The Installer’s Choice” and a leading manufacturer of mobile electronics for more than 75 years. Metra has continued to design, engineer, and produce the most innovative products in the 12volt industry, while always keeping the installer and end-user in mind. Their wide selection of products are categorized to form a diverse family of brands, each specializing in its own segment of automotive solutions. Their Heise LED brand focuses solely on creating the highest-quality automotive LED lighting available on the market. The brand offers RGB, RGBW, and Chasing products designed to fit a wide range of vehicles, integrated with advanced thermal management, short circuit and open circuit protection, and many other innovative features.
- Chassis History/Info: Dye and the No. 43 team will compete with GMS Racing chassis no. 330 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. This chassis originally debuted in 2020, and has seen victory lane once before with Zane Smith at Dover Motor Speedway in that same year. Most recently, Jack Wood drove this Chevrolet at Bristol Motor Speedway last August, where he finished 21st.
- Sunoco Rookie Battle: After leading his first ever laps at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last time out, Daniel Dye was able to make up some ground on his Sunoco Rookie of the Year competitors. Dye currently fills the fourth slot in the rookie battle, only six points behind point leader, Nick Sanchez, and one point behind teammate, Rajah Caruth.
- DD Appearances: Fans attending the FR8 Auctions 208 will have two opportunities to meet Daniel Dye on Saturday, March 18th:
Team Chevy Stage: All three GMS Racing drivers will participate in a Q&A session at the Team Chevy stage located in the Atlanta Motor Speedway Fan Zone from 10:15 AM to 10:30 AM local time.
NCTS Autograph Session: Daniel will sign autographs with the majority of the NCTS field from 10:30 AM to 11:15 AM local time, at the Kids Zone section located in the Atlanta Motor Speedway Fan Zone.
- From the Driver’s Seat: You haven’t ever competed at Atlanta Motor Speedway before, but since Daytona is still relatively fresh on your mind, do you think you can take what you learned in that race and apply it to this weekend?
“I think what I learned at Daytona is certainly going to help me to some extent at Atlanta. Obviously, with the track in Atlanta being close to half the size of Daytona, the racing is going to be a little bit different, but it should feel similar since they reconfigured that track to more of a superspeedway feel. You’re definitely going to have to take that into account, but I’m looking forward to it with our Heise LED Chevrolet Silverado RST. We’ve had a little bit of a rough start to our season, but I know everyone on the No. 43 team is going to do their best to get us rolling in the right direction starting with this weekend.”
ABOUT GMS RACING:
GMS Racing competes full-time in the NASCAR Truck Series operating the No. 23, No. 24, and No. 43 Chevrolet Silverado RSTs for drivers Grant Enfinger, Rajah Caruth, and Daniel Dye. Since the team was formed in 2012, GMS Racing has won five titles across multiple series, including the 2016 and 2020 NASCAR Truck Series championship, the 2015 ARCA Racing Series championship, as well as the 2019 & 2020 ARCA East championships. GMS has grown to occupy several buildings located in Statesville, N.C. including operations for GMS Fabrication. The GMS Racing campus also houses operations for LEGACY MOTOR CLUB, a team that competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series.
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