Race Information
- Round: NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race No. 7 of 23
- Track Location: Martinsville Speedway – Ridgeway, Virginia
- Race Name: Long John Silver’s 200
- Broadcast: Friday, April 14th at 7:30 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 Chevrolet
Grant Enfinger, No. 23 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet Silverado RST
Martinsville Speedway Stats
- NCTS Starts: 10; Wins: 1 (2020); Best start: 3rd; Top 5s: 3; Top 10s: 5; Laps led: 56
2023 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Season Stats
- Starts: 6; Best start: 7th; Best finish: 5th (Daytona & Bristol Dirt); Top 5s: 2; Top 10s: 3; 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.
- About The Racing Warehouse: The Racing Warehouse serves and satisfies the collecting needs of a worldwide racing community. TRW has partnered with race teams in Mooresville, Concord, and surrounding areas to bring authentic, race-used sheet metal and cloth to race fans all over the world. We have several outlets for fans to acquire the many items that we offer. You can find us on eBay, Facebook, and our new website. The Racing Warehouse is open to the public and located in Lowell, NC. They are conveniently located off I-85 a short 30-minute drive from the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Visit www.TheRacingWarehouse.com to browse hundreds of race-used parts and more.
- Chassis History/Info: Grant Enfinger and the No. 23 team will compete with GMS Racing chassis no. 336 at Martinsville Speedway this weekend. This Silverado RST was originally built in 2021 and was raced by Zane Smith twice, posting a best result of sixth place at Texas Motor Speedway. This weekend will be the first time that it races at Martinsville.
- Past Paperclip Winner: In October 2020, Enfinger clawed his way into championship contention by capturing a win at the NASCAR Hall of Fame 200. After leading 49 laps, Grant made a victorious pass for the lead in a green-white-checkered finish. The win propelled him into his first Championship 4 appearance, capping off his best season in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series.
- GE Appearances: Fans attending the Long John Silver’s 200 will have two opportunities to meet Grant Enfinger at Martinsville Speedway:
Friday, April 14th | NASCAR Experience Stage: Grant Enfinger will host a Q&A session at the NASCAR Experience Stage in the Martinsville Speedway Fan Zone on race day at 12:30 PM local time
Friday, April 14th | Team Chevy Stage: All three GMS Racing drivers will host a Q&A session at the Team Chevy Stage in the Martinsville Speedway Fan Zone on race day at 12:45 PM local time
- From The Drivers Seat: What does it take to be successful around Martinsville?
“Martinsville is definitely a ‘true’ short track. You’ve got to manage your fenders, you’ve got to manage your tires, and you’ve got to manage your temper when it comes to racing at that place. It feels like it’s a shorter race relatively compared to some of the intermediate races we run, and 100 laps goes by really quickly. You want to go there and qualify pretty well, because you’ve got to stay up front. It seems like if you get cycled to the back when you’re on equal tires, man you just use everything up. Maybe if you have to go to the back and you have a tire advantage, you could make it back up, but it’s tough. Hopefully we have a Champion Power Equipment Chevy good enough to win the race; Hensley and I have ran well here in the past and we have a pretty good record together on the short tracks, so hopefully we can rely on that and build off of what we had going for us in Bristol.”
Rajah Caruth, No. 24 Wendell Scott Foundation Chevrolet Silverado RST
Martinsville Speedway Stats
- Rajah Caruth will be making his first NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series start at Martinsville on Friday.
- NXS Starts: 1; Best start: 18th; Best finish: 12th (Fall, 2022)
2023 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Season Stats
- Starts: 6; Best start: 15th; Best finish: 11th (Bristol Dirt); Current points position: 17th
- 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: Rajah Caruth and the No. 24 team will compete with GMS Racing chassis no. 337 at “The Paperclip”. This Chevrolet has been raced five times prior to this weekend, winning on debut with Sheldon Creed at World Wide Technology Raceway in 2021. Jack Wood most recently drove this chassis at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park last year, finishing in 25th position. Friday will be the first time that this chassis competes at Martinsville.
- Best Finish of the Season: Despite a mid-race spin, Rajah was able to overcome adversity in Bristol Motor Speedway and drive through the field to an impressive 11th place finish. This result marked Caruth’s best finish of the season, and tied his overall best-career finish in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series to date.
- Sunoco Rookie Battle: Caruth’s 11th place result at Bristol Motor Speedway was the second highest finish for a rookie, helping him gain on the Sunoco Rookie Of The Year point standings. Entering Friday night’s race in Martinsville, Caruth is third in the rookie standings, 42 points behind leading rookie candidate Nick Sanchez and 22 points behind Jake Garcia in second place.
- RC Appearances: Fans attending the Long John Silver’s 200 will have an opportunity to meet Rajah Caruth at Martinsville Speedway:
Friday, April 14th | Team Chevy Stage: All three GMS Racing drivers will host a Q&A session at the Team Chevy Stage in the Martinsville Speedway Fan Zone on race day at 12:45 PM local time
- From The Driver’s Seat: Martinsville Speedway was the site of your best-career NASCAR Xfinity Series finish; you haven’t raced there before in a truck, but do you have high expectations heading into this race?
“Honestly, I have the same expectations every week. I work just as hard heading into a racetrack that I’ve competed at 10 times just as hard as how I work heading into a track I’ve never seen before. I’m confident in my team for bringing a fast Wendell Scott Foundation Silverado RST for every race; we’ve certainly had the pace this year but it just hasn’t quite fallen our way. My preparations and my expectations don’t necessarily change week-to-week, but I would say that my confidence is a little higher since I was able to have the good run in the NASCAR Xfinity Series car in the fall and was also able to get some track time in a late model as well the past couple of years. I’m looking forward to getting there in a truck, I’ve seen the photos of several GMS Racing drivers have success there in years past, and hopefully we can do the same this weekend.”
Daniel Dye, No. 43 Heise LED Lighting Systems Chevrolet Silverado RST
Martinsville Speedway Stats
- Daniel Dye will be making his first start of any kind at Martinsville Speedway this Friday night.
2023 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Season Stats
- Starts: 6; Best start: 19th; Best finish: 16th (Atlanta); Laps led: 5; Current points position: 20th
- 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. 335 at Martinsville Speedway. This chassis debuted at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2021 and has raced six times before, with a best finish of third at Pocono Raceway with Sheldon Creed. Jack Wood was the latest driver to drive chassis no. 335, qualifying 10th and finishing 35th at Nashville Superspeedway last season. Friday night will be the first time that this Chevrolet has been used in competition at a short track.
- Sunoco Rookie Battle: Daniel Dye was the fifth highest finishing rookie with a 22nd place finish on the dirt at Bristol Motor Speedway. Heading into Martinsville this weekend, Dye is fourth in the Sunoco Rookie Of The Year points battle, 56 points behind leader Nick Sanchez and 14 points behind his closest competitor and teammate, Rajah Caruth in third place.
- DD Appearances: Fans attending the Long John Silver’s 200 will have an opportunity to meet Daniel Dye at Martinsville Speedway:
Friday, April 14th | Team Chevy Stage: All three GMS Racing drivers will host a Q&A session at the Team Chevy Stage in the Martinsville Speedway Fan Zone on race day at 12:45 PM local time
- From the Driver’s Seat: Martinsville Speedway seems to be a return to your short track racing roots, are you the most comfortable with this type of racing?
“Yeah, I’m pretty comfortable with short track racing, Martinsville is way different than anything I’ve ran before short track wise. But, it still is a half-mile track so I’m looking forward to it. We’ll see what Friday has in store for us through practice and qualifying. I’ve been looking at the weather, and with the new rain package that we have in the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series it will be interesting to see if we run in the wet conditions or not. All in all, I’m happy to get back on the short tracks and get after it with our No. 43 Heise LED Lighting Systems team.”
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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