GMS Racing NCTS Race Preview: Texas Motor Speedway

Race Information

• Round: NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race No. 5 of 23
• Track Location: Texas Motor Speedway – Fort Worth, Texas
• Race Name: Speedy Cash 250
• Broadcast: Saturday, April 1st at 4:30 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 – KIX Country 98.7 / RaceToStopSuicide.com Chevrolet

Grant Enfinger, No. 23 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet Silverado RST

Texas Motor Speedway Stats

• NCTS Starts: 10; Poles: 1 (2019); Best finish: 3rd (twice); Top 5s: 5; Top 10s: 7; Laps led: 60
• ARCA Starts: 1; Best start: 14th; Best finish: 3rd (2010); Top 5s: 1; Top 10s: 1; Laps led: 22

2023 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Season Stats

• Starts: 4; Best start: 7th; Best finish: 5th (Daytona); Top 5s: 1; Top 10s: 2; Laps led: 3; Current points position: 5th
• 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 Arlon Graphics: The history of Arlon is rooted in its customer-centric approach. What was founded in 1958 as a manufacturer of flexible materials (producing products like cork, rubber, and foam) has evolved into a global company manufacturing millions of feet of cast films. Today, Arlon Graphics is owned by FHT, a family-owned investment firm. Headquartered in Southern California, Arlon supplies the wide-format graphics industry around the world. For more information, visit Arlon.com/NA_EN.
• Chassis History/Info: Grant Enfinger and the No. 23 team will compete with GMS Racing chassis no. 344 at Texas Motor Speedway. This chassis has been driven by Enfinger twice before, once at Homestead-Miami Speedway last year, and most recently just a couple of weeks ago in Atlanta Motor Speedway, where he finished in 19th position after cutting down a tire under green.
• Texas Two Step: Enfinger has found a lot of past success at Texas Motor Speedway in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. The stats don’t lie; he has a top-10 rate of 70% at the 1.5-mile intermediate track and has finished in the top-five in exactly half of his starts at the facility. In 2019, Enfinger won his fourth-career pole award in a Champion Power Equipment truck that was crew chiefed by Jeff Hensley.
• Hensley’s Qualifying Record: When it comes to qualifying at Texas Motor Speedway, nobody comes close to Jeff Hensley. The veteran has won seven – yes, you read that right, seven – pole awards during his career as a crew chief in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (four with Mike Skinner, and one a piece with Justin Lofton, Spencer Gallagher, and Grant Enfinger). Hensley owns the record for the most poles at TMS, more than double the amount of his nearest competitors. In 2011, Jeff went to victory lane with Ron Hornaday, and looks to return there this weekend with Enfinger.
• GE Appearances: Fans attending the Speedy Cash 250 will have an opportunity to meet Grant Enfinger on race day:

Saturday, April 1st | NCTS Autograph Session: Located in a tent just outside of the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series garage area, fans can meet all three GMS Racing drivers in an autograph session from 12:30 PM to 1:15 PM local time.
- From The Drivers Seat: Texas Motor Speedway has been a good track for you in the past, what are some of the key factors to take into consideration to stay up front this weekend?

“I am ready to get back to Texas Motor Speedway. Last year at Texas we did not have enough to contend with, but I feel like our trucks are better this year. Texas is pretty unique, with it being so flat into turn one and two, but has so much banking in turns three and four. We need to stay ahead of the track and unload close, because it’s pretty difficult to pass there. I think our No. 23 Champion Power Equipment team has a lot of things going our way, and I feel if we do our job as a team we can contend for a win on Saturday.”

Rajah Caruth, No. 24 Wendell Scott Foundation Chevrolet Silverado RST

Texas Motor Speedway Stats

• Rajah Caruth will be making his first start in any series at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday.

2023 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Season Stats

• Starts: 4; Best start: 17th; Best finish: 13th (COTA); Current points position: 20th
• 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. 323 in Fort Worth. This Chevrolet has made two starts in competition, once at Pocono Raceway last year with Grant Enfinger, and once at Las Vegas Motor Speedway earlier this season with Caruth at the wheel, where it finished 29th due to an incident on a green flag pit stop.
• Best Finish of the Season: Rajah Caruth was in the thick of things for his road course debut at COTA. Despite being dealt a penalty for shortcutting the esses early in the 42-lap race, Caruth was able to take advantage of a strategy call that gained track position during the final run of the event, resulting in a 13th place finish. The end result promoted Caruth two positions in the points standings, with the rookie now holding it down in 20th.
• Sunoco Rookie Battle: Caruth’s 13th place finish at the Circuit Of The Americas last Saturday was the third highest result of a rookie. Taking a look at the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings heading into Texas, Rajah ranks fourth, 36 points behind leading candidate Nick Sanchez, and three points behind Daniel Dye in third place.
• RC Appearances: Fans attending the Speedy Cash 250 will have an opportunity to meet Rajah Caruth on race day:

Saturday, April 1st | NCTS Autograph Session: Located in a tent just outside of the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series garage area, fans can meet all three GMS Racing drivers in an autograph session from 12:30 PM to 1:15 PM local time.

• From The Driver’s Seat: Rajah’s thoughts on competing at Texas Motor Speedway for the first time:

“I’m excited to hit up another new venue this weekend in Texas Motor Speedway. I enjoy the high-speed facilities, and know our No. 24 Wendell Scott Foundation Chevy Silverado will have the speed to contend all race long! We are hoping to continue the start of the momentum that we’ve gained from last race in Austin. I think we can have ourselves a fun weekend with GMS Racing.”

Daniel Dye, No. 43 KIX Country / Race To Stop Suicide Chevrolet Silverado RST

Texas Motor Speedway Stats

• Daniel Dye will be making his first start in any series at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday.

2023 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Season Stats

• Starts: 4; Best start: 19th; Best finish: 16th (Atlanta); Laps led: 5; Current points position: 19th
• About KIX Country 98.7: WAKX (98.7 FM, “KIX Country 98.7”) is a radio station licensed to serve the community of Palm Coast, Florida. The station is owned by Flagler County Broadcasting and the broadcast license is held by Flagler Broadcasting, LLC. WAKX shares radio studios in Bunnell, Florida, with sister stations WBHQ (92.7 FM) and WNZF (1550 AM).
• Chassis History/Info: Dye and the No. 43 team will compete with GMS Racing chassis no. 330 in the Lone Star state. The chassis has raced one time previously at Texas Motor Speedway in 2020, where Zane Smith led 26 laps with it before finishing in 19th. The truck has one win to its credit, coming at Dover Motor Speedway in 2020 driven by Smith. Dye last drove this Chevrolet in Atlanta Motor Speedway in March, where he finished in 16th.
• Sunoco Rookie Battle: A respectable 18th place finish at COTA was salvaged by Daniel Dye after suffering a catastrophic setback in practice that forced the No. 43 team to replace his engine, transmission, rear gear, and more. Dye would start shotgun on the field in Saturday’s XPEL 225, but worked his way through the field methodically, climbing 18 spots in the process to earn a top-20 finish. Dye is now tied for second in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings with Jake Garcia, 33 markers behind Nick Sanchez.
• Quarter Midgets to Trucks: This weekend might be the first time that Dye races on the 1.5-mile intermediate track layout on the property, but he has raced at Texas Motor Speedway once before in a different capacity. On June 9th, 2018, Daniel competed in a quarter midget race held in the parking lot of TMS, and even went home with the trophy. Dye continues to show his support for quarter midget racing, often spending his time with his eight-year-old nephew, Jet Risley, who currently races in the same class Dye began his career in.
• DD Appearances: Fans attending the Speedy Cash 250 will have an opportunity to meet Daniel Dye on race day:

Saturday, April 1st | NCTS Autograph Session: Located in a tent just outside of the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series garage area, fans can meet all three GMS Racing drivers in an autograph session from 12:30 PM to 1:15 PM local time.

• From the Driver’s Seat: Daniel’s thoughts on competing at Texas Motor Speedway:

“I’m looking forward to going to Texas with our No. 43 team this weekend, it’s another intermediate track on our schedule but quite a bit different than what we had in Las Vegas and Atlanta. It will be a new challenge for us, but I’m going to learn all day throughout practice, qualifying, and through the first stage of the race. I haven’t been to that track since I raced quarter midgets out in the parking lot a few years ago, so I think it will be a fun experience to come full-circle by racing at the big track.”

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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