As the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series prepares to launch its seven-race run to the championship Friday at Indianapolis Raceway Park, it looks as though GMS Racing and Grant Enfinger have found some much-needed pace.
The Fairhope, Alabama-native took his No. 23 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet Silverado to the top of the speed charts in the final 10 minutes of Friday morning’s practice session posting a time of 22.538 seconds (109.574mph).
With the series having not competed at Indianapolis Raceway Park since 2011, NASCAR opted to give drivers and teams an extended 50-minute practice session, rather than the regular 20-minute sessions.
Over the course of the extended session, Enfinger completed 30 circuits around the 0.686-mile short track, posting his quickest time on his final flying lap.
John Hunter Nemechek and Chandler Smith – teammates at Kyle Busch Motorsports — posted the second and third-quickest times in Friday’s session, as they look to keep themselves safe from playoff elimination.
Rounding out the top five were another set of teammates, these from ThorSport Racing, with Ben Rhodes and Ty Majeski clocking in fourth and fifth place.
Carson Hocevar secured the sixth spot in practice, with Matt Dibenedetto, Hailie Deegan, Matt Crafton, and Johnny Sauter rounding out the top-10.
Zane Smith – arguably the favorite to capture the NASCAR Truck Series championship this season – was 14th-quickest in the session, while Playoff contenders Christian Eckes and Stewart Friesen were 21st and 22nd overall.
Over the course of the 50-minute session, no driver completed more laps around IRP than Chad Chastain, younger brother of NASCAR Cup Series driver Ross Chastain, who got lots of experience around the facility, completing 60 laps.
Qualifying for Friday’s TSPORT 200 at Indianapolis Raceway Park will take place at 4:30 pm ET, with coverage on FOX Sports 1. The 200-lap event will begin on Friday, July 29th at 9:00 pm ET, with coverage also on FS1.
