Enfinger joined fellow Round of 16 winners Sheldon Creed and Brett Moffitt as title-eligible drivers in the season finale at Phoenix Raceway on November 6 (8 pm ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM (NASCAR Radio) and Zane Smith slipped into Championship 4 with just three points.This left three-time series champion Matt Crafton, regular season champion Austin Hill, Ben Rhodes and Tyler Ankrum ousted from the playoff pic after Enfinger clinched his fate with deadly short track triumph
As his teammate ThorSport Racing celebrated, Crafton’s hopes for a new championship faded with a fifth place at the NASCAR Hall of Fame 200 that left him short of the Phoenix final by that same three-point gap
“We’re ready for 2021,” Crafton said “At the end of the day these guys have been fighting hard all year round”
Rhodes, another ThorSport rider, finished second – one place behind Enfinger and one position ahead of Smith – but only a win would have preserved his playoff run He entered Martinsville as a man almost scored because of the aggressive tactics that angered Kyle Busch Motorsports drivers (among others) last week at Texas Motor Speedway Last weekend’s drama referred to insults on Friday and threats from rival crews, Rhodes said, as he walked the Martinsville field ahead of the race, and Rhodes said he had tried to race KBM competitors with more respect for most of the race
His No. 99 Ford was among those tossed around in a wave of wrangling in Martinsville and he also gave Enfinger a healthy boost, but he found himself a spot away from » a Championship 4 place on the track and 44 points out of competition in the standings
« I hate that we can’t do it, » Rhodes said « The first loser is always kind of a sting, especially in this case I thought it was one of the most important races of my career «
Regarding the fallout from his clashes in Texas, Rhodes said, “I have done my best to try to stay away from people and avoid controversy, but unfortunately some of me have found this evening It’s definitely a Heck of a race end of season, too, for Martinsville «
Ankrum finished 12th in Martinsville for not moving the needle as it was tied to his playoff destiny, and he was 90 points behind the cutoff point But Hill’s fall was perhaps the steepest
The Georgia native, who helped announce his return to Hattori Racing Enterprises No 16 Toyota in 2021, entered Martinsville with a seemingly comfortable 27-point cushion above the elimination line His truck’s engine, however, started to sizzle midway through Stage 2, and he expired 83 laps after going the entire distance – an early exit that left him minus-21 in the standings after a result. 35th place
« It’s just frustrating to end your season with an engine failure like this, » said Hill, two-time winner this year. « Everyone at HRE, all of our partners, everyone who makes this deal deserve much better We should definitely be in this last four It’s frustrating I can’t even put words to how I’m feeling right now »
NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, Grant Enfinger, NASCAR, Martinsville Speedway, ThorSport Racing, Austin Hill, NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Race in Martinsville
News from the world – US – Crafton, Hill, Rhodes and Ankrum drop out of Gander Trucks playoffs in Martinsville
