Charlotte Motor Speedway North Carolina Education Lottery 200 Race Preview
Race Information
- Round: NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race No. 11 of 23
- Track Location: Charlotte Motor Speedway - Concord, North Carolina
- Race Name: North Carolina Education Lottery 200
- Broadcast: Friday, May 26th at 8:30 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 & Blake Bainbridge - RaceToStopSuicide.com Chevrolet
Grant Enfinger, No. 23 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet Silverado RST
Charlotte Motor Speedway Stats
- NXS Starts: 1; Best start: 35th; Best finish: 36th (2021)
- NCTS Starts: 6; Best start: 5th; Best finish: 2nd (2022); Top 5s: 1; Top 10s: 3; Laps led: 2
2023 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Season Stats
- Starts: 10; Wins: 1 (Kansas I); Best start: 2nd; Top 5s: 3; Top 10s: 5; Laps led: 68; Current points position: 4th
- 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.
- Chassis History/Info: Enfinger and the No. 23 team will compete with GMS Racing chassis no. 346 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. This chassis made its debut back in March at Las Vegas Motor Speedway where it finished ninth, and most recently carried Grant to the convincing victory at Kansas Speedway just a few weeks ago, leading 65 laps in the process.
- Double Duty: Check the ARCA Menards Series entry list! The 2015 series champion will make his return to the tour as he competes in Friday's General Tire 150 driving the No. 97 Chevrolet SS entry for CR7 Motorsports. This will be Enfinger's first ARCA race on an intermediate track since Pocono in 2016 - a race that he won - as well as his first series start at Charlotte.
- The Trip Returns: Friday's North Carolina Education Lottery 200 will begin the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Triple Truck Challenge program. Since the program's inception in 2019, GMS Racing drivers have delivered the most wins of any organization with victories from Brett Moffitt (Iowa, 2019), Sheldon Creed (Daytona, 2020; Gateway, 2020; Darlington, 2021), and Zane Smith (Dover, 2020). This year, the three tracks on the schedule for "The Trip" include Charlotte Motor Speedway, World Wide Technology Raceway, and Nashville Superspeedway.
- #FearTheFinger Playoffs Profile: It's hard to believe that we are already talking about the playoffs picture, but with there being just six races left in the regular season, the fight for the championship lies along the horizon. A top-10 finish at North Wilkesboro paired with stage points elevated Enfinger two spots in the standings to fourth position, and he is now only 41 points behind the series' championship leader, Corey Heim. By winning at Kansas Speedway at the start of the month, Grant has essentially locked himself into postseason contention for the fifth time in his career.
- From The Drivers Seat: What makes Charlotte Motor Speedway such a challenging racetrack?
"Charlotte is a pretty unique mile-and-a-half racetrack considering how bumpy it is. I guess it's because the track was built on a landfill; but there are just so many violent bumps around that place, especially going off into turn 3. You've gotta have a truck good enough to be able to maneuver through those and still be able to get to the bottom if you need to. The past few years, we've had the track compound which has given us more of an outside groove there than what we've had in years past.
In order to win the race, you've got to be able to run well on the bottom of the track as well as up on the top. I feel like Charlotte is probably one of the trickiest tracks on the schedule in terms of how much the weather conditions from the daytime practice to the nighttime race change the handling characteristics for us. It's a really fun place when you're dialed in, but it is easy to miss the setup there and have a long night. Hensley and I have worked hard at this place and I'm sure we will unload our Champion Power Equipment Chevy with a good package. We're taking the same truck that we won Kansas with, so hopefully we can go out there and contend for another win with it on Friday night."
Rajah Caruth, No. 24 Wendell Scott Foundation Chevrolet Silverado RST
Charlotte Motor Speedway Stats
- Rajah Caruth will make his first NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series start at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Friday.
- ARCA Starts: 1; Best start: 4th; Best finish: 3rd (2022); Top 5s: 1; Top 10s: 1; Laps led: 27
2023 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Season Stats
- Starts: 10; Best start: 13th; Best finish: 6th (Darlington); Top 10s: 1; 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. 323 at Charlotte. This Chevrolet made its on-track debut at Pocono Raceway in 2022 being driven by Grant Enfinger who drove it to a 17th finish. Caruth has driven it twice so far this year at Las Vegas Motor Speedway where he finished 29th, and most recently at Texas Motor Speedway, where he finished 19th.
- Summer Shootout: Having been selected by the NASCAR Drive for Diversity program in 2019, Rajah started his career competing in US Legends Cars in the Bojangles Summer Shootout on the Charlotte Motor Speedway quarter mile track. He recalls racing on the front stretch hoping that one day he would be able to make it to the NASCAR national divisions where he could race on the big track, and this weekend, his dream will come true.
- Double Duty: In addition to his duties with the team on Friday in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race, Rajah Caruth will drive the No. 44 Chevrolet Camaro for Alpha Prime Racing in Saturday's Alsco Uniforms 300 with the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Caruth has made three NXS starts this season, posting a best race result of 21st place at Auto Club Speedway.
- Sunoco Rookie Battle: After getting swept away in a late-race incident at North Wilkesboro, Caruth was relegated to a disappointing 34th place finish - lowest of all the rookies. Rajah remains in third for the Sunoco Rookie of the Year points chase, but lost some ground to the leaders, now 73 markers behind Nick Sanchez and 44 points behind Jake Garcia in second.
- From The Driver's Seat: This will be your third time pulling double duty with the Truck and Xfinity car, how much of a benefit has that been for you in the past?
"Running double duty in the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series and Xfinity Series is going to be a big help especially when it comes to having the extra track time. I've been to Charlotte before, both in the ARCA Menards Series last season and in testing the Xfinity car earlier this year. To be the first one on the racetrack and know where I need to place the vehicle as well as knowing what parts of the surface have the grip and where it's going to be optimal to run for lap time will be very beneficial. I feel good about getting a good result for everyone at the Wendell Scott Foundation and all the men and woman on my No. 24 Chevy team. We've had really good pace the past few weeks but have only had one decent result to show for it, so we'll just keep it going and give it our all this weekend."
Daniel Dye, No. 43 RaceToStopSuicide.com Chevrolet Silverado RST
Charlotte Motor Speedway Stats
- Daniel Dye will make his first NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series start at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Friday.
- ARCA Starts: 1; Best start: 3rd; Best finish: 6th (2022); Top 10s: 1
2023 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Season Stats
- Starts: 10; Best start: 10th; Best finish: 13th (Kansas I); Laps led: 5; Current points position: 19th
- About Race To Stop Suicide: Race to Stop Suicide was co-founded by Daniel and Randy Dye. The nationally trademarked 501(c)3 non-profit works to create awareness, normalize the conversation, and remove the stigma surrounding suicide. Additionally, provide an entry-level amount of education, what to look for, symptoms, and a plan to check in and check up on family and friends. Race to Stop Suicide prioritizes ensuring folks have easy access to helpful resources, such as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and 988. For more information, please visit www.racetostopsuicide.com
- Chassis History/Info: Dye and the No. 43 team will compete with GMS Racing chassis no. 348 for this weekend's North Carolina Lottery 200. This will mark only the second race on this chassis' build sheet, as Daniel was on tap for its debut at Kansas Speedway at the beginning of the month. Dye earned his best-career start and finish running this Silverado, qualifying inside the top-10 and finishing in 13th.
- Mental Health Awareness Month: Daniel Dye has partnered with NASCAR to promote Mental Health Awareness Month throughout the month of May. The Race To Stop Suicide will play a key role in these initiatives, and several pieces of content around the topic will be posted via Daniel's social media handles.
- Sunoco Rookie Battle: Dye's 14th place finish at North Wilkesboro Speedway was the best result out of all the drivers contending for Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors, moving him closer to his teammate in the rookie standings. Entering Charlotte, Daniel continues to straddle the fourth spot in points, now 77 behind leader Nick Sanchez and only 4 behind Rajah Caruth.
- From the Driver's Seat: Since you've raced at Charlotte Motor Speedway before, what are some of the unique characteristics of this track that separates it from most intermediates?
“Yeah, I'm really looking forward to getting to Charlotte since I've raced there before and already have a couple of mile-and-a-half races under my belt in the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. Charlotte is different compared to a lot of these other places because it's very bumpy and rough. I know the GMS Racing team has had some success there in the past, and based off of what we were able to learn in Kansas a few weeks ago I think Blake and the rest of our No. 43 crew guys will bring us a fast truck to compete with.”
