Enfringer takes top spot in Prairie Meadows 150

“I’m pretty excited right now. It’s a good feeling.”

Those words spoken by Prairie Meadows 150 winner Grant Enfringer were probably a little bit of an undersell after his victory on Saturday at Iowa Speedway.

The driver of the No. 90 Motor Honey-Casite-Advance Ford qualified in the 10th position, but he worked his way through the field and surged to the top on lap 90. Enfringer would lose the lead on lap 111 to Chad Boat, only to reclaim his advantage one lap later. Kyle Weatherman — whose second place finish earned him the SCOTT Rookie of the Year Award — passed Enfringer on lap 124, and he looked to be taking that lead all the way to the finish. However, Enfringer was able to squeak by Weatherman on the high side of the track, and carried the lead all the way to the finish.

At the post-race press conference, Enfringer noted his surprise with how fast the track was running at the top, and a slight change in strategy allowed him to take advantage.

“We were on the bottom and Weatherman went by me like I was standing still,” he said. “I couldn’t believe how high he was running. We went up there and had a lot of grip and we were running as fast as him. I was reeling him in and he got up there a bit and we got by him.”

Enfringer gave credit to his crew for the car and the strategy. He talked about how his car was clearly the fastest on the track all race, and that was what eventually allowed him to make the pass of Weatherman. Weatherman said essentially the same thing in his post-race press conference.

“He had a little better car at the end and beat us by a little bit. We had a good run,” he said.

Boat ended up finishing third behind Weatherman and Enfringer. The 19-year old Phoenix native had his highest finish in five races on the circuit this year, and he was particularly impressed with Iowa Speedway’s track and how it allowed for some great racing.

““It’s a testament to Iowa Speedway,” Boat said. “This is easily one of the best tracks we come to. You can run on top and run on the bottom. You don’t have to get into anybody to get by them.”

It’s worth noting that in the eight ARCA races Iowa Speedway has hosted, there have been eight different winners, suggesting that Iowa Speedway certainly doesn’t play favorites to those who have experience there.

After Boat, Corey Laoie finished in fourth followed by Kyle Benjamin. Des Moines native and the only Iowa native in the field, Mason Mitchell finished in sixth in the No. 82 Happy Cheeks Ford. Mason Mingus finished seventh. Tom Hessert took eighth. Will Kimmel was ninth, and series leader Frank Kimmel finished in 10th.