As late as this past Monday, Grant Enfinger did not know for sure if he would be competing in Sunday’s running of the ARCA RE/MAX American 200 in Rockingham. Thanks in part to a group of childhood friends from back home in Mobile, Alabama who got together and donated his tires and the only monetary sponsor he has, Beasley Allen Law Firm, Grant found out for sure on Tuesday. Like most of America, Grant knows all too well the state of the economy.

Born on January 22, 1985 and raised in Fairhope, Alabama, Grant grew up with horses and racing. In his teen years his parents told him to make a decision; the horses or racing. Giving up the horses he so loved should have been proof enough of how much he wanted to race, but he has continued to prove his passion for the sport.

With virtually no money and only the one sponsor, Grant takes his racing career from week to week. From counting the lug nuts on his car to actually pushing his No. 83 Ford Fusion on the track, to driving his hauler to the tracks, he knows exactly where every part and penny goes and is spent. At the end of race weekend, when the car is broken down, Grant has even been known to return parts to the people who have loaned him the parts.

Part of the new, up and coming Alabama Gang which include Cale Gale (Mobile), Mike Harmon (Birmingport), Rick Crawford (Mobile) and Steve Grissom (Gadsden); Grant Enfinger has a marketing degree from the University of South Alabama Mitchell School of Business. Now headquartered in Concord, North Carolina, Grant leased a shop from David Ragan Inc. and Ragan has offered a lot advice.

When asked what kind of driver Grant was, the response was ‘aggressive, but clean’.  For the most part he seems to be one of those lost “Good Ole’ Boy Racers” from the early days of racing.  He has also been described as a “one man band” and much like the Ken Schraders and Morgan Shepherds of late, he just wants to race.

With only five starts this season, three of those have been top five.  Grant Enfinger started the year here in Rockingham in April, qualifying in eighth place, completing 196 of the 200 laps in 19th. The next weekend in Talladega, he qualified eighth with his first third place finish. After a break in the racing, Grant showed his best finish at Kentucky after starting ninth and the following week at Berlin he started 12^th and finished 13th.

Again finishing in second at Chicagoland, Grant had begun the race in 16^th, but perhaps Grant’s most impressive showing was last weekend in Kansas. Starting way back in 29^th place, Grant had a most impressive third place finish. Grant is just getting better and better in just a short period of time.