Grant Enfinger seemed three laps away from the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship on Friday night, when it all went sideways – specifically, Corey Heim’s Toyota into Carson Hocevar’s Chevrolet well back in the pack.

The three drivers, along with Ben Rhodes, were the Championship 4 – the four drivers who could win the 2023 series title at the final race of the season, the Craftsman 150 at Phoenix Raceway. The one with the best finish would capture the crown.

With three laps remaining, Enfinger was digging in third place and had built about a 5-truck-length advantage on Rhodes.

But that’s when Heim drove Hocevar into the wall 26 laps after he’d been wrecked by Hocevar, practically killing Heim’s championship chances.

Heim didn’t say he intentionally wrecked Hocevar, although he’d said over the radio that Hocevar “ain’t getting out of here tonight, I promise you that.” When asked if he intentionally wrecked Hocevar, Heim said: “The only person who really knows is me, so that’s all that really matters.”

For his part, Hocevar said: “I deserved that and a little bit more.”

But Enfinger didn’t deserve it.

“It’s shame to have a championship come down to that,” Enfinger told MRN immediately after the race.

With the field reset, the Fairhope native’s advantage over Rhodes was gone, and they started side-by-side in the second row for the green-white-checkered finish after the mess was cleaned up.

On a land-rush restart, Rhodes shot to second and Enfinger fell back with damage to his No. 23 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet. The wrecking waved off that restart, and, with a right front going down, Enfinger came to pit road for new tires and some body banging.

For the second overtime restart, Rhodes was in the driver’s seat for the championship. But Zane Smith missed a shift in the front row, wadding up trucks behind him, including Rhodes, who got his right front smushed in.

For the third overtime restart, Rhodes was sixth and Enfinger 18th, but a wreck waved that one off, too.

For the fourth overtime restart, Rhodes was fourth and Enfinger 14th. This time, NASCAR let it go to the finish, even though a truck got into the wall. In those two laps, Enfinger charged past eight trucks, and Rhodes was passed by one, which left Enfinger one spot short of the championship, with Rhodes winning the series title for the second time with a fifth-place finish.

Christian Eckes won the race.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.