Ben Rhodes Tag

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Christian Eckes wasn’t about to lose a race he had dominated, even if it meant using the front bumper on his No. 19 Chevrolet—twice. After a restart with five laps left in Friday night’s Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 200 at Martinsville Speedway, Eckes first moved the Toyota of Taylor Gray and then the Ford of Ben Rhodes—both of which were rolling on 40-lap fresher tires—to win the race and earn a spot in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series’ Championship 4Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor BRISTOL, Tenn. – The Layne Train keeps rolling on. For the second race in a row, Layne Riggs played spoiler in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs, bringing home the win in Thursday night’s UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Piloting the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford, Riggs rolled off from 18th in the 200-lap event, but didn’t stay there for long, advancing up to eighth by the end of the first stage and fourth at the end of the second. Riggs would continue hisRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor LEBANON, Tenn. – The perfect race. Christian Eckes was not to be deterred in Friday night’s Rackley Roofing 200 at Nashville Superspeedway, scoring his third NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win of the season. But this time around it was something not seen since 2012. Starting the night in third place, the driver of the No. 19 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Chevrolet ascended to the top of the scoring pylon off Turn 2 on the first lap and never looked back, leading every single lap from there on outRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service MADISON, Ill. – The early bird got the victory on Saturday afternoon at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. In a long green-flag run to start the final stage of the Toyota 200 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race, Corey Heim brought his No. 11 TRICON Garage Tundra to pit road before any of the other top trucks made green-flag stops, and the move paid off with optimum track position. Heim held the top spot for a restart on Lap 138 of 160 and ledRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service CONCORD, N.C. – Nick Sanchez showed what an opportunist can do when the right moment presents itself. Taking advantage of fresh tires and a quick pit stop, Sanchez charged from the 10th position on a restart with nine laps left in Friday night’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway and held off Corey Heim to win his second NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race of the season — and of his career. Sanchez crossed the finish line 0.507 seconds ahead of Heim, whoRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DARLINGTON, S.C. — Taking advantage of a late caution, Ross Chastain surged ahead during an overtime restart and held off charging Nick Sanchez to win Friday night’s Buckle Up South Carolina 200 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at Darlington Raceway. Moonlighting from the NASCAR Cup Series in a race delayed more than two hours by rain, Chastain, driving for Niece Motorsports, led only the last three laps after seizing the top spot from Ty Majeski on the overtime restart on Lap 149. Sanchez finishedRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service An afternoon of impressive restarts ultimately handed Corey Heim the winning finish in the XPEL 225 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at the famed Circuit of The Americas (COTA) road course in Austin, Texas Saturday afternoon. Heim dominated the race – his No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota leading a race best 31 of the 46 laps and prevailing in an overtime finish to convincingly win his first race of 2024 and sixth of his career – by 1.625-seconds over his teammate Taylor Gray. ThorSportRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor AVONDALE, Ariz. – It may have taken four overtimes to get there, but for the second time in the last three years, Ben Rhodes is a champion in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. As the laps wound down in regulation, it was shaping up to be a race between Grant Enfinger and Rhodes to see which of the two would walk away with the title, but with three laps to go, everything changed. Corey Heim and Carson Hocevar, who had been involved in an incident earlierRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor AVONDALE, Ariz. – The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will be the first title fight of the weekend to be settled, as the four remaining drivers in the Playoffs will duke it out Friday night at Phoenix Raceway for the right to hoist the championship trophy when the checkered flag falls. Eight drivers started the Playoffs with a berth in the championship race in mind, but half of them fell by the wayside, leaving Grant Enfinger, Corey Heim, Carson Hocevar and 2021 series champion Ben Rhodes asRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Carson Hocevar secured his first NASCAR CRATSMAN Truck Series Championship 4 appearance with a victory Saturday in the Baptist Health Cancer Care 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway earning all four of his career series wins this season – the trophy Saturday most impactful among them. Hocevar put his No. 42 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet into the lead with 11 laps remaining and held off the hard-charging Zane Smith by 2.705-seconds to claim the win over the reigning series champion, whose runner-up effort was disqualified by NASCAR after a post-raceRead More