Ben Rhodes Tag

By: NASCAR Wire Service DOVER, Del. – After what had happened moments earlier, Johnny Sauter’s victory in a two-lap overtime shootout seemed almost routine by comparison. Sauter, who turned 40 on May 1, held off fellow 40-something Matt Crafton to win Friday’s JEGS 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Dover International Speedway-but not until Sauter won an intense struggle against pole winner Noah Gragson, whose race ended on the next-to-last lap of regulation when his No. 18 Toyota backed hard into the outside wall. The victory was Sauter’sRead More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer Saturday at Martinsville Speedway was great for Ben Rhodes and the ThorSport Racing organization. The 21-year-old driver kicked off the day by putting the No. 41 Ford on the pole for the fourth race of the 2018 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season. Teammates Matt Crafton and Grant Enfinger qualified second and third, respectively, to give ThorSport Racing their first 1-2-3 qualifying effort in team history. The pole was the third of Rhodes’ career in his 54th Truck Series start and his second at the 0.526-mileRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Wintry conditions was the word around the NASCAR garage Saturday instead of spring climate and racing action, as both the Camping World Truck Series race and Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying have been impacted by inclement weather. With weather being a concern, the Alpha Energy Solutions 250 truck race started several minutes early to get as much racing possible. The 32-truck field managed to run 23 laps until it was halted for rain and snow. Not wasting time, NASCAR postponed the race until Sunday evening,Read More

By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer It’s on to the next race for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The Series shifts out West for the first of two tripleheaders at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Teams using the NT1 Spec Engine versus those using OEM engines, Kyle Busch’s second appearance of the season, and stage racing are just some of the storylines heading into the second race of the season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Coverage for the Stratosphere 200 is scheduled to start Friday night at 9:00 p.m. ET. 2018Read More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service HAMPTON, Ga. – Brett Moffit streaked into the lead on an overtime restart in Saturday’s Active Pest Control 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway and pulled away to win the second NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race of his career. Diving to the inside and taking then-leader Myatt Snider and Johnny Sauter three-wide into the first corner on Lap 133 of 134, Moffitt beat Noah Gragson to the finish line by 1.326 seconds. Gragson charged from ninth to second on the penultimate lap and beat third-placeRead More

By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer Multiple obstacles couldn’t keep Ben Rhodes from scoring his second consecutive fourth-place finish. Rhodes ran into engine trouble and a pit road penalty, but somehow managed to claw his way back into the top-five in the Active Pest Control 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. On the final restart, Rhodes’s No. 41 Alpha Energy Solutions Ford F-150 jumped into the chaotic scramble. As eventual race winner Brett Moffitt drove away, Rhodes was mired in the middle of a three-wide battle. Luckily, he was able to wrestleRead More

By Ben Rhodes, Driver Columnist (Editor’s note: Ben Rhodes, driver of the No. 41 Alpha Energy Solutions Ford F-150 forThorSport Racing, one of the longest-tenured teams in NASCAR competition. Rhodes will contribute to Motorsports Tribune throughout the season, providing a firsthand look behind the scenes of his 2018 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series campaign from behind the visor.)  Rhodes outlines his season ahead and what he’d like to see accomplished with the No. 41 team, while reflecting on this past weekend’s NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway, andRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Ben Rhodes enjoyed a stout fourth-place finish in last Friday’s NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway, but it has since been overshadowed by an L1 penalty handed out by NASCAR Wednesday. The outcomes of the penalty have also led to the suspension crew chief Eddie Troconis for Saturday’s Active Pest Control 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Additionally, Troconis was fined $5,000 after the rear of Rhodes’ No. 41 Ford F-150 was too low during post-race inspection. ThorSport Racing will also be penalized 10Read More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – In a race that produced seven cautions for 35 laps and left 21 trucks running at the finish, Johnny Sauter held off Justin Haley by .098 seconds at Daytona International Speedway to win Friday night’s NextEra Energy Resources 250, the season-opener for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Sauter grabbed the lead from pole winner David Gilliland on Lap 92 of 100 and stayed out front the rest of the way. The victory was Sauter’s third at Daytona and 18thRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor It’s been a week full of news coming out of the Sandusky, Ohio based ThorSport Racing team and Tuesday was no exception as they announced that Ben Rhodes would be returning for a third year with the team in 2018. Rhodes, a native of Louisville, Kentucky, broke through with the best season of his career in 2017, scoring his first win in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (Las Vegas) and a fifth place finish in points. In his last two seasons with ThorSport, RhodesRead More