Ben Rhodes Tag

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service HAMPTON, Ga. – Christian Eckes finished where he started Saturday’s Fr8 208 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway—with a lot of turmoil in between.  Eckes claimed his second victory in the series in overtime, choosing the bottom lane and front-row position for a restart on lap 136 of 137.   After leading the first 30-lap stage of the race wire-to-wire, however, Eckes sped on pit road and lost track position. He spent the rest of the event working his way backRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service LAS VEGAS — Kyle Busch revels in changing circumstances.  Five days after winning at Auto Club Speedway in his second NASCAR Cup Series race in a Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, Busch powered his own Kyle Busch Motorsports Chevy to victory in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series.  Despite a couple of twitchy moments in traffic, Busch dominated Friday night’s Victoria’s Voice Foundation 200 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, leading 84 of 134 laps and beating runner-up Zane Smith to the finish line by 4.981 seconds. Read More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer AVONDALE, Ariz. – No longer the bridesmaid of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is Zane Smith, who won in a thrilling overtime finish in Friday’s Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix Raceway. “Oh, my God, third time’s a charm. I want this shit more than anyone in the world. I don’t care what anyone says,” an elated Smith after capturing the title. “Thank you to all you race fans, my whole team. Oh, my God, I was crying that whole lap. “I’ve wanted this championship forRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor AVONDALE, Ariz. – Ben Rhodes and Thorsport Racing rolled the dice Friday night at Phoenix Raceway, but ultimately came up one spot short in their bid for a second straight NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship. Of the four championship contenders, Rhodes’ No. 99 Toyota Tundra just didn’t quite have the speed to compete with others, but when the caution flag flew on lap 135, the team saw an opportunity to shake things up and went for it. Electing to take two tires instead of fourRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor AVONDALE, Ariz. – The NASCAR Camping World 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 Ty Majeski, Chandler Smith, Zane Smith and defending series champion Ben RhodesRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service PHOENIX, Ariz. – Ben Rhodes is superstitious about being in the same room as the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series trophy. The Kentuckian has an Old Fashioned named after him in The Barn at Phoenix Raceway. Rhodes mentioned both Seneca and Pythagoras in his Championship 4 Media Day interview at the Phoenix Convention Center. And—oh, yes—he’s the defending series champion—without much credit in the eyes of handicappers for winning the title last year. Among the Championship 4 drivers, Rhodes is the clear long shot.Read More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Ty Majeski took a big step to solidify himself as the championship “favorite” with a victory in Saturday’s Baptist Health Cancer Care 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway – the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular season finale to set the Championship 4 field for the 2022 title race in two weeks. The 28-year old Wisconsin native led a race best 67 of 134 laps, his No. 66 ThorSport Racing Toyota Tundra crossing the finish line a convincing 4.524-seconds ahead of Zane Smith’sRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service TALLADEGA, Ala. – It took a lot of last lap gumption on the Talladega Superspeedway high banks and an official “race finish review” afterward, but longtime competitor Matt DiBenedetto earned his first NASCAR national series race victory in Saturday’s Chevy Silverado 250 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race. Because the race ended under caution, NASCAR officials reviewed video to determine who was leading when an accident froze the field coming to the checkered flag. Ultimately, it marked the first and only lap the formerRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor BROWNSBURG, Ind. – The 2022 edition of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs started on the right foot for Grant Enfinger and GMS Racing, as he scored the victory in Friday night’s TSport 200 at Indianapolis Raceway Park. With the win, Enfinger automatically advances to the second round of the Playoffs, allowing him and the team to be able to look further down the road and prepare for the tracks in the crucial Round of 8, which will determine which drivers will be racing forRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service KNOXVILLE, Iowa—Moonlighting in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Todd Gilliland took control of Saturday night’s Clean Harbors 150 after the sun set on Knoxville Raceway.  Gilliland grabbed the lead from John Hunter Nemechek for the final time on Lap 140 of 150 and pulled away after a restart on Lap 147 to beat Nemechek to the finish line by .945 seconds and win in his first start of the season and for the third time in his career.  On the eve of Father’sRead More