Ben Rhodes Tag

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Correspondent BRISTOL, Tenn. – The playoff drivers in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series swept both practices for the Food City 200. Tyler Ankrum was fastest in the first session at Bristol Motor Speedway. The David Gilliland Racing – Crosley Group driver ran a 15.178 second, 126.420 MPH lap in the No. 17 May’s Hawaii Toyota Tundra. Ross Chastain was second fastest, with a 15.249 second, 125.831 MPH lap. Matt Crafton, Raphael Lessard, and Brett Moffitt rounded out the top-five. The rest of the top-10 includedRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Ben Rhodes may have been on the outside looking in when the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Playoff Grid was set after the conclusion of Saturday’s Corrigan Oil 200 at Michigan International Speedway, but the Thorsport Racing driver now has a renewed vigor to turn things around over the remaining races of the 2019 campaign. Entering the regular season finale on the two-mile track, Rhodes was in a must win situation after coming up short on a trip to Victory Lane in the first 15Read More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer It appeared Thursday’s Eldora Dirt Derby was going to be renamed the Chase Briscoe Dirt Derby, but a series of incidents knocked the defending winner out of contention and had to settle for a painful seventh at Eldora Speedway. “Last night was probably the most frustrated I’ve ever been in a race car,” Briscoe told the press at Watkins Glen Friday, preparing for the Xfinity Series race. “That was probably the first NASCAR race for sure where I felt I was dominant.” Briscoe won the firstRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Not even seconds after the green flag dropped in Friday’s Camping World 225 at Chicagoland Speedway, Ben Rhodes’ night was over. After qualifying 18th, Rhodes’ No. 99 Carolina Nut Company Ford F-150 was hoping for a stellar result as he’s struggled matching his ThorSport Racing teammates speed at the 1.5-mile circuit. Not only that, Rhodes had ECU issues during practice and also switch batteries which contributed to the struggles before the 150-lap race commenced. That all paled in comparison once the 150-lap contest commenced as aRead More

By Robert Gray, NASCAR Wire Service NEWTON, Iowa — Brett Moffitt shed his race suit. He simmered silently in street clothes, sipped on a beer, and stewed over what seemed to be a missed opportunity at his home state track. Then strange, but welcomed news arrived — and that brew tasted somewhat sweet rather than extremely bitter. Ross Chastain’s No. 44 truck, which he apparently wheeled to a much-needed victory, had failed post-race inspection because of being too low in the front. Suddenly, a sense of second-place dejection transformed intoRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service CONCORD, N.C. – For the fifth time in his allotted five NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series starts in 2019, Kyle Busch took the checkered flag, this time under the lights in the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. “I wish I could do more,” Busch said following his 56th Gander Trucks career win. The rest of the field undoubtedly is quite happy the owner/driver of Kyle Busch Motorsports won’t be back until 2020. After all, Busch posted a perfect driver ratingRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Correspondent CONCORD, N.C. – Familiar names topped the speed charts as Sheldon Creed and Brennan Poole were fastest in the two NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series practice sessions. In the first practice session for the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Creed’s No. 2 Chevrolet Accessories Chevrolet Silverado topped the charts with a speed of 181.561 mph. His 29.742 second lap edged out Todd Gilliland by 0.074 seconds. “I feel pretty confident going into tonight,” Creed explained. “Pretty decent practice. We got betterRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Elation and heartbreak were barely more than a lap apart when Ross Chastain took the checkered flag to win Friday night’s Digital Ally 250 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series race at Kansas Speedway. Chastain took the lead on Lap 165 of 167 after Stewart Friesen ran out of fuel—the result of a miscommunication between the driver and crew chief Trip Bruce. Chastain crossed the finish line .483 seconds ahead of runner-up Ben Rhodes to secure his first victory in theRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Correspondent  An uneventful night with a top-five finish was just want Todd Gilliland needed to return to form in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series. After several eventful weeks left Gilliland’s No. 4 JBL / SiriusXM with less-than stellar results, he rebounded at Kansas Speedway. On back-to-back restarts in the Digital Ally 250, the Kyle Busch Motorsports driver made bold moves to gain positions. Gilliland found himself battling three-wide with Ben Rhodes, Matt Crafton, and eventual race winner Ross Chastain. While he held off Crafton, theRead More