NASCAR
Ben Rhodes Finds Victory Again at Bristol Dirt in Dominant Night
BRISTOL, Tenn. – Defending Truck Series champion Ben Rhodes had a banner night at Bristol Dirt. After starting second, the ThorSport No. 99 Toyota led every lap in the first two Stages, only to restart mid-pack for the final run. After making a late pass over Carson Hocevar, Rhodes took his first win of 2022.
A few laps into the final Stage, a caution came out for a very odd reason. The trucks of Matt DiBenedetto and Austin Wayne Self were stuck together. It took a red flag and a few minutes for crew members to separate both vehicles.
Well this is a new one …. pic.twitter.com/4kVL3IVPfH
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 17, 2022
Once racing resumed, Carson Hocevar seemingly had his first career win in sight. On fresher tires however, Ben Rhodes slid his way by the 42 and onto the victory. After leading wire-to-wire in both Stages, Rhodes retook command in the final five laps to take his first win of the year.
“Thought we gave it away for a moment,” Rhodes said after the race. “They asked me on the radio: ‘did you mean to stay out?’ and the real answer is no. So driving back through the pack like that was really really tough, not something we wanted to do. My crew gave me such an awesome Tenda Toyota Tundra this weekend, that I wasn’t going to let them down. I had to go back up there and earn the spot back. Really really proud of all their effort, looks like we had fast teammates today too. Thanks everyone for coming out, happy Easter!”
Behind Rhodes in the top five were Carson Hocevar, John Hunter Nemechek, Parker Kligerman, and Christian Eckes. The rest of the top 10 were Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, Grant Enfinger, Matt Crafton, and Zane Smith. See reactions from some of the top finishers below.
.@CarsonHocevar says tonight’s loss does sting more than his close loss last year @knoxvilleraces. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/3oLQUsYpJf
— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) April 17, 2022
Another strong finish for @pkligerman and the @HendersonRace 75 team comes at Bristol Dirt, as they placed 4th. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/riIqNzxQFr
— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) April 17, 2022
.@christianeckes talks about an “up and down day” that ended with him in 5th. #PintysTruckRaceonDirt #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/iDS6xqoWpW
— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) April 17, 2022
The Truck Series will return on throwback weekend at Darlington Raceway. May 6 is the next time the Truckers take to the track, on the tough South Carolina circuit in the LiftKits4Less.com 200. Coverage begins at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Ben Rhodes won at Darlington in 2020, can he go back-to-back now off of his Bristol win?
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to Logan Riely/Getty Images for NASCAR
