NASCAR
Ben Rhodes Takes First-Ever Charlotte Truck Ford Win
CONCORD, N.C. – Going over a year since his last win, Ben Rhodes left the field in the dust on a late restart. Earning ThorSport Racing’s first 2023 triumph and Ford’s first-ever Charlotte Truck victory, Rhodes wins his way back into the Playoffs. The 99 never led until the closing laps, taking home a season-defining win and the $50,000 Triple Truck Challenge bonus.
Both Stages were split by the two dominant Trucks of the night–Corey Heim and Carson Hocevar. Once the No. 42 took the lead early in the second Stage, he took off. Hocevar eventually won Stage 2 by a monster five seconds. As Stage 3 began, Hocevar appeared to be on rails.
A scary moment happened early in Stage 3, as Armani Williams slammed the inside wall on pit road. Thankfully nobody was hurt, as the No. 46 truck narrowly missed hitting an opening in the wall.
On the next restart, Zane Smith was sent sliding off of turn four. The timing of this caution proved to be pivotal, as Ben Rhodes was ruled the leader ahead of Hocevar.
After briefly going three-wide for the lead on the restart with 38 laps left, Rhodes held serve. The 99 appeared to have his tailgate in the wind, only for Hocevar to get by him right before another caution. On what wound up being the final restart, Rhodes rose to the occasion while Hocevar faltered. The 42 had to rally from sixth to eek out a fourth-place result, while Ben Rhodes drove off to the victory.
“It came to life at night,” Rhodes said of his truck. “I guess I need to give my crew a lot more credit than I did. They knew what they were doing. The night time, they planned for it, and even on my last stop, my pit crew was so good. Every track they pick up spots for us. Two races ago they got us nine spots on pit road. They did the magic again tonight and got us to the front.”
“The truck was good once we got in clean air. The night time came to us and they made some adjustments. I was worried at first and they came to us again. They looked into a crystal ball tonight and they gave me everything I needed. I had a lot of work to do. We had to take it slow and methodical from 19th. It’s not easy to pass in the Truck Series, especially here at Charlotte, but I’m so happy to get a win here. This is the North Carolina guys’ backyard. We’re a Sandusky (Ohio) based team, so it means a lot to myself and the team owners.”
Behind Rhodes, the top-10 finishers at Charlotte were: Corey Heim, Dean Thompson, Carson Hocevar, Grant Enfinger, Christian Eckes, Ty Majeski, Matt DiBenedetto, Nick Sanchez, and Taylor Gray. Hear from some of these drivers below.
Ben Rhodes becomes the sixth driver locked into the Playoffs, but that’s far from his only reason to celebrate. The ThorSport No. 99 earns the first-ever Ford Truck Series win at Charlotte. Rhodes also pockets the $50,000 bonus in the opening Triple Truck Challenge race. Should Rhodes win any one of the next two races, he will take home another $100,000 in prize money.
Rhodes’ next chance at a big payday will be June 3rd at Gateway. The Toyota 200 will go green Saturday at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Gateway provides an excellent opportunity for a new Truck Series winner, with no Cup drivers racing.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to Peter Stratta/TSJSports
