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Author: Briar Starr

  • Four Takeaways from the Camping World Truck Series Race-Las Vegas

    Four Takeaways from the Camping World Truck Series Race-Las Vegas

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series went to the wild west this past Saturday night in Las Vegas. The trucks are known for their exciting races and this one sure didn’t disappoint. Here are four takeaways from the Las Vegas 350.

    1. Ben Rhodes Gets First Career Win – After coming close at Kansas earlier in the year and only coming up short due to an engine failure, Rhodes finally broke through and scored his first win on Saturday night in a last-lap thriller. Rhodes did a solid job of driving and racing his own race until the last lap came where he held off a hard-charging Christopher Bell off Turn 4 right at the finish line. With this win, Rhodes is now locked into the Round of 6 and will not have to worry about the pressures/wild card of Talladega.
    2. Christopher Bell Has Another Strong Finish – If Bell does not end up in victory lane, then he is for sure close to it. He recorded his 12th top five of the year Saturday night. This will only help Bell further his championship chances. Surely, he will be a championship lock for the final four, if nothing goes sour for the rest of the season.
    3. Brad Keselowski Racing Earns Top Five Finish – Chase Briscoe and Austin Cindric both had strong runs Saturday night. But, it shouldn’t be surprising, since both of the BKR trucks swept the top spots in last year’s race. Both of them, however, needed the strong runs to help continue their championship chances.
    4. Kaz Grala and John Hunter Nemechek Need Great Finish At Talladega – Two playoffs drivers are in danger of being eliminated from the Round of 8 next weekend at Talladega, but anything can happen. Grala could earn two stage wins and be safe as long as he doesn’t get collected in a wreck. Nemechek will most likely need a win in order to move on. However, there are still two drivers who will have to go home and be eliminated after all is said and done. Although, no one can predict the unpredictability of Talladega, which makes the race fun to watch for the fans.
  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings-Las Vegas

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings-Las Vegas

    The second race in the Round of 8 for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series took place in Sin City at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday night. The race did not disappoint as it ended in a last-lap thriller and a first-time winner.

    1. Ben Rhodes – Rhodes did everything right when he scored his first win Saturday night. In the first stage, he finished sixth. However, after some varying pit strategies, Rhodes went on to win the second stage, thus earning Playoff points. Rhodes lost the lead for a little while until the last caution came out with 15 to go. The final restart came with seven to go. Rhodes took advantage of it as he went on to lead the last seven laps of the race and held off Christopher Bell in a last-lap thriller. He beat Bell by 0.066 seconds.
    2. Christopher Bell – Bell came oh so close to earning another win in the 2017 season. He dominated most of the race by leading three times for 64 laps, and finished third in Stage 1, while he finished second in Stage 2. The last time Bell led was from lap 133-138. After the final caution, Bell tried all he could to chase down and pass Rhodes, but was unable to do so and had to settle for second. Nonetheless, still a dominating night in Las Vegas for the JBL Tundra driver, who turned 52 points.
    3. Kaz Grala – Even though Grala finished inside the top 10 at New Hampshire, he needed to continue his strong run if he wanted to advance to the next round. Grala did that Saturday night despite being involved in an incident on Lap 43. He came through in Stage 1 by finishing seventh but fell outside the top 10 in Stage 2. Grala eventually rebounded and scored a fifth-place finish. Still, he sits seventh, eight points below the cut line. He’ll have to either win a stage or a race at Talladega, in order to advance to the Round of 6.
    4. Chase Briscoe – It shouldn’t be a surprise that a Brad Keselowski Racing driver finished in the top five at Las Vegas as they finished 1-2 last year. Briscoe put on a dominating performance in Stage 1 by leading all 35 laps and won the stage. In a strong run for Stage 2, the No. 29 BKR driver finished sixth. Even though Briscoe did not lead for the rest of the night, he finished strong by placing third. He’ll still need a good finish, possibly a stage win, at Talladega to advance on to the Round of 6.
    5. Cody Coughlin – Coughlin has had an up and down 2017 season. Statistically, he has three DNF’s and before Vegas, his best finish was eighth at Pocono. He didn’t place in any of the stages but when it counted, Coughlin rallied to a sixth-place finish.
  • Ben Rhodes Holds Off Christopher Bell to Win in Last Lap Thriller at Las Vegas

    Ben Rhodes Holds Off Christopher Bell to Win in Last Lap Thriller at Las Vegas

    Ben Rhodes claimed his first career victory in the Camping World Truck Series race Saturday night at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, holding off Christopher Bell in the final laps to win by a margin of 0.066 seconds.

    The ThorSport Racing driver took the lead on the final restart with seven laps to go in his No. 27 Toyota, leading twice for a total of 20 laps, on his way to Victory Lane. With this win, Rhodes is locked into the Round of 6.

    “I used every play in my playbook,” said Rhodes said after the race. “I knew if I could keep him (Bell) close to me, he couldn’t break the (air) bubble. This is the biggest high of my life.

     “So many things have gone wrong and now here I am in Victory Lane.”

    Chase Briscoe finished third in his No. 29 Ford while Austin Cindric and Kaz Grala rounded out the top five.

    On Saturday afternoon, Ryan Truex and Johnny Sauter set the front row spots in qualifying for the Las Vegas 350 Truck Series race. Stage 1 and 2 were 35 laps each with a final stage of 76 laps.

    The first stage got off to a wild start. There was a pack of trucks that were three wide down the backstretch and unfortunately, Myatt Snider was bumped from behind by Stewart Friesen and was sent sideways in Turn 3.

    After that, the action calmed a bit as Briscoe jumped out to the lead and was able to go on to win Stage 1. Sauter, Bell, Truex, Matt Crafton, Rhodes, Grala, Cindric, Friesen and Noah Gragson rounded out the top 10.

    Stage 2 began on Lap 41 and just like the beginning of the race, there was tons of action on the first lap of the stage. Sauter missed a shift and got tapped from behind by Cindric which caused a chain reaction crash that involved Grala, Friesen, Austin Wayne Self and Justin Haley. Grala and Sauter were the only ones with major cosmetic damage.

    On Lap 47, Bell went to the lead. The action didn’t stop there as Briscoe, Crafton, John Hunter Nemechek, Rhodes and Truex had a tight battle for the lead. However, on Lap 55, Cindric went sideways through the grass after a side-draft gone wrong with Grant Enfinger.

    With a restart on Lap 61, Rhodes took the lead and never looked backed as he went to take Stage 2.

    The third final stage went underway on Lap 77. After varying pit strategies, Cindric, who pitted for fuel only and Gragson, who stayed out, were marked as the leaders for a short while.

    On Lap 81, playoff contenders, Crafton, Sauter and Cindric made contact with each other on the backstretch. Due to the contact, Sauter had a flat tire. As he went to pit, Sauter was deemed too fast entering pit road and again was caught for speeding.

    Bell regained the lead on Lap 87. With 40 to go, Gragson began to pit for his scheduled pit stop but was caught speeding twice and ended up doing a stop-and-go penalty.

    Green flag pit stops began with 25 laps to go. This saw most of the leaders pit, except for Playoff contender John Hunter Nemechek who was trying to stretch it to the finish on fuel. The final caution came out with 15 to go as Austin Wayne Self had a tire go down and slammed the outside wall hard. Unfortunately, Nemechek ran out of fuel and stalled his truck on pit road, ending his hopes at a shot for the win.

    There were six cautions for 32 laps and seven leaders among 11 lead changes.

    Playoffs Points
    1. Christopher Bell (W)
    2. Ben Rhodes (W)
    3. Matt Crafton -51
    4 . Johnny Sauter -54
    5. Chase Briscoe -68
    6. Austin Cindric -70
    Below the cut line
    7. Kaz Grala -78
    8. John Hunter Nemechek -84

    Next Up: The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series takes a week off before heading to Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday, October 12, for the Fred’s 250, the final race in the Round of 8.

  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Las Vegas

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Las Vegas

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series continues their Round of 8 playoffs run this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

    Currently, there are 28 trucks on the preliminary entry list for this weekend.

    If past history repeats and it does, Las Vegas Motor Speedway can except a new winner at the track. Which one that will be is yet to be determined.

    In the past five races, there have been five different winners. And with a little bit of luck, you can win from the back. Tyler Reddick did that last year after starting 16th.

    1. Matt Crafton – Despite having a run that Crafton didn’t want last weekend at New Hampshire, he could back that up with a win this weekend at Las Vegas. In the past five starts, Crafton has two top fives and four top 10 finishes, along with one pole position. His average finishing position is 6.4 and he has led 118 laps. Crafton could finally cross Las Vegas off the tracks he has not won yet.
    2. Christopher Bell – Even though Bell has only one start here, don’t let that fool you as he’s carrying momentum after his win last weekend. In last year’s race, Bell finished sixth in his first race at Las Vegas. He could certainly make things interesting if he wins Saturday night.
    3. Austin Cindric – Cindric could be a surprise on Saturday. While he does not have any career starts at the 1.5-mile track, Brad Keselowski Racing has a great track record. In the 2016 race, the team drivers swept the top two spots in the finishing order. Cindric could definitely use a strong run this weekend to help him move up the charts in the playoff point standings, as he sits fifth, 57 points behind.
    4. Timothy Peters – Peters return to the Truck Series Saturday night after a hiatus since Texas Motor Speedway. He could spoil the playoff party by winning and it wouldn’t be a surprise. In terms of stats at Las Vegas, Peters sits first. He has one win, three top fives and five top 10 finishes, along with 73 laps led. It’ll be great to see the 10-time winner back in the series. Peters will be driving the No. 02 truck, replacing Tyler Young, who normally drives.
    5.  Johnny Sauter – Among the experienced, Sauter is expected to run well at Las Vegas. In the past five races, Sauter has one top five and two top 10 finishes. He has led 13 laps with the best finish of second coming in 2013.

    Worthy of mention – Travis Pastrana also returns to NASCAR racing for a one-off, driving Al Niece’s No. 45 Chevrolet.

    The stages will be broken into 35 laps, 70 laps and the final stage making up the 146 lap race. This will be a one-day event as two practices will take place at 11:30 a.m. ET and 1 p.m. ET. Qualifying will begin at 6:10 p.m. ET on FS2, but will then switch to FS1.

    The green flag drops at 8:19 p.m. ET both on FS1 and MRN Radio. Coverage begins at 8 p.m. ET.

  • Four Takeaways From The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series-New Hampshire

    Four Takeaways From The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series-New Hampshire

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series began their Round of 8 this past weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Here are some takeaways from the UNOH 175.

    1. Christopher Bell dominates at New Hampshire – Another race, another dominant weekend for the no.4 JBL Tundra driver. He dominated by starting second, won both stages and led 73 to earn seven playoff points. This was able to punch him into the Round of 6.
    2. Ryan Truex continues solid season – On Saturday afternoon, Ryan Truex tied his second-best finish of his career. The Mayetta, New Jersey driver led 28 laps while finishing top 10 in both stages. The last time Truex finished second was in 2016 at Daytona. Truex now has seven top fives and eleven top 10 finishes this season. While it might be considered an upset, don’t be surprised if Truex ends up in victory lane before the year is said and done.
    3. Kaz Grala and Austin Cindric have a little run in – On lap 128, the caution flew for the fifth and final time of the race. It was to no surprise that replay cameras showed Grala, giving a little love tap to Cindric’s back bumper and thus causing Cindric to spin out. This was, of course, due to Cindric giving a bump to Grala on the last lap at Canada. Both drivers rebounded nicely and finished inside the top 10. After the race, Grala and Cindric were shown to give a little fist bump. It looks as though the differences may be settled between the two for now.
    4. Todd Gilliland rebounds from pit road penalty – After finishing eighth in Stage 1, Gilliland, like others, came down pit road for scheduled adjustments. However, as he exited his pit box, Gilliland accidentally ran over his pit equipment which sent him to the rear of the field before Stage 2 started. He rebounded nicely in Stage 2 by finishing in the same spot as Stage 1. Gilliland ultimately finished third, giving him his best finish of the year.
  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings-New Hampshire

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings-New Hampshire

    The Round of 8 began this past weekend for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. While there were some surprises in the top 10 results, most of it saw the normal faces up front. Here are this week’s power rankings.

          1. Christopher Bell – Bell continued his dominant season and starts the Playoffs off with the win going into the next round. He led three times for 73 laps and won both stages. Bell also gained seven playoff points after his fifth career victory of 2017. He certainly dominated this weekend at New Hampshire and is safe for at least the next two races in this round.
          2. Noah Gragson – Despite not getting the finish he wanted and missing out on the playoffs, Gragson dominated most of Stage 1 until Bell passed him late in the stage. However, the second stage did not go as well as the first stage did for the Las Vegas driver. On lap 65, Gragson was involved in a multi-truck accident involving a tap by Ben Rhodes. Playoff contender, Johnny Sauter, was also collected as he had right side damage to his truck. Gragson could not rebound after this wreck and wound up 15th on the scoring charts.
          3. Todd Gilliland – The young 17-year-old was not to be denied at the “Magic Mile” on Saturday afternoon. In Stage 1, he finished eighth. However, during the pit stops after the stage was over, Gilliland was nabbed with a pit road penalty for running over equipment. This sent him to the back before Stage 2 started, although, Gilliland charged through the front late and ended up finishing third. Nice rebound after getting tabbed with a penalty early on.
          4. Stewart Friesen – Friesen has been a solid 2017 season so far, despite not competing in the full schedule. Prior to New Hampshire, Pocono in July was the site that saw the best finish of his career by finishing 12th. However, he upped that this past Saturday by finishing fifth, scoring his second top five of the year.
          5. Grant Enfinger – Enfinger is another driver who missed the playoffs this year but had a solid outing at New Hampshire. He finished ninth in Stage 1 and third in Stage 2. At the end of the day, when all was settled and done with, Enfinger earned a fourth-place finish.

    Next Up: The Round of 8 continues this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. While one driver is locked in, seven others will look to lock themselves in as well and punch their ticket to the next round.

  • Thorsport Racing Has Solid Outing At New Hampshire

    Thorsport Racing Has Solid Outing At New Hampshire

    The Thorsport Racing team has two of its three drivers in the 2017 playoff run to the championship. Even though only two are in the hunt for the championship, that doesn’t mean Grant Enfinger can’t challenge for a win either.

    For Enfinger, he started out the UNOH 175 strong as he started in the eighth position. He finished top 10 in both stages with the highest finish coming in Stage 2, where he finished third. By the time, the 175-lap event was complete, Enfinger ended the day with a top-five finish. Enfinger gave his thoughts about the finish.

    “Overall we were good- a lot of fun- first time running at Loudon,” Enfinger said. “Everybody on this RIDE TV Tundra did really good. We unloaded yesterday with good speed, we really had good speed all day. If we could have ever restarted in front of those guys, I don’t think they could have got back around us, but we weren’t quite good enough to get to them and pass them.”

    Two of the playoffs drivers, Matt Crafton and Ben Rhodes also had great outings at New Hampshire.

    Ben Rhodes ran up front all day. After starting fourth, he remained there in Stage 1 and moved up to second after the stage was over. In Stage 2, Rhodes finished seventh, thus gaining playoff points. After running well and leading 17 laps, he ultimately finished seventh after the day was over.

    “Our day started off really strong, and we kind of faded as the day went on,” Rhodes said. “We, unfortunately, were in the wrong lane on the restarts all day – got stuck on the bottom. It’s ok, we took a risk with that two-tire stop, to get our Safelite Tundra up front. Unfortunately, it just didn’t pay off. As the day went on, we just got more loose and ultimately couldn’t make up those spots.”

    The second and final playoff driver, Matt Crafton, earned a top 10 finish but wasn’t pleased with NASCAR’s decision-making.

    The Thorsport Racing driver finished in the top 10 in both stages but wound up sixth on the results chart. However, the 41-year-old was ok with a top 10 finish.

    “Track position was everything,” Crafton said. ” We were a little bit off without a doubt, but we really got screwed by NASCAR on the last call with the 98 (Grant Enfinger), our teammate. We were running in front of him and he was literally three-tenths behind us on track, the yellow comes out and they put him in front of me and he starts, whatever eighth, and I’m ninth on the bottom, and we lost spots. Overall, not a terrible effort. Good points day if you want to call it that.”

  • Kyle Busch Wins First Career Playoff Race at New Hampshire

    Kyle Busch Wins First Career Playoff Race at New Hampshire

    The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) continued their playoff run this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and the second race did not disappoint. Kyle Busch jumped out to the lead after a restart with 23 laps to go and was able to hold on to win his third MENCS race of 2017 and his first ever playoff win.

    Busch talked about the strategy moving forward since he is now locked into the next round of the Playoffs.

    “I think the biggest thing for us is to just keep focusing on what we’ve done all year long, just keep trying to go out there and run hard, run smooth and be good at what we do,” he said. “Obviously fast race cars help us being able to stay out front. We’ve got a good pit crew. They did a good job today, did everything right, and from there, we’re just trying to collect stage points, go out there and race as hard as we can, get stage wins, get race wins, and do what we can in order to keep padding that cushion that we have for the start of every round.”

    Busch started on the pole and led three times for 187 laps. When Stage 1 began, Busch jumped out early but on lap 40 it was all Martin Truex Jr. who took the lead and never looked back, going on to win his 19th stage win of the year. Kyle Larson, Busch, Erik Jones, Ryan Blaney, Matt Kenseth, Brad Keselowski, Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick round out the top 10 in Stage 1.

    Stage 2 took place from Lap 83 – Lap 151. Not much happened in this stage until, with one lap to go, Harvick was accidentally spun around by another playoff contender, Austin Dillon. This caused a huge wreck and chain reaction on the backstretch. During this wreck, Truex Jr., Earnhardt Jr., Kurt Busch, Danica Patrick and Jeffrey Earnhardt were all involved during the melee late in Stage 2. Eventual race winner, Kyle Busch barely missed the carnage by inches. The stage ended under caution and gave (Kyle) Busch the win. Kenseth, Larson, Keselowski, Jones, Truex Jr, Hamlin, Johnson, Blaney and Jamie McMurray comprised the remaining top 10 finishers in this stage.

    After the craziness in Stage 2, Stage 3 was restarted on lap 159. Busch once again went out and led the way. A few playoff contenders had their fair share of troubles. Hamlin reported a “tire vibration” and pitted for the issue. On lap 186, Austin Dillon was facing microphone issues and could not hear his team communications. With 83 laps to go, non-playoff contender, Earnhardt Jr., had a left front tire blowout and ended his hopes of trying to win for the first time this year.

    On lap 219, the caution came out for the fourth time as debris was seen in Turns 3 and 4. Dillon was able to get the free pass and was back on the lead lap.

    As often happens late in races, cautions breed cautions. There were three more cautions that slowed the field. On Lap 262, Kasey Kahne slowed in Turns 3 and 4. He eventually was held by NASCAR for intentionally bringing out the caution. Later, he went to the garage for suspension and track bar problems.

    “Something broke. I think they said trackbar, but that is all I know I didn’t talk to Darien (Grubb, crew chief). But, that is what he had said while we were in the garage,” Kahne said.

    With 33 to go, David Ragan spun around off Turn 2 and the caution flew once more. The last caution came with 28 to go as Trevor Bayne spun out on the backstretch.

    The final restart came with 23 to go and Busch was able to hold off Kyle Larson for the win.

    “So, we finished second again with our Target Chevy,” Larson said. “That’s a lot of second-place finishes this year, but I’m fine with second. Top fives will get us to Homestead, so hats off to everybody on our Target team. The pit crew was great all day. I think we gained spots every time. Normally I’m struggling on short tracks, but this year we were pretty good.

    Truex Jr. rebounded to a fifth-place finish after the wreck in Stage 2. He led three times for 112 laps and retains his position at the top of the playoff leaderboard.

    There were six cautions for 32 laps and six leaders among three lead changes.

    Playoff Standings
    1 . Martin Truex Jr. (W)
    2. Kyle Larson -24
    3. Kyle Busch (W)
    4. Brad Keselowski -43
    5. Denny Hamlin -61
    6. Matt Kenseth -62
    7. Jimmie Johnson -73
    8. Ryan Blaney -79
    9. Chase Elliott -79
    10. Kevin Harvick -80
    11. Jamie McMurray -96
    12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. -105
    Below the cut line
    13. Austin Dillon -105
    14. Ryan Newman -106
    15. Kurt Busch -122
    16. Kasey Kahne -122

    Next Up: The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Dover International Speedway next Sunday for the final race in the Round of 12.

  • Christopher Bell Punches Ticket To Round of 6 With Win At New Hampshire

    Christopher Bell Punches Ticket To Round of 6 With Win At New Hampshire

    Christopher Bell re-took the lead with laps 15 to go and never looked back.  Bell went on to win his fifth Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) race this season and he is now locked into the round of 6.

    “It was really really big. To be able to win the first race and now we can be more aggressive at Vegas and especially Talladega and try and win the race compared to how I did it last year and just kind of had to take my fifth through eighth place finishes and move on.” Bell said.

    Bell led four times for a race-high 73 laps (of 150) and earned seven playoff points.

    “It’s a dream come true to drive for Kyle Busch Motorsports. These guys do such a good job preparing this SiriusXM Tundra. Just can’t thank all of our partners at JBL, TRD, Toyota, everyone at Kyle Busch Motorsports.  Thank you guys for building such fast trucks. It’s an honor to drive them.” Bell said.

    The NCWTS began their eight race playoff run today at New Hampshire Motor Speedway as Noah Gragson and playoff contender Bell set the front row in qualifying early on Saturday morning.

    55 laps made up stages 1 and 2, while 110 laps made up the final stage.

    As stage 1 went underway, Gragson held the lead until lap 25, where Bell closed in and led for at least one lap until Gragson re-took the lead.

    Another playoff contender, John Hunter Nemechek, pitted late in stage 1 for a tire vibration and continued to have problems as he went behind the wall for a long period of the race.

    It wasn’t until lap 42, where Bell eventually took the lead from Gragson after he over-drove turns 3 and 4. Bell held on to the lead and won stage 1 to earn ten playoff points. Playoff contenders Ben Rhodes finished second, Austin Cindric fourth, Johnny Sauter fifth, Matt Crafton sixth, Kaz Grala 11th, Chase Briscoe 13th and John Hunter Nemechek 23rd.

    Todd Gilliland won the race off pt road, but was caught with a penalty as he ran over equipment in his pit box and restarted in the rear for stage 2.

    Stage 2 began on lap 62, with Crafton and Grala as the leaders after varying pit strategy. Crafton led for a while before a few cautions came out on lap 63, where Gragson spun out in turns 3 and 4 after a slight bump from Rhodes. During this accident, this saw another contender Sauter collect right side damage as well. Another caution during the stage was displayed on lap 71, as an exhaust pipe came underneath from Sauter’s truck.

    After a few cautions during stage 2, Christopher Bell regained the lead on lap 76. Playoff contender, John Hunter Nemechek returned to the track on lap 80 to try and collect as much points as possible. More contact was also made between Gilliland and Cindric, which gave Gilliland a tire rub.

    When the craziness was done and settled, Bell ended up winning stage 2.

    The third and final stage saw the race restart with 57 laps to go. Various pit strategy was once again played as Rhodes took two tires and lead for several laps until Ryan Truex took the lead with 43 to go.

    “I’m glad a Toyota could win. Chris (Bell) has been the best truck all year. When you’ve got the best truck in the field behind you, it makes it tougher. I did everything I could to hold him off. I was trying to take his lane and block and everything, it just didn’t quite have the grip he had. I want to thank him for racing me clean though.” Truex said.

    The stage saw one more caution as Cindric was spun out after Grala gave him a slight bump.

    There were five cautions for 24 laps and eight lead changes among five leaders.

    Playoff contenders Matt Crafton finished sixth, Rhodes seventh, Cindric eighth, Sauter ninth, Grala tenth, Briscoe eleventh and John Hunter Nemechek 20th.

    Round of 6 Playoff Points
    1. Christopher Bell (W)
    2. Johnny Sauter +25
    3. Matt Crafton +24
    4. Ben Rhodes +15
    5. Austin Cindric +8
    6. Kaz Grala +3
    Below cut off line
    7. Chase Briscoe -3
    8. John Hunter Nemechek -8

    Next Up: The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series heads to Las Vegas Motor Speedway next Saturday for the only night race during the playoffs.

  • Ben Rhodes Poised to Become 2017 Truck Series Champion

    Ben Rhodes Poised to Become 2017 Truck Series Champion

    The Louisville, Kentucky driver will be competing in his first ever post-season playoffs.

    Ben Rhodes has been so close to victory lane in 2017. It all started at Kansas earlier this year when he was leading late but a blown motor, unfortunately, put him out of the race and he wound up 23rd. Since then, despite a few bad finishes, Rhodes has had strong results, with the highest finish of second coming at Pocono in July. Rhodes can’t have finishes like 20th at Martinsville, 27th at Kentucky and 30th at Eldora. However, there are a lot of unknowns throughout the playoffs, but Rhodes likes uncertainty.

    “I guess I’m different because I kind of like it,” Rhodes said. “I like the fact that there’s an unknown certainty to it. We all have to go there, we all have to race. We all are subjected to the same conditions, so I kind of like the uncertainty of it. I like Talladega. I like Daytona. Those are some of my favorite races out of the whole year so that it’s in the Playoffs – I don’t think it could come at a better time.”

    Although Rhodes was certain he had a chance to make it into the playoffs, he really didn’t know until after the race was over.

    “It’s honestly a blur looking back at it,” Rhodes said. “I can tell you it wasn’t pleasant, wasn’t the most fun race of the season. We had a good time. The race didn’t go the way we wanted. There was multiple mistakes, different things that were going on and we had to overcome those throughout the entire day, the entire night. Not the most fun race in recent memory, but I feel like that’s good rehearsal for the Final Four. Hopefully, we can make it there and be consistent, limit those mistakes going forward and just play it safe going forward. Make sure that we don’t put the pressure on ourselves and I think we’ll be just fine.”

    Even though Rhodes did not make the Round of 8 last year, he earned finishes 15th at Loudon, 12th at Las Vegas and 24th at Talladega due to a crash. He’ll need to improve upon those finishes if Rhodes wants to move on to the Round of 6.