Ben Rhodes scored his first win of the season, and the second of his career, on Thursday night at his home track Kentucky Speedway in the Buckle Up in Your Truck 225.
The Louisville native had come close to winning several times this season but finally sealed the deal Thursday night.
Strategy and a strong truck led to Rhodes outracing Stewart Friesen for the win. Rhodes pitted for fuel only with 25 laps to go and despite Friesen getting two fresh tires on his final stop he was not able to rundown the leader for the win.
“This has been such a long time coming and these guys deserve it so much,” Rhodes said. “They’ve been working their butts off.
“We’ve had a touch of bad luck this year. Everybody was feeling good about it tonight. We’ve had trucks like this all year long and we’re finally able to showcase it. This is exactly what we needed.”
The win was the first for Rhodes since September of 2017. Thursday night’s win gives Rhodes a berth in the playoffs. He led 4 times for 38 laps including the final 24
Friesen, Matt Crafton, Brandon Jones and John Hunter Nemechek rounded out the top five.
Grant Enfinger, Todd Gilliland, Noah Gragson, Dalton Sargeant and Justin Haley completed the first 10 finishers.
Four-time winner Johnny Sauter had a frustrating evening. He was penalized for speeding on pit road and then for a commitment line violation while serving the speeding penalty. He wound up 15th, two laps off the lead.
Rhodes and Noah Gragson won the first two stages of the night.
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series returns to action for the only dirt race on the schedule at Eldora Speedway next Wednesday night, July 18.
