Trackin’ Trucks: Ben Rhodes Wins at Las Vegas

Ben Rhodes celebrates after his first career victory.

Credit: Matt Sullivan

by Courtney Horn

Ben Rhodes held off Christopher Bell Saturday night at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to capture his first career victory in the Camping World Truck Series.

Rhodes, who fell short of a win earlier this season at Kansas when debris flew through the grill and damaged his radiator in the process, took the lead on the final restart and blocked every attempt Bell made at a pass.

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

The ThorSport Racing driver rolled off sixth in his 45th series start. He led 20 laps before becoming the 10th consecutive different winner at Las Vegas, with a 0.066 margin of victory.

Bell took the blame for not getting the job done, despite leading 64 laps and being the dominant truck throughout the night.

 “I just didn’t get it done there on the last restart,” he said. “He’s (Rhodes) been long overdue for that win and he earned it tonight.”

Chase Briscoe and teammate Austin Cindric finished third and fourth, respectively. Cindric overcame a spin on Lap 56 to earn his fifth top five of the season.

Kaz Grala finished fifth to round out the top five.

John Hunter Nemechek finished eighth despite running out of fuel with less than 15 to go. The NEMCO Motorsports team tried to gamble for the victory, but came up short.

A Look Ahead Into The Playoffs

The Camping World Truck Series has a week off before heading to Talladega, Alabama, on Saturday, October 14, 2017, for the first elimination race of the playoffs.

Bell extended his lead in the playoff standings, despite losing to the race winner.

Matt Crafton and Johnny Sauter are in good position to advance, while only 14 points separate Cindric in sixth and Nemechek in eighth.

Who will advance into the Round of 6? Find out in two weeks as the CWTS stars battle it out at Talladega SuperSpeedway on October 14th at 1 p.m ET on FOX.