Recap:
Ben Rhodes, driver of the No. 27 Safelite AutoGlass Toyota Tundra, made his second career start at Iowa Speedway in Friday night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) M&M’S 200. Starting sixth, Rhodes finished fifth in Stage 1, and was running inside the top-five in Stage 2 when he was forced down pit road, under green, for a vibration, and ultimately a flat right rear tire on his No. 27 machine. Rhodes would be credited with a 17th-place finish in Stage 2.
Unfortunately, trouble would continue for the No. 27 Safelite team. Running inside the top-15, but multiple laps down to the race leaders in Stage 3, the Safelite driver would be involved in a lap 119 incident on the backstretch with multiple trucks. Heavy damage to the left rear would force Rhodes down pit road multiple times in the ensuing laps, and relegate the Safelite driver to a 14th-place finish behind race winner, John Hunter Nemechek.
Quote:
“Unbelievable is the key word for tonight, and it seems like our season. We had a right rear tire come apart on us halfway through Stage 2, forcing us to pit under green, and putting us in the back with all the lap down trucks. We were faster than them, so I was trying to make the most of it – be easy on the high-side, and just get passed them, but they ended up wrecking underneath me, and putting us in the wall. The rest of the night, we just tried to make the most out of it, for points, and do what we could. The really sad part is, the tires they put on at the end, and the direction the track was going, was all moving into our favor. I think we would have been a rocket ship when the sun went down, because the track tightened up for us.”
Team Information:
Started: 6th
Finished: 14th
Laps: 195/200
Laps Led: 0
Status: Running
Driver Points: 5th
Owner Points: 5th
Notes:
- The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) had two practice sessions on Friday morning in preparation for Friday night’s M&M’S 200. Ben Rhodes was seventh, and third, respectively in each session.
- Making his second start at Iowa Speedway, Rhodes started sixth, ran as high as third and finished 14th in the 200-lap event.
- The Safelite AutoGlass driver earned a bonus point in Stage 1 for finishing inside the top-10.
- In two starts at the 7/8-mile track, Rhodes has one top-five finish.
- After nine starts in 2017, the ThorSport Racing driver has led 116 laps en route to three top-five, and five top-10 finishes.
- In 36 career starts, Rhodes has one pole (Martinsville-1, 2016), and has led 171 laps en route to six top-five, and 13 top-10 finishes.
- Rhodes’ ThorSport Racing teammates finished fourth (Enfinger), 12th (Coughlin), and 19th (Crafton).
- Up Next: The Buckle Up Your Truck 225 at Kentucky Speedway on Thursday, July 6 at 7:30pm ET.