Ben Rhodes, driver of the No. 99 NASCAR Ford F-150 in the Truck Series, took advantage of a three-wide situation on a late-race restart to win at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 26th, 2023.
After a restart on Lap 111, Carson Hocevar in the No. 42 Chevy Silverado RST commanded the lead, but found himself in the center lane as Rhodes’ No. 99 F-150 and Corey Heim’s No. 11 Toyota Tundra split him on either side. However, as they did battle behind him, Rhodes and the No. 99 F-150 checked out and led all the way to the checkered flag.
“I didn’t think we were that good in practice,” Rhodes admitted after the race. “I didn’t qualify the best, and here it came to life at night… Oh, man, I had so much fun. This is so much fun. Charlotte is a track that we come to – ThorSport Racing, we’re based in Sandusky, Ohio – we come to the North Carolina guys’ house, and we like to win.”
Victory at Charlotte marked Rhodes’ first of the 2023 Truck Series season, and his first at the 1.5-mile asphalt oval. He crossed the line with 2.398 seconds over Heim’s No. 11 Tundra, and is now the ninth different winner in 11 races so far this season. Rhodes also earned a $50,000 bonus for winning the first of three “Triple Truck Challenge” events – and if he wins all three, it could mean an extra $500,000 in his pocket.
“The whole season is so hard to put together,” Rhodes said. “It’s unbelievably hard, and it’s only gotten more difficult over the years… A [slot in the Playoffs] championship being locked in, I’ll take that. The last three races have been so unbelievably hard on my team. We’ve been wrecked in the last three and haven’t had very good showings because of it. So I’ll take the points – thank you.”
| Finish | Start | Car Number | Driver | Team | Laps Run | Laps Led | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 | 99 | Ben Rhodes | Campers Inn RV Ford | 134 | 37 | Ford F-150 |
| 2 | 3 | 11 | Corey Heim | Rootly Toyota | 134 | 49 | Toyota Tundra |
| 3 | 7 | 5 | Dean Thompson | Thompson Pipe Group Toyota | 134 | 0 | Toyota Tundra |
| 4 | 12 | 42 | Carson Hocevar | Worldwide Express Chevrolet | 134 | 43 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 5 | 11 | 23 | Grant Enfinger | Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet | 134 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 6 | 6 | 19 | Christian Eckes | NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet | 134 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 7 | 2 | 98 | Ty Majeski | Road Ranger Ford | 134 | 0 | Ford F-150 |
| 8 | 20 | 25 | Matt DiBenedetto | Rackley Roofing/WAR Shocks Chevrolet | 134 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 9 | 34 | 2 | Nick Sanchez # | Gainbridge Chevrolet | 134 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 10 | 17 | 17 | Taylor Gray # | Dead On Tools Toyota | 134 | 0 | Toyota Tundra |
| 11 | 4 | 24 | Rajah Caruth # | Wendell Scott Foundation Chevrolet | 134 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 12 | 24 | 88 | Matt Crafton | Planters/Menards Ford | 134 | 0 | Ford F-150 |
| 13 | 8 | 41 | Bayley Currey | Unishippers Chevrolet | 134 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 14 | 9 | 1 | David Gilliland | Serial 1 E-Bikes Toyota | 134 | 0 | Toyota Tundra |
| 15 | 15 | 35 | Jake Garcia # | Quanta Chevrolet | 134 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 16 | 13 | 4 | Chase Purdy | Bama Buggies Chevrolet | 134 | 2 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 17 | 16 | 45 | Lawless Alan | AUTOParkit Chevrolet | 134 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 18 | 10 | 51 | Jack Wood | Eberlestock Chevrolet | 134 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 19 | 18 | 43 | Daniel Dye # | Race to Stop Suicide Chevrolet | 134 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 20 | 22 | 9 | Colby Howard | Grant County Mulch Chevrolet | 134 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 21 | 26 | 32 | Bret Holmes # | Bret Holmes Racing Chevrolet | 134 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 22 | 5 | 52 | Stewart Friesen | Halmar International Toyota | 134 | 0 | Toyota Tundra |
| 23 | 14 | 38 | Zane Smith | Love's/Speedco Ford | 134 | 0 | Ford F-150 |
| 24 | 29 | 56 | Tyler Hill | LeithCars.com Toyota | 134 | 0 | Toyota Tundra |
| 25 | 31 | 22 | Mason Maggio | ACE Hardware Rock Hill Ford | 134 | 0 | Ford F-150 |
| 26 | 36 | 30 | Ryan Vargas | Rangeline Group Toyota | 134 | 0 | Toyota Tundra |
| 27 | 1 | 15 | Tanner Gray | Black's Tire Toyota | 133 | 3 | Toyota Tundra |
| 28 | 35 | 16 | Tyler Ankrum | LiUNA! Toyota | 132 | 0 | Toyota Tundra |
| 29 | 27 | 33 | Josh Reaume | JAG Metals LLC Ford | 131 | 0 | Ford F-150 |
| 30 | 28 | 20 | Matt Mills | J.F. Electric Chevrolet | 131 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 31 | 25 | 12 | Spencer Boyd | Derm Dude Chevrolet | 131 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 32 | 23 | 2 | Kris Wright | F.N.B. Corporation Chevrolet | 130 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 33 | 21 | 13 | Hailie Deegan | Ford Performance Ford | 128 | 0 | Ford F-150 |
| 34 | 32 | 90 | Justin Carroll | Carroll's Automotive/Duratain Toyota | 122 | 0 | Toyota Tundra |
| 35 | 30 | 46 | Armani Williams | Blue Sprig/Hedgehog Health Toyota | 65 | 0 | Toyota Tundra |
| 36 | 33 | 34 | Keith McGee | JAG Metals LLC Ford | 20 | 0 | Ford F-150 |
# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time
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Comments
this series is a joke , it’s not ford powered
Why do you guys insist on pushing a series that features 100% General Motors engines. The heart of any racing vehicle is the engine. This is more of a feather in the cap for GM than Ford.