Rhodes Doubles at Daytona

(DAYTONA BEACH, FL – FEB 19, 2021 – RIS) Ben Rhodes came back to Daytona after winning last week’s Camping World Truck Series race with hopes of giving Toyota the manufacturer’s 200th series win, his second win in two weeks at the speedway and another win for ThorSport Racing after the team changed manufacturers between seasons. Despite starting on a wet track after heavy rain in the afternoon with rain tires mounted and windshield wipers going, the race ran fairly smoothly until the third stage, with triple restarts at the end but Rhodes held on for his fifth series victory. “It’s unbelievable. I don’t have words for it,” he said. “I don’t even know what to say. This is so cool. I just have to thank my team. The Bombardier Tundra was fast all day. ThorSport Racing gave me a truck that handled this year and we were fast. Rich (Luches) is a really good crew chief. It’s good to be paired up with him and all of the guys on my team. I’m just thrilled. I don’t know what to say. I’ve been on cloud nine all week, so it’s above that. I’m just so happy.”

A restart with three laps to go saw leader and last week’s winner Ben Rhodes leading by the green flag but Sheldon Creed out-braked him into the right-hander in the infield road course before two trucks spun and stalled, both Chandler Smith and Tanner Gray needing tows to clear the track, leading to an overtime finish. Cred locked his brakes in the restart and fell back, Rhodes opening a healthy lead with Herbst, Craton and Nemechek following before Nemechek powered his way into third on the back straight before Austin Wayne Self got spun exiting the ‘bus stop’ chicane and Jett Noland got spun to bring out the race’s eighth caution and second overtime restart.

A multi-truck spin in mid-pack brought out yet another caution, leading to the third overtime when Jennifer Jo Cobb couldn’t restart her truck to continue. Rhodes made a good restart, chased closely by Sheldon Creed but Creed seemed to overdrive the bus stop chicane slightly, allowing Rhodes to have a comfortable edge approaching the finish. 

“We did the sweep,” added Rhodes following the race. “I didn’t know that there was a sweep possible at Daytona, but we did it. I don’t know what to say. This Bombardier Tundra was fast from the get-go. Starting on the pole, I knew that if we just played it safe, if I gave up the lead – I didn’t care about the laps led, none of that stuff. We didn’t need an ego, we needed to win the race. We played it smart all day. The rain was so fun. I prayed for the rain before the race and we got it. I just wish it had stayed the whole time because we were making so much hay once I got the handling down on it. I honestly didn’t want it to go dry, but I guess I’m glad that it did because it worked out okay.

“It was the most stressful race of my life for sure. There’s been stressful races, but this was really stressful. I thought it was going to be taken away from us for sure. I’m not sure if they showed me throwing my hands up, I hope they didn’t. Hope they didn’t listen to the radio either. I was a little frustrated. Gosh, it all worked out now. So stressful, so stressful. I don’t think I’ve had one that stressful before.

“So cool. 200 wins for Toyota, I’m so proud to be able to get that for them. You always want to be the guy that delivers for people and I’m glad that I could be the delivery man. That’s so cool. Toyota, they’ve given so much support to us. I think that’s a big reason why we’ve been in victory lane both weeks.”

Unofficial Results: BrakeBest Brake Pads 159 at Daytona Presented by O’Reilly - February 19, 2021

Fin, Str, Driver, Trk, Laps, St1, St2, Pts, Status, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts
1) 1, Ben Rhodes, No. 99 Bombardier LearJet 75 Toyota, 51, 2, , 49, Running, 2, 13, 5
2) 5, Sheldon Creed, No. 2 Chevy Silverado Chevrolet, 51, 9, 8, 40, Running, 3, 17, 
3) 4, John Hunter Nemechek, No. 4 Mobil 1 Toyota, 51, 1, , 44, Running, 1, 14, 1
4) 32, Todd Gilliland, No. 38 Frontline Enterprises Inc. Ford, 51, , 5, 39, Running, , , 
5) 25, Riley Herbst(i), No. 17 Factory Canopies Ford, 51, 10, , 0, Running, 1, 1, 
6) 9, Matt Crafton, No. 88 Black Label Bacon/Menards Toyota, 51, 6, 6, 41, Running, , , 
7) 31, Derek Kraus, No. 19 NAPA Auto Care Toyota, 51, , , 30, Running, , , 
8) 24, Kaz Grala(i), No. 02 Young’s Building Systems Chevrolet, 51, , 2, 0, Running, , , 
9) 34, Timmy Hill(i), No. 56  Chevrolet, 51, , , 0, Running, , , 
10) 16, Christian Eckes, No. 98 ProtectTheHarvest.com Toyota, 51, , , 27, Running, , , 
11) 30, Stewart Friesen, No. 52 Halmar International Toyota, 51, , , 26, Running, 1, 1, 
12) 8, Chandler Smith #, No. 18 JBL Toyota, 51, 3, , 33, Running, , , 
13) 37, Camden Murphy, No. 8 WRECKFESTGAME.com Chevrolet, 51, , , 24, Running, , , 
14) 3, Carson Hocevar #, No. 42 The Shores Resort & Spa Chevrolet, 51, , , 23, Running, , , 
15) 14, Austin Wayne Self, No. 22 AM Technical Solutions Chevrolet, 51, , 4, 29, Running, , , 
16) 7, Codie Rohrbaugh, No. 9 Grant County Mulch Chevrolet, 51, , , 21, Running, , , 
17) 38, Dawson Cram, No. 41 MCI Magnum Contracting Chevrolet, 51, , , 20, Running, , , 
18) 19, Johnny Sauter, No. 13 Vivitar/RealTree Toyota, 51, 7, , 23, Running, , , 
19) 28, Tate Fogleman, No. 12 Solid Rock Carriers Chevrolet, 51, , , 18, Running, , , 
20) 33, Tanner Gray, No. 15 Ford Performance Ford, 51, , 10, 18, Running, , , 
21) 26, Tyler Ankrum, No. 26 LiUNA! Chevrolet, 51, , , 16, Running, , , 
22) 29, Chase Purdy #, No. 23 BamaBuggies.com Chevrolet, 51, , 9, 17, Running, , , 
23) 22, Parker Chase, No. 51 Vertical Bridge Toyota, 51, , , 14, Running, , , 
24) 27, Timothy Peters, No. 25 Rackley Roofing Chevrolet, 51, , , 13, Running, , , 
25) 21, Brett Moffitt, No. 45 Niece Chevrolet, 51, 4, , 19, Running, , , 
26) 12, Raphael Lessard, No. 24 CANAC Chevrolet, 51, , 1, 21, Running, 1, 5, 1
27) 13, Bobby Reuse, No. 3 I Heart Mac & Cheese Chevrolet, 50, , , 10, Running, , , 
28) 23, Hailie Deegan #, No. 1 Monster Ford, 50, , 7, 13, Running, , , 
29) 35, Jett Noland, No. 44 Hype Motorsports Chevrolet, 49, , , 8, Accident, , , 
30) 15, Danny Bohn, No. 30 North American Motor Car Toyota, 49, , , 7, Running, , , 
31) 2, Ryan Truex, No. 40 Jacob Companies Chevrolet, 48, 5, , 12, Running, , , 
32) 39, Norm Benning, No. 6 MDF A Sign Company Chevrolet, 48, , , 5, Running, , , 
33) 20, Austin Hill, No. 16 SiriusXM Toyota, 48, 8, , 8, Running, , , 
34) 6, Cory Roper, No. 04 CarQuest Auto Parts Ford, 47, , , 5, Fuel Pressure, , , 
35) 17, Jennifer Jo Cobb, No. 10 Fastener Supply Chevrolet, 47, , , 5, Running, , , 
36) 40, Lawless Alan, No. 34 AUTOPARKIT.com Toyota, 45, , , 5, Running, , , 
37) 36, Sam Mayer, No. 75 Chevy Silverado Chevrolet, 41, , , 5, Accident, , , 
38) 18, Jason White, No. 33 Powder Ventures Excavating Chevrolet, 41, , , 5, Running, , , 
39) 10, Spencer Boyd, No. 20 Credit MRI Chevrolet, 38, , , 5, Transmission, , , 
40) 11, Zane Smith, No. 21 Chevy.com/Accessories Chevrolet, 35, , 3, 13, Accident, , , 
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie

Time: 2 Hrs, 44 Mins, 46 Secs.
Length: 51 Laps - 184.11 Miles
Average Speed: 67.044 MPH
Margin of Victory: Under Caution

Stage 1 Top 10: 4, 99, 18, 45, 40, 88, 13, 16, 2, 17
Stage 2 Top 10: 24, 02, 21, 22, 38, 88, 1, 2, 23, 15

Caution Flags: 10 for 20 laps;
Laps: 10-11 (No. 04 Stopped In Turn 3 [3]);
14-14 (Stage 1 Conclusion [04]);
24-27 (No. 4 Stopped On Backstretch / Stage 2 Conclusion [3]);
32-35 (No. 40, 42 Incident Pit Road Exit [4]);
38-38 (No. 45, 51, 21, 24 Incident Frontstretch [26]);
40-41 (No. 16 Stopped In Turn 9 / No. 20 Stopped In Turn 6 [8]);
43-44 (No. 15, 75 Incident Turn 5 [42]);
46-47 (No. 22, 38 Incident Turn 10 [15]);
49-49 (No. 10 Stopped On Pit Road Entrance [30]);
51-51 (No. 44 Stopped On Frontstretch [None]).

Lead Changes: 9 among 6 drivers;
J. Nemechek 1-14;
S. Creed 15-21;
R. Lessard 22-26;
S. Creed 27-33;
R. Herbst(i) 34;
S. Friesen 35;
B. Rhodes 36-41;
S. Creed 42-44;
B. Rhodes 45-51.

Mobil 1 Driver of the Race:  Ben Rhodes, No. 99
Sunoco Rookie of the Race:  Chandler Smith, No. 18

Comments: Ben Rhodes has won the BrakeBest Brake Pads 159 At DAYTONA Presented by O’Reilly at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course, his fifth victory in the NASCAR Camping  World Truck Series.