Rhodes survives chaotic finale for second Truck Series title; Eckes wins at Phoenix

In a finale that came down to the survival of the fittest, Ben Rhodes withstood a series of late caution periods and on-track carnages that involved his three championship rivals, including himself during the next-to-last restart, to capture his second NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship in the Craftsman 150 at Phoenix Raceway on Friday, November 3, that was won by Christian Eckes.

The 2021 Truck Series champion from Louisville, Kentucky, rolled off the starting grid from sixth place and managed to remain within title contention as he achieved top-10 results during both stage break periods while rallying from a slow pit stop before the second stage. Restarting within the top 20 at the start of the final stage period, an opportunity for the title presented itself for Rhodes after title rivals Corey Heim and Carson Hocevar made contact that resulted in Hocevar spinning Heim as Heim plummeted below the leaderboard. During the ensuing restart with 26 laps remaining, Rhodes, who restarted ninth, muscled his way past Hocevar to assume the lead in the championship battle.

Amid more late caution periods that sent the field into four overtime attempts, among which involved title rival Grant Enfinger making a pit stop for fresh tires after making contact on the track during the first overtime attempt and Rhodes sustaining damage to his truck after hitting and sending the leader Zane Smith for a spin during the second overtime attempt, Rhodes managed to retain the lead in the championship battle and fend off a final lap charge from Enfinger to clinch his second series title by finishing in fifth place, one spot ahead of Enfinger, as Eckes concluded the season by winning the finale.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, championship contender Corey Heim started in the pole position after posting a lap at 136.654 mph in 26.344 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Ty Majeski, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 136.571 mph in 26.360 seconds. Heim’s title rivals, Ben Rhodes, Carson Hocevar and Grant Enfinger started sixth, 13th and 17th, respectively.

Prior to the event, Stefan Parsons dropped to the rear of the field in a backup truck after wrecking his primary truck during Thursday’s practice session.

When the green flag waved and the finale started, Heim and Majeski dueled for the lead as the field fanned out to three and four lanes through the dogleg and the frontstretch before navigating through Turns 1 and 2. With rookie Nick Sanchez trying to make a three-wide move for the lead, Majeski managed to muscle ahead from the outside lane as he proceeded to lead the first lap ahead of Heim.

During the second lap, Majeski retained the lead ahead of Heim while title contender Ben Rhodes muscled his way up to third place in front of Sanchez, Zane Smith and Chase Purdy while Christian Eckes and Jesse Love pursued. Amid the early on-track battles, Majeski was leading by half a second over Heim while third-place Rhodes trailed by more than a second.

Then on the fourth lap, the first caution of the finale flew after Stewart Friesen, who was running 16th, spun entering Turn 4 after getting hit by Derek Kraus, which resulted in Friesen sliding his sideways truck up the track as Hailie Deegan slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting Friesen.

When the race restarted on the ninth lap, Rhodes attempted to make a move in between Heim and Majeski for the lead as the field fanned out through the frontstretch’s dogleg and the first two turns. As the field jostled for early spots through the backstretch, Majeski managed to fend off Heim entering Turn 4 to retain the lead to sole possession and with both lanes under his control. With Majeski leading, Heim retained second ahead of Rhodes while Sanchez and Chase Purdy were in the top five. Shortly after, Taylor Gray moved into the top five over Purdy followed by Zane Smith while title contenders Carson Hocevar and Grant Enfinger were in eighth and 10th, respectively. Amid the battles, Majeski retained the lead by nine-tenths over Heim and less than two seconds over Rhodes by the Lap 15 mark.

Through the Lap 20 mark, Majeski was leading by more than a second over Heim while third-place Rhodes trailed by more than three seconds. Behind, Sanchez and Zane Smith were in the top five ahead of Purdy, Taylor Gray, Eckes, Hocevar and Enfinger while Rajah Caruth, Jack Wood, Jake Garcia, Jesse Love and Jake Drew were running in the top 15. Meanwhile, Tanner Gray occupied 16th place ahead of Matt Crafton, Daniel Dye, Dean Thompson and Bayley Currey while Friesen was up in 21st. In addition, Deegan was mired back in 32nd behind Marco Andretti while Tyler Ankrum was in 28th.

Ten laps later, Majeski increased his advantage to more than two seconds over runner-up Heim and by more than four seconds over third-place Rhodes while Hocevar and Enfinger were running eighth and ninth, respectively. Majeski would stabilize his advantage to more than a second over Heim by the Lap 35 mark. By then, Zane Smith overtook Rhodes for third place followed by Sanchez while Hocevar and Enfinger remained in eighth and ninth, respectively.

When the first stage period concluded on Lap 45, Majeski claimed his seventh Truck stage victory of the 2023 season. Title contender Heim settled in second followed by Zane Smith, Rhodes and Sanchez while Purdy, Eckes, Hocevar, Enfinger and Taylor Gray were scored in the top 10.

Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Majeski pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Heim exited first and emerged with the lead while Majeski, Zane Smith, Hocevar, Taylor Gray and Eckes followed suit. Behind, Rhodes and Enfinger exited pit road 11th and 12th, respectively. Amid the pit stops, Tanner Gray was penalized for speeding on pit road. In addition, Sanchez would pit for a second time prior to the restart.

The second stage period started on Lap 53 as Heim and Majeski occupied the front row. At the start, Heim dueled with Majeski through the dogleg before muscling ahead entering Turn 1 from the outside lane as he led entering the backstretch. With Heim leading both the race and the championship battle, Majeski fell back to second followed by Zane Smith while Hocevar was in fourth followed by Taylor Gray and Eckes with Jake Garcia and Enfinger following suit. Two laps later, the caution returned after Chris Hacker and Marco Andretti, both of whom were running towards the rear of the field, wrecked in Turn 3.

Once the carnage was cleared amid an extensive caution period, the race restarted on Lap 64. At the start, Heim and Zane Smith dueled for the lead as the field fanned out through the dogleg before entering Turns 1 and 2. With the field still fanned out through the backstretch, Heim managed to muscle away from Smith and maintain the lead from the outside lane while Majeski tried to close in on Zane Smith for the runner-up spot. During the following lap, Majeski overtook Smith for the runner-up spot while Enfinger trailed in fourth place ahead of Garcia, Taylor Gray, Eckes and Hocevar as Rhodes, who endured a slow pit stop during the first stage break period, was mired back in 11th.

Just past the Lap 70 mark, Heim was leading by seven-tenths of a second over Majeski while third-place Zane Smith trailed by more than a second. Behind, title contender Enfinger retained fourth place ahead of Garcia, Taylor Gray and Eckes while Hocevar and Rhodes were mired back in eighth and 10th, respectively. Heim would retain the lead by a second over Majeski by the Lap 75 mark while his title rivals Enfinger, Hocevar and Rhodes continued to trail in fourth, eighth and 10th, respectively.

Shortly after, the caution flew after Tyler Hill spun and wrecked in Turn 2. During the caution period, a majority of the field led by Garcia pitted while the rest led by Heim and including Majeski, Zane Smith, Enfinger, Taylor Gray, Rhodes, Jesse Love and Stefan Parsons remained on the track.

With the race restarting on Lap 82, Heim fended off Majeski and Enfinger through the dogleg and entering the first two turns to retain the lead and maintain control of both lanes through the backstretch. With Heim still leading, Zane Smith moved back into second followed by Majeski, Taylor and Eckes while Enfinger fell back to sixth as he was battling Rhodes to maintain the spot. Amid the battles, Heim stabilized his advantage to two-tenths of a second over Zane just past the Lap 85 mark.

When the second stage period concluded on Lap 90, title contender Heim captured his series-leading eighth Truck stage victory of the 2023 season. Zane Smith settled in a close second place followed by Majeski, Eckes and Taylor Gray while Rhodes, Purdy, Enfinger, Garcia and Hocevar were scored in the top 10.

During the stage break, some led by Heim and including Rhodes and Enfinger pitted while the rest led by Eckes and including Hocevar remained on the track.

With 51 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced under green as Eckes and Purdy occupied the front row. At the start, Eckes rocketed away from the outside lane as the field fanned out through the dogleg and the first two turns. With the field still fanned out through the backstretch and through Turns 3 and 4, Eckes retained the lead over teammate Garcia while Sanchez, Purdy and Friesen trailed in the top five. By then, Hocevar was trying to make his way into the top five from sixth while Heim, Enfinger and Rhodes trailed within the top 15.

Two laps later, the caution returned after Connor Jones and Jake Drew wrecked in Turn 3, with Jones colliding into Drew and sending both hard against the outside SAFER Barrier while battling for 15th place, as Deegan spun to avoid the carnage.

During the following restart with 41 laps remaining, Eckes and Sanchez dueled for the lead until Sanchez motored ahead through the backstretch. With Eckes fighting back on the outside lane, he managed to motor past Sanchez through Turns 3 and 4 and reassume the lead. With Eckes back out in front over Sanchez, Garcia was in third ahead of Zane Smith and Friesen while Hocevar was the highest-running title contender in sixth place. Meanwhile, Heim was in 10th in front of Enfinger while Rhodes was mired back within the top 15.

With 35 laps remaining, Eckes was leading by half a second over Sanchez followed by Garcia, Zane and Friesen while Hocevar retained sixth ahead of a hard-charging Heim. Meanwhile, Enfinger and Rhodes were in 11th and 12th while Purdy, Crafton and Majeski occupied the top 10.

Three laps later, Heim overtook Hocevar for sixth place on the track through Turns 1 and 2 and reassumed the lead in the championship battle. A lap later, however, Hocevar made contact with Heim and sent Heim’s No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro spinning into Friesen as the latter two wrecked in Turn 2, with Friesen damaging his rear bumper after hitting the wall. The incident left Hocevar frustrated and placing blame on himself over the contact while Heim managed to continue without hitting the wall as he pitted for fresh tires.

With the race restarting with 25 laps remaining, Sanchez fired off with the lead from the outside lane while Hocevar, who nearly got turned at the start, was being fanned out by Eckes and Majeski through the dogleg as the field behind fanned out entering the first two turns. Amid the restart and with the field still fanning out, Rhodes overtook Hocevar from the outside lane on the track as Sanchez and Zane Smith made contact against one another and towards the outside wall through the backstretch. Amid the chaos, Sanchez maintained the lead ahead of Zane Smith followed by Eckes, Majeski and Rhodes while Enfinger made his way into the top six. Meanwhile, Hocevar was plummeting in the leaderboard as Rhodes occupied the lead in the title fight while running in fourth place on the track. Then with 23 laps remaining, Zane Smith overtook Sanchez for the lead entering the frontstretch with Eckes following in second place. Behind, Rhodes was in fourth, one spot ahead of a hard-charging Enfinger, while Heim and Hocevar were mired back in 13th and 18th, respectively.

Then with 21 laps remaining, the caution flew for a multi-truck wreck that erupted in Turn 3 and involved Currey, Daniel Dye and Stefan Parsons. The carnage was enough to place the event in a red flag period during the following lap. By then, Rhodes was leading the title fight in third place, one spot ahead of Enfinger, while Heim and Hocevar were mired back in 11th and 18th, respectively, as Zane Smith was scored the race leader.

Nearly 12 minutes later, the red flag lifted and the field returned under a cautious pace. During the caution period, some including Hocevar pitted while the rest led by Zane Smith remained on the track.

As the race restarted with 15 laps remaining, Zane Smith and Eckes dueled for the lead through the dogleg as the field fanned out. Amid the battles, Smith fended off Eckes entering the backstretch to assume the lead. During the following lap, Smith was leading Eckes while Enfinger was in third place and leading Rhodes for the championship. Behind, Heim moved back up to seventh behind Purdy and Jesse Love while Hocevar was mired back in 19th.

Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Zane Smith was leading the race by a second over Eckes while Enfinger was running third, but leading the championship battle in front of Rhodes, as Heim climbed up to sixth. By then, Hocevar was mired back in 14th.

With five laps remaining, Zane Smith continued to lead the race by more than two seconds over Eckes while Enfinger, who retained third place, continued to lead the title fight ahead of Rhodes as Heim trailed in sixth place. Meanwhile, Hocevar climbed up to 10th place.

A lap later, the caution flew when Heim, who was running seventh and had Hocevar making a move to his outside for position, went up the track and sent Hocevar into the outside wall in Turn 2 in retaliation from their earlier on-track incident that sent Heim spinning. In this recent incident, Hocevar, who collided into the outside wall amid the contact with Heim, limped his damaged No. 42 Worldwide Express Chevrolet Silverado RST up against the wall while Heim was hit on the driver’s side by teammate Taylor Gray, thus leaving both championship contenders with wrecked trucks. By then and with the race sent into overtime, Zane Smith was still leading the overall race followed by Eckes while Enfinger and Rhodes, both of whom were running third and fourth, were the lone two title contenders left to battle for the title amongst one another.

At the start of the first overtime attempt, Eckes and Zane Smith dueled for the lead as Rhodes tried to thread the middle. With the field still fanning out through Turn 2, Rhodes overtook Enfinger on the track and boosted his way to second place as he challenged Zane Smith for the lead. Amid the field still fanned out through the backstretch, the caution returned and the event was sent into a second overtime attempt after Kraus wrecked in Turn 3 after getting hit by Sanchez. By then, Rhodes settled in second behind Zane while Enfinger, who made contact with Eckes entering the backstretch before he got hit by Love and sent up the track in Turn 3, fell back to ninth. During the caution period, Enfinger pitted his No. 23 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet Silverado RST for fresh tires and repairs amid the contact as his title hopes were placed in jeopardy.

At the start of the second overtime attempt, Zane Smith briefly muscled ahead from Eckes through the dogleg until Smith, who missed a shift to fourth gear and quickly fell off the pace, was hit hard in the rear by an oncoming Rhodes as Rhodes turned Smith, who was T-boned by Crafton and Jack Wood through the frontstretch, while Rhodes escaped with front nose damage to his No. 99 Kubota Ford F-150 as he fell back to sixth place, but remained on the track. In the process, Eckes assumed the race lead followed by Purdy and Garcia while the event was sent into a third overtime attempt.

With the event restarting for a third overtime attempt, Chase Purdy muscled ahead of Eckes from the inside lane to assume the lead through the dogleg as the field fanned out through the frontstretch. Shortly after, the caution quickly returned and the event was sent into a fourth overtime attempt after Majeski, who was running towards the front, got turned by Jesse Love through the frontstretch. Amid Majeski’s spin, teammate Matt Crafton spun while trying to avoid carnage as Sean Hingorani, Zane Smith, Colby Howard and Tyler Hill wrecked in the process. At the moment of caution, Purdy was leading Eckes while Rhodes was in sixth. Meanwhile, Enfinger was mired in 17th as he remained within close distance of Rhodes for the title.

During the fourth overtime attempt, Eckes muscled his No. 19 NAPA Chevrolet Silverado RST ahead of Purdy’s No. 4 Bama Buggies Chevrolet Silverado RST from the outside lane as he reassumed the lead through the first two turns. With the field fanning out, Enfinger charged his way back into the top 10 and had his eyes on Rhodes, who was battling Kaden Honeycutt and Jesse Love for a spot within the top five.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Eckes remained as the leader over teammate Jake Garcia and Purdy while Rhodes retained the lead in the championship battle by three spots over a hard-charging Enfinger. Even as Tyler Ankrum wrecked entering Turns 3 and 4, the race remained under green flag conditions. Through the dogleg, Rhodes was battling Honeycutt for fifth place, though he remained ahead of Enfinger, who was trying to fend off Sanchez, Dean Thompson and Tanner Gray for spots. Then entering the backstretch, Enfinger, who was still trying to overtake Tanner Gray, had Rhodes in front of him for a final opportunity to snatch the title away from the former. As Enfinger stepped on the gas and tried to get to Rhodes’ No. 99 rear bumper to get Rhodes loose entering Turns 3 and 4, he was unable to make physical contact to get Rhodes loose. With Enfinger sliding up the track, Rhodes was able to step back on the gas and fend off Enfinger for a final turn to streak across the finish line in fifth place and win his second Truck Series championship.

With his accomplishment, Rhodes, who won his first title in 2021, joined Ron Hornaday Jr., Jack Sprague, Todd Bodine and Matt Crafton as the only competitors to achieve multiple Truck Series championships as he became the first competitor to repeat as a champion since teammate Crafton won his third title in 2019. He also delivered the fifth driver’s championship and the second owner’s title for ThorSport Racing while crew chief Rich Lushes, who reunited with Rhodes midway into the 2023 season and who won the 2021 title with Rhodes, captured his second title as a crew chief.

In total, Rhodes, who barely transferred through the Rounds of 10 and 8 to make this year’s Championship 4 by a narrow margin, capped off his second championship-winning season with a victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, seven top-five results and 14 top-10 results throughout the 23-race schedule.