Rhodes Scores First Truck Win

Rhodes celebrates in Victory Lane. (Photo: Getty Images)

Race Results | Playoff Standings

Playoff contender Ben Rhodes held off a hard-charging Christopher Bell to score his first career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win in Saturday night's Las Vegas 350 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Rhodes got the jump on the race’s final restart and then held off a furious charge from Bell to the checkered flag.
 
“I used every play in my playbook,” Rhodes said. “That was the most nervous thing I’ve ever done in my life. This is the biggest high of my life. I just never thought it would come after so many things went wrong, and now it did.” 
 
The ThorSport Racing driver had come close to winning before but wasn’t able to seal the deal until Saturday night.
 
“I never thought it would come,” he said.  “It seemed like every time we were there something would happen and our 27 Safelite Toyota Tundra was on point tonight. We might not have been the fastest truck, but we pulled it off at the end and it matters. We’re in the round of six now and we are going to Homestead. This team just showed that it deserves to be in the playoffs after it’s been so close.”
 
Rhodes joins Bell, who won last week’s playoff season opener at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, in moving on to Round 2.
 
“That was some intense racing right there,” Bell said. “Really happy for Ben, he’s been long overdue for that win. He earned it tonight.”
 
Chase Briscoe, Austin Cindric and Kaz Grala rounded out the top five.

Cody Coughlin, Matt Crafton, John Hunter Nemechek, Grant Enfinger and Johnny Sauter completed the first 10 finishers.
 
Several drivers had rough nights including Nemechek, who was ahead late in the race but was out of sequence with the leaders and forced to pit road for fuel. But he wasn’t able to re-fire his truck immediately after getting service and wound up stalling twice.
 
There was a big accident early in the race when Cindric got into the rear of Sauter and collected several trucks including Grala’s. 
 
The Camping World Truck Series returns to action in two weeks with the final race of the first round at Talladega Superspeedway and the Fred’s 250.