Ben Rhodes' race recap within the 2026 Chase race at Martinsville

Ben Rhodes delivered one in all his strongest performances of the 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Sequence season Friday, ending second within the Black's Tire 200 at Martinsville Speedway. The ThorSport Racing driver began fourth and remained aggressive all through the 200-lap occasion earlier than narrowly lacking his first victory of the season.

Rhodes established himself among the many main contenders early, working behind Layne Riggs and Tristan McKee throughout the opening stage. He completed fourth in Stage 1 and repeated that lead to Stage 2, amassing precious championship factors.

Though Rhodes skilled braking considerations throughout the second stage, his No. 99 Ford remained aggressive. He continued battling close to the entrance as a number of accidents and restarts disrupted the ultimate stage.

Rhodes capitalized on the decisive restart with 12 laps remaining when Riggs struggled to keep up momentum. He handed the No. 34 Ford for second place and tried to shut the hole to Chandler Smith however in the end completed 0.574 seconds behind the winner.

The runner-up end earned Rhodes 49 factors and moved him up one place to seventh within the championship standings with 2,217 factors. Nevertheless, his 186-point deficit to Kaden Honeycutt mathematically eradicated him from championship rivalry coming into the Homestead-Miami finale.

This text initially appeared on Motorsports Wire: e