Ben Rhodes bookends NASCAR Trucks Series season with championship

Live updates for this race have concluded. See below for a recap of the NASCAR’s Truck Series race at Phoenix.

NASCAR’s Truck Series races tonight at Phoenix Raceway. The Lucas Oil 150 race is at 8 p.m. on FS1.

The race is 150 miles (150 laps) with stages ending on laps 45, 90 and 150.

Follow along here for lap-by-lap updates. Refresh this page for the latest updates and follow NASCAR reporter Alex Andrejev on Twitter at @AndrejevAlex for coverage of NASCAR’s Championship Race Weekend at Phoenix.

NASCAR Truck Series race results

(P) indicates playoff driver, # indicates rookie

Ben Rhodes bookends Trucks season with first championship

Ben Rhodes ended the 2021 Truck Series season how he started it: With a trophy. Rhodes won the first two races of the season, at the Daytona oval and the Daytona road course, and then he won a championship with a third place finish Friday.

“That was the hardest last 40 laps I think I have ever driven in my life,” Rhodes said. “I was doing things to the race car I probably shouldn’t have been doing. It was dumb, but I had everything to lose, and we brought it home and won it.”

Rhodes’ big move came in the final 10 laps of the race. With eight laps to go in the 150 lap event, he surged ahead of Championship 4 contender Zane Smith, making slight contact on Smith’s left rear as Smith lost pace. Smith finished second among the championship drivers, and all finished behind race winner Chandler Smith, the series’ rookie of the year. Stewart Friesen finished second.

John Hunter Nemechek, a driver who entered as a championship favorite with five wins on the season, contended that he had the fastest truck of the night and could have won the race with more time. But early issues plagued Nemechek when he went into the wall early, then cut a tire within the first 10 laps. He spent the first two stages trying to get back on the lead lap by passing Kyle Busch Motorsports teammate Smith, who won the opening two stages.

“I have probably one of the fastest trucks tonight,” Nemechek said. “Nothing to show for it.”

For much of the final stage, Smith looked like he could park his No. 21 GMS truck in Victory Lane, but the long run speed wasn’t there. He said his truck got tight and wouldn’t turn while Rhodes gained on him, made the winning pass, and held the lead ahead of the others for the final laps to clinch his first Truck Series champion.

Matt Crafton, the fourth championship driver, finished 12th, but seemed to relish Rhodes’ win in part. He said that he gave Rhodes advice earlier in his career, especially regarding preserving his equipment.

“It’s a lot easier to slow him down than speed him up,” Crafton said.

Rhodes was able to do that just enough on Friday when it mattered most. He has five race wins in 141 starts in the Truck Series, and now, a championship trophy.

“Bookends for the season,” Rhodes said.

Final Stage

9:46 p.m., Lap 150: Ben Rhodes will win the 2021 NASCAR Truck Series championship for the first time in his career, finishing third in the race behind Chander Smith and Stewart Friesen. “Bookends for the season,” said Rhodes on FS1. He was the race winner at Daytona to open the year. Championship 4 drivers Zane Smith finishes fifth, John Hunter Nemechek finished seventh and Matt Crafton finishes 12th. Smith is the Truck Series rookie of the year.

9:41 p.m., Lap 146: Chandler Smith, Stewart Friesen and Sheldon Creed are the front runners, but wait, Ben Rhodes moves up to third by Creed within four laps to go. Jordan Anderson has some slight contact, but not caution..coming to the white flag...

9:40 p.m., Lap 142: Ben Rhodes moves by Zane Smith with slight contact on the left rear of Smith’s truck. Smith gets loose, but corrects it without spinning. Not before losing the spot to Rhodes though. Rhodes is up to fourth.

9:35 p.m., Lap 133: Zane Smith leads the Championship 4 trucks. Chandler Smith has moved by Sheldon Creed, driving low inside Creed to get the position.

9:34 p.m., Lap 127: John Hunter Nemechek is saying that there’s debris on the track, obviously hoping for a caution. He’s moved past Crafton, but the laps are winding down and Nemechek is sitting in 11th. Sheldon Creed is out front with 20 laps to go.

9:29 p.m., Lap 120: Zane Smith is in fourth with Ben Rhodes in fifth about a second apart. Matt Crafton and John Hunter Nemechek are in positions 11 and 12.

9:25 p.m., Lap 111: Zane Smith powers past Ben Rhodes and is exchanging the lead with Stewart Friesen in second. John Hunter Nemechek is up to 15th, and gaining pace. He’s aiming to make it to the front of the pack before the race is over. Nemechek has another set of tires, as he didn’t take any on the last stop.

9:20 p.m., Lap 103: John Hunter Nemechek pits under the caution and will come out running 22nd after restarting 24th. Sheldon Creed lines upon the inside with Stewart Friesen again on the outside for this restart.

9:13 p.m., Lap 100: Sheldon Creed moves to the outside after the restart as the caution comes out for Tate Fogleman. John Hunter Nemechek is in free pass position. Get ready for another restart with just fewer than 50 laps to go.

9:10 p.m., Lap 94: Stewart Friesen picks up three spots on pit road. He’s the first truck off, followed by Chandler Smith and Sheldon Creed. Ben Rhodes is the first playoff driver in the running and is in fourth.

Stage 2

9:06 p.m., Lap 90: Chandler Smith sweeps both stages for the first time in his career. John Hunter Nemechek is still stuck a lap down as a result of Smith moving to the lead. Ben Rhodes finishes the stage in third. Zane Smith is sixth with Matt Crafton in eighth.

9:03 p.m., Lap 85: With five laps to go in this stage, Chandler Smith surges to second. Matt Crafton is in eighth and struggling with his truck balance, saying that he can’t stay on the throttle on exit.

9 p.m., Lap 80: The lights have gone down at Phoenix. Chandler Smith is up to second and he’s just 0.2 seconds back on race leader Sheldon Creed.

8:57 p.m., Lap 73: John Hunter Nemechek is trying to climb back to the lead lap after the earlier flat. He’s one lap down. Ben Rhodes continues to race in second behind Sheldon Creed. While Matt Crafton and Zane Smith are in the top 10.

8:49 p.m., Lap 55: Sheldon Creed leads after the restart. Creed won last year’s championship race at Phoenix but isn’t in the Championship 4 this year. Ben Rhodes has moves up to second. Ty Dillon brushes the wall, but the race stays green.

Stage 1

8:39 p.m., Lap 47: Chandler Smith wins the first stage. Sheldon Creed falls to second before the green-and-white checkered flag and that’s where he’ll finish the stage. Ben Rhodes is fifth. Matt Crafton is in seventh and Zane Smith is in ninth. Nemechek finished in 30th. There are 27 trucks on the lead lap.

8:29 p.m., Lap 26: Sheldon Creed continues to lead after the restart. Chandler Smith and Todd Gilliland follow. John Hunter Nemechek is back in 34th.

8:19 p.m., Lap 12: The first caution of the race is out for Lawless Alan going for a spin. John Hunter Nemechek will get the free pass. Sheldon Creed is the leader.

8:16 p.m, Lap 7: Big trouble for John Hunter Nemechek! He has a flat tire and comes down pit road after already sitting in the bottom-20. Trouble early for a Championship 4 contender.

8:14 p.m., Lap 4: John Hunter Nemechek is off pace early but back up to speed. He brushed the wall on the first lap of the race and is running in 23rd.

Pre-race

8:11 p.m.: Enignes are fired and the Trucks are making pace laps as the sun is slowly setting.

7:58 p.m.: The No. 26 truck will drop to the rear for unapproved adjustments and tires. The Nos. 3, 04 and 13 trucks will also drop to the rear for missing driver introductions.

Xfinity Series qualifying results

John Hunter Nemechek runs the fastest practice lap at 125.909 miles per hour. Championship 4 drivers Austin Cindric, Daniel Hemric and Noah Gragson follow in that order with A.J. Allmendinger finishing the practice in seventh.

Truck Series qualifying results

Non-Championship 4 driver Chandler Smith will start on the pole for tonight’s race at Phoenix with Sheldon Creed in the front row following the NASCAR Truck Series qualifying session. Smith earned the pole with a qualifying speed of 136.576 miles per hour. Todd Gilliland and Ben Rhodes follow in the second row. Matt Crafton will start fifth. Zane Smith will start 13th and John Hunter Nemechek will start 16th.

Cup practice results

Kyle Larson posted the fastest speed at practice (135.293 mph) of the Championship 4 Cup Series drivers. Brad Keselowski, a non-championship driver, posted the fastest lap (135.384 mph). Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. are the other Championship 4 drivers. Ryan Blaney had the best 10 consecutive lap average, followed by Larson and Elliott.

Who are the Championship 4 Truck Series drivers?

For NASCAR’s Truck Series, the championship 4 drivers are Zane Smith, Ben Rhodes, Matt Crafton and John Hunter Nemechek. Smith won last weekend’s race at Martinsville to secure a spot in the final race. Todd Gilliland topped Trucks practice earlier today with a speed of 135.844 miles per hour. Chandler Smith posted the best 10 consecutive lap average with an average speed of 132.101 miles per hour. The starting lineup will be determined based on qualifying results this afternoon.

How to watch NASCAR Trucks at Phoenix

• Race: Lucas Oil 150
• Place: Phoenix Raceway
• Date: Friday, November 5
• Time: 8 p.m. ET
• TV: FS1, 7 p.m. ET
• Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
• Distance: 150 miles (150 laps with stages ending on laps 45, 90 and 150
• Purse: $908,369

This story was originally published November 5, 2021 at 5:10 PM.

Alexandra Andrejev

The Charlotte Observer

NASCAR and Charlotte FC beat reporter Alex Andrejev joined The Observer in January 2020 following an internship at The Washington Post. She is a two-time APSE award winner for her NASCAR beat coverage and National Motorsports Press Association award winner. She is the host of McClatchy’s podcast “Payback” about women’s soccer. Support my work with a digital subscription