TRUCKS: Early contact with Ankrum leads to flat tire, hard hit for Ben Rhodes
by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
SCREENSHOT: FS1
Ben Rhodes picked up the 3rd last-place finish of his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career in Friday’s Buckle Up South Carolina 200 at the Darlington Raceway when his #99 Farm Paint Ford crashed after he completed just 2 of the 157 laps.
The finish, which came in Rhodes’ 239th series start, was his first of the season and first in a Truck Series race since October 3, 2025 on the Charlotte “Roval,” where he also wrecked out after two laps, seven races ago. In the Truck Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 6th for the #99, the 141st for Ford, and the 206th from a crash. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 43rd for the #99, the 1,086th for Ford, and the 1,448th for a crash.
Rhodes’ latest feature on this site was one of three crashes in the season’s final five races, closing out a disappointing season with a 12th-place rank in points, his worst since 2016. Still looking for his first win in three years, Rhodes looked ahead to a significantly different lineup at the ThorSport team. With Matt Crafton stepping away from full-time competition after a quarter-century in the series, Ty Majeski took the controls of his #88 Menards Ford, Jake Garcia moving from the #13 to Majeski’s former #98, and Canadian rookie Cole Butcher taking Garcia’s spot in the #13. The result has been a strong start, at least for Rhodes – after taking 12th in Daytona, he led 70 laps in Atlanta before he came home 4th, then led another 23 in the inaugural St. Petersburg race to take 3rd. This was enough to place him 2nd in points, 34 markers behind leader Chandler Smith.
For Darlington, where Rhodes won in his first start at the track in 2020, his #99 was one of 36 entrants for as many starting spots, and was not among the several teams running a special retro paint scheme for the now unofficial “Throwback Weekend.” He also had a new crew chief in Cale Gale, the same man who beat Kyle Busch in a fender-bending battle to the finish of the Truck Series season finale at Homestead in 2012. In practice, Rhodes ranked 14th with a best time of 30.098 seconds (163.386mph) on his 24th and final lap of the session. His was third from last in the qualifying order, where he secured the 15th starting spot with a speed of 29.300 seconds (167.836mph).
Muniz’ truck in the garage during qualifying. (PHOTO: Matt Miller, @MGMiller17)
Securing the 36th and final starting spot was Frankie Muniz, whose fans selected from four possible “throwback” schemes a #33 Lucid Training Ford that resembled Dave Blaney’s #93 Amoco Pontiac from 1999. Muniz had been the only driver to not turn a lap in qualifying due to a mechanical issue that arose during practice, requiring repairs behind the right-rear wheel. This incurred Muniz a redundant tail-end penalty for unapproved adjustments along with team owner and teammate Josh Reaume, who was to start 31st in a #22 Levack Ford. Reaume’s truck honored the late Michael Annett with a design resembling the #1 American Heart Association / Flying J Chevrolet that Annett drove to victory in the 2019 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season opener in Daytona.
During the pace laps, when Muniz was told why Reaume was dropping to the tail end of the inside line, Muniz remained at the back of the outside line. He watched other drivers swerving to warm up their tires and asked about whether he should do the same. The spotter, who briefly took off his headset to put on his jacket, then told Muniz to set his sights on four other trucks ahead of him, and reminded him the leader would catch the tail end of the field around Lap 15.
When the green flag dropped, Muniz was still in last place, 3.707 seconds back of the lead to Reaume’s 3.669. By Lap 3, Muniz had climbed his way past Caleb Costner, who fielded his own #93 Costner Motorsports Chevrolet for a second time this year, his first since Atlanta. That time by, Costner was 9.523 seconds back of the lead with Reaume still in 35th, Muniz having cleared him as well to take 34th.
Moments later off Turn 4, Rhodes was racing to the outside of Tyler Ankrum, who lined up 18th in the #18 LiUNA! Chevrolet. According to Rhodes, Ankrum appeared to clear himself prematurely, putting Rhodes into the wall. The contact pushed in Rhodes’ left-front fender, so when he entered Turn 1, the fender cut down the left-front tire, putting him into the outside wall. After impact, his right-front tire was also down and starting to come apart. Now in last place, an angered Rhodes said his truck was “done,” the motor mounts knocked out of alignment, and called for a wrecker to hook him up. But the team said “If we tow, we’re done.” The crew then directed Rhodes to make it back to his stall, where they would attempt repairs. But the crew didn’t know how much time they had on the “Crash Clock.” By Lap 6, the FS1 broadcast showed Rhodes’ truck being towed behind the wall with the driver having climbed out. Though done for the night, NASCAR didn’t declare Rhodes out until Lap 114.
Rhodes towed behind the wall after the wreck. (PHOTO: Matt Miller, @MGMiller17)
Team Reaume revealed the last of their three “throwback” schemes early on Friday as Clayton Green ran his father’s late model paint scheme on his #2 Ford. Unfortunately, around Lap 38, Green dropped off the pace and pulled onto pit road with a possible brake issue. He returned to the track six laps down, then incurred a penalty for too many crew members over the wall. Green held 35th until Reaume also faced issues on Lap 44, just before the end of Stage 1. That time by, Reaume was warned by NASCAR to pick up his speed. Just before the caution to end Stage 1, as a now 32nd-place Costner was lapped in Turns 3 and 4, Reaume made it to pit road. He reported water and oil on his windshield, a bad vibration, and his truck was losing power. He clarified that he never lost oil pressure, saying it was possibly a loose oil line. He was soon behind the wall, where on Lap 50 he asked the team to clean his truck with Brakleen in case they had to load up early. The next time by on Lap 51, Green dropped Reaume to 35th. He didn’t return to the track until Lap 96, just after the leaders made pit stops. By then, he was 53 laps down, unable to gain any spots, but still willing to work the bugs out before the next race in Rockingham. “Go get ‘em, tiger!” said the crew just before he pulled on track. Reaume ultimately pulled off the track around Lap 104, retaining the 35th spot.
On Lap 98, Mini Tyrrell had already lost four laps, placing his bright red #14 Ram-sponsored RAM in the 32nd spot. That time by, he pulled behind the wall for mechanical issues. The Kaulig team put his truck on jack stands, reporting a possible wheel bearing issue in the right-front. They then instructed Tyrrell to hold the steering wheel as tightly as he could. After a couple repetitions, on Lap 107 the team found the steering box had failed. Unable to repair it, they were done for the night. Tyrrell was reported “out” the same time as Rhodes on Lap 114. Kris Wright then pulled behind the wall on Lap 118, when his #81 F.N.B. Corporation Chevrolet was already six laps down in 31st. Wright fell to 32nd by the checkered flag with Andres Perez de Lara taking 32nd after his #44 Telcel Chevrolet was collected in a multi-car pileup triggered by contact between Ty Majeski and Layne Riggs in Turn 1.
As for Rhodes, his last-place finish dropped him to 7th in the point standings, 53 points out of the lead.
Timmy Hill once again a factor in Darlington
Timmy Hill’s most recent top-ten finish in the Truck Series came last fall at this same Darlington track, where he came home a strong 8th in his family’s #56 Coble Enterprises / UNITS Toyota. This year, he led 3 laps during a Lap 106 caution for Conner Jones’ accident, then restarted 2nd on old tires. He lost positions, but retained a set of fresher tires for the final run to the finish, where he took home 14th – his best of two finishes this season, and a fine start to the weekend of his upcoming Cup Series effort with Garage 66 on Sunday.
LASTCAR STATISTICS
*The two laps completed by Rhodes ties the record for the fewest laps completed by a Truck Series driver at Darlington. It’s actually happened three times before: Loni Richardson before electrical issues on March 15, 2002, Dana White (no relation to the president and CEO of the UFC) who also had electrical problems on March 14, 2003, and Dillon Oliver following a blown engine on August 14, 2010.
*This marked the first last-place finish for the #99 in a Truck Series race at Darlington.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
36) #99-Ben Rhodes / 2 laps / crash
35) #22-Josh Reaume / 51 laps / suspension
34) #14-Mini Tyrrell / 93 laps / steering
33) #81-Kris Wright / 111 laps / suspension
32) #44-Andres Perez de Lara / 122 laps / crash
2026 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Halmar Friesen Racing, McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, Niece Motorsports, ThorSport Racing (1)
2026 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (2)
2nd) Ford, Toyota (1)
2026 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
