BEN RHODES LEADS TOYOTA IN SEASON OPENER
Defending champion Rhodes starts the season with a runner-up finish
DAYTONA BEACH (February 18, 2022) – Ben Rhodes was the highest-finishing Tundra driver with a second-place finish in Friday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race.
Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Daytona International Speedway
Race 1 of 23 – 100 Laps, 250 Miles
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Zane Smith*
2nd, BEN RHODES
3rd, CHRISTIAN ECKES
4th, Tanner Gray*
5th, Parker Kligerman*
7th, TY MAJESKI
14th, TIMMY HILL
16th, STEWART FRIESEN
20th, JASON WHITE
21st, CHANDLER SMITH
22nd, TATE FOGLEMAN
24th, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
27th, MATT CRAFTON
28th, TYLER ANKRUM
32nd, COREY HEIM
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
BEN RHODES, No. 99 EXT Extreme Hair Therapy Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, ThorSport Racing
Finishing Position: 2nd
How was your race tonight?
“It was a good second place finish for our team. I feel like if we could’ve got the run a little bit sooner we might have been able to get past Zane (Smith). You’re just trying to time how soon to make that run. I knew there was going to be a caution on the last lap, I just didn’t know where. So, you want to get the lead and possibly fall back by turn one, turn two, backstretch. You just don’t know when the caution is going to come out. Solid effort by our Toyota Tundra ThorSport team. I feel like we made a good showing all night long, especially where we qualified getting to the front. I’m really proud to have Hair Club on board with us for this race and hope to continue on. Just happy to have a good start to the season.”
Do you enjoy superspeedway racing?
“I enjoy it. It’s challenging with the people you’re around. You’ve got a really good mix of some old versus new and you can never count on what the new is going to do. I feel like I’ve got a few experienced guys I can really count on, and we tried to group up. We all talked before the race, but it’s just so hard to do that. There are so many last-minute moves that are being made, but all in all I know who I can count on, and I’ve got some good Toyota teammates. It was a really fast Tundra. I’m ready for the next one. It would be good to get a win this early in the season, but second place isn’t that bad.”
Were you surprised it took so long to have a wreck?
“A little bit, yeah. I would’ve thought it would’ve started a little bit sooner, especially with how the trucks are handling this year. I didn’t have a clue that we were all going to be as loose as we were. I think that was a surprise to everyone. I hope that we all go back to the drawing board a little bit as a series to kind of snug us up a little bit. You’ll see more aggressive racing I think, but as a whole everybody was really smart because they didn’t want to wreck.”
CHRISTIAN ECKES, No. 98 AHI Facility Services/Curb Records Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, ThorSport Racing
Finishing Position: 3rd
Can you talk about your race?
“We had a really good AHI Facility Service Toyota Tundra. We just came up a little bit short there. We were in a good position with my teammate (Ben Rhodes) behind. I thought we were in good position heading to the white, just came up a little short.”
What more did you need to get the win?
“Just a few more laps. I felt like we were in good position there. I felt like I was kind of sitting duck being the leader. At the end of the day, really proud of these AHI Facility Services Toyota Tundra guys. I sure wish we could have won, but a good start to our year.”
TY MAJESKI, No. 66 Cincinnati Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, ThorSport Racing
Finishing Position: 7th
Solid start to your first full-time season. How was the race from your seat?
“Our plan was to miss all of that. Our plan was to go the first two stages, get stage points, mission accomplished there. You just don’t know when it’s going to happen. We got all the way down to the last lap before anything really happened. All-in-all, our strategy wasn’t the race winning strategy, but a good solid points day and good solid base to shoot from for the rest of the year. Pretty happy about it. Hats off to everybody on this Cincinnati Tundra team.”
TYLER ANKRUM, No. 16 LIUNA! Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, Hattori Racing Enterprises
Finishing Position: 28th
What happened to take you out of the race?
“It felt like I got a really good push from the 4 (John Hunter Nemechek) and I don’t know if it was the 99 (Ben Rhodes) or 98 (Christian Eckes) in front of me but I was going to take him three-wide to the top. I just got really loose. It’s so hard. We were all pushing so hard. It was coming to one (lap) to go. It sucks, but our LIUNA! Toyota Tundra TRD Pro was really quick tonight so I’m really happy with that. Happy to be with a new team and Toyota and I’m ready to go pound the ground for the rest of the season.”
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