Ford Racing Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
FR8 Racing 208 — EchoPark Speedway
Saturday, February 21, 2026
Ford Finishing Results:
4th – Ben Rhodes
6th – Chandler Smith
7th – Jake Garcia
23rd – Clayton Green
24th – Josh Reaume
25th – Frankie Muniz
27th – Layne Riggs
28th – Ty Majeski
29th – Tyler Tomassi
31st – Cole Butcher
BEN RHODES, No. 99 Campers Inn RV Ford F-150 – “This F-150 had a lot of speed. It’s a shame because we had Camper Inn here and some TYM folks, so I wanted to get them to Victory Lane on my birthday. We ran out of fuel. I don’t know why. We’ll regroup about it. The truck was really solid. We’re learning a lot. This is my first time on track with this new intermediate style body with the bed rails being straightened out and performance heights. That’s a new rule package for the series this year, so I think we’ve got some handling things we can work on with that that will make it a little more aggressive. I was pretty aggressive, but there was a few times where I had a really big run going and I had to lift, more often that not I had to lift even by myself leading, so we worked on it a lot today We put a lot of wrenches in the truck, but if we can take some notes from this, we’ll make it better.”
HOW UNEXPECTED WAS IT RUNNING OUT OF GAS? “I didn’t expect that at all. We’re leading the race and we’re only doing a stage. They say you’ve got to save some fuel. I didn’t know what I was gonna do, so you can’t really save anything when you’re leading.”
DESCRIBE THOSE LAST FEW LAPS? “We had some new tires on the truck and a lot of anger behind the wheel after we ran out of fuel. I just knew we had a really fast truck and I just wanted to get this Campers Inn F-150 up to the front where it belonged. It was tough to drive, actually. We had some handling issues and they stuck wrenches in it every single time and gave me air-pressure adjustments and we couldn’t quite get some of the evil characteristics I had in the center of the corner out. I’m sure the fans saw probably a few big saves from me. I don’t like that, so I think we have some good feedback on how to adjust that going forward. There’s been some rule package changes in the series this year and we’ve got to tune for that specifically.”
AT THE END YOU GOT A PUSH AND HAD TO TAKE THE RUN, BUT WAS IT A CASE OF TOO EARLY? “Yeah, I think we peaked too soon. We got the lead a few laps too early. The problem is unless you can clear them and hold them, you’re a bit of a sitting duck and Kyle is really good at managing that run and doing that move. He did it all last race and he did it this race. I knew that’s what he was gonna do, so I was trying to just ride behind him. I didn’t expect the bottom lane to form back up and then at that point I had to start playing both lanes and it got a little bit too crazy. We had a few handling issues where I could take my full runs. I was trying to push Ricky to the lead and if I could have stayed wide-open, I think we could have done it, but I almost wadded it up in three – fully out of the gas and sideways, just trying to get the most I can for the team.”
IT WAS A GREAT RALLY. WHAT DOES THAT SAY ABOUT YOUR TEAM’S ABILITY TO BOUNCE BACK? “I think it speaks volume of the team, especially here because you have no practice. The speed is made at the race shop, so we showed up and had great speed. Kudos to the guys, but, man, not getting the stage points really sucks. That’s the name of the game right now because we know the points have changed. It’s all about attrition. It’s all about consistency, so I was really hoping to be in the top five in points after stage two. I don’t know where I’m at now. That was my goal coming into it, so we’ll just have to recap on this. We’ve missed out on too many stage points this year. We’ve got to fix that.”
ANY EXPLANATION ON HOW YOU CAME UP SHORT ON FUEL? “We were the only ones that took two tires there, so we were in our box a lot shorter, for one, and then, two, we ran all of those laps to start the race, so we were under pace laps for like 10 laps or something crazy. When you have two tires and you run all those laps, I guess there was just a miscalculation on fuel. I was ready to fight though. You can’t fight your own team, but I was ready to fight. I love the guys. They work so hard. They hate it as much as I do, but I’m just glad we could salvage a good day.”
JAKE GARCIA, No. 98 Quanta Services/Curb Records Ford F-150 – “There were a couple times where we were leading the bottom and it’s just all timing. At these places, you need people to go with you at the right times. I was running about fifth and I made a big run to the bottom towards the end and I felt like if I had someone right there with me that we could have hooked up and had a shot at the win, but it just didn’t work out like that and lost a couple of rows before people picked me up. The last couple of laps are so hectic that it’s hard to really get organized and make your way to the front. I’m super proud of my guys. They brought me a really fast F-150 here. We obviously lost track position early. The start didn’t go the way we wanted it to and then worked our way back up. I’m really proud of our guys for that. The pit crew did an amazing job. I just want to thank Quanta Services, Curb Record and Ford Racing. I want to thank God for the opportunity to come out here and do this. He’s got a plan for everybody and I’m really fortunate to be able to come and do what I love. I get to hang out with these guys, who are really good. I really enjoy spending time with them and being a team. I’m looking forward to St. Pete next. Road course racing isn’t quite my thing, but I think the street course will be something a little different. It seemed like I picked it up pretty quick in the simulator. I thought I had a pretty good handle on the racetrack, so maybe I’m jinxing myself, but I think we can be good and then have a solid run at St. Pete.”
WHAT WAS YOUR THINKING ABOUT CHOOSING THIRD ON THE OUTSIDE LANE AS OPPOSED TO BEING FIRST ON THE INSIDE LANE FOR THE FINAL RESTART? “The restart before that I was actually fourth in line and had the opportunity to take the front row and I did it and it worked out. We cleared the leaders and got up to the top and made a couple spots out of it. That worked out really well. On the last one, Busch and Hocevar were working so well together the whole race, so I didn’t think anything on the bottom, no matter who I had pushing me, would have been better than those two. I didn’t think I had a chance to go down there and pass them and clear them, so if I can’t clear them, then I’m just gonna come back right up and go to the spot I was in, so I just picked the outside to be safe because I didn’t think there was anything to gain by going to the bottom. I think it worked out fine.”
CHANDLER SMITH, No. 38 QuickTie Ford F-150 – “It was a solid day all in all. We got some decent stage points in stage two. We missed out by one position on the first stage, but our F-150 handled really, really well today. It lacked a little bit on speed, but it handled phenomenally. I’m proud of everybody on this 38 team. Our QuickTie Ford F-150 was pretty solid. I was able to be aggressive and make moves and be able to get back up to the front after we had a pit road penalty at the very end. That definitely didn’t help us any, but we were able to bounce back and recover pretty nicely. It was a pretty solid day and a good points day.”
HOW DID THE TIME LIMITATION AFFECT YOUR FINAL RUN? “At the end of the day, it played out how it was gonna play out. It would have been cool to see us race to the finish. For us specifically we started doing the whole cupid shuffle on the top and was able to start cycling our way pretty close to the front of the top lane and was setting ourselves up pretty solidly there, but happy with a P6 finish nevertheless.”
