Ford Racing Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Race to Stop Suicide 200 – Kansas Speedway
Saturday, September 26, 2026
Ford Racing Secures Three Ford F-150s in Kansas NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Top 10
- Ben Rhodes’s fifth-place finish led three Ford F-150s in the top 10 at Kansas Speedway on Saturday night.
- Chandler Smith (sixth) and Bristol winner Jake Garcia (ninth) added two more to the Blue Ovals top 10 tally.
- Layne Riggs ran near the lead throughout the day and was in second place going into the final lap. However, he would drop to a 19th place finish after a move for the win came up short.
- The race had a four-hour, 47-minute red flag for rain, finishing under the lights of Kansas Speedway.
Ford Finishing Results:
5th – Ben Rhodes
6th – Chandler Smith
9th – Jake Garcia
12th – Cole Butcher
19th – Layne Riggs
23rd – Clayton Green
27th – Stephen Mallozzi
29th – Ty Majeski
33rd – Josh Reaume
BEN RHODES, No. 99 Bommarito F-150 – “I think that caution came out with good timing. We were about to start the green flag cycle. That’s the one I was the most concerned with. We were falling off big at that time just being on older tires. We did what we could all day long for strategy and I think we made all the right calls. Just ultimately, track position with the changing track that nobody planned for reigned supreme. I don’t think any of us planned to come here and be racing at night.” HOW IMPORTANT WAS IT FOR YOU TO HAVE A SOLID RUN? “Very important. I mean, now in the Chase more than ever. I’m just trying to build good, consistent finishes. But, more than that, we need the stage points. So we’ve got to execute a little bit better. Last couple weeks, we’ve been having mistakes or something’s been going on where we lose some positions on pit road. I don’t want to throw blame on anybody. That is not what I’m saying. All sides… we win and lose as a team. So we’ve got to build each other up and make sure we’re doing all the proper things.” HOW ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GOING TO CHARLOTTE? “I am. This race was very critical for us, because we brought kind of a new setup for intermediate tracks that we wanted to work on this. We wanted a good race, work on it for Charlotte, and then really build on it for Homestead. So this was critical. I think our Ford F-150 performed well, and we know quite a few things we can do to make it better.”
CHANDLER SMITH, No. 38 Long John Silver’s Ford F-150 – “Truthfully, we weren’t really great all day. Obviously the rain came and the track went through a huge shift and turned the lights on. The track definitely came into my favor. Our Number 38 Long John Silver’s Ford F-150 wasn’t great in the daytime, by all means. We were 10th place at best. Our F-150 definitely got better as the nighttime came and still needed more, though. I fought similar tendencies, just looking for a little bit of this, a little bit of that. But I do feel confident that if we were to come back tomorrow and have time to dissect, we’d come back with a better package and have a better result for sure, but that’s not the way the Lord willed it. So, we’ll have good notes for next year when these guys come back and looking forward to heading to Charlotte.”
LAYNE RIGGS, No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford F-150 – “I just went for it there at the end. I feel like we were kind of behind the eight ball all day long. Had rough stops on pit road, had issues. I was going for a win, had a shot at a win, and tried a little too hard. So definitely really disappointing. Really big blow to our points. Should have been just fine with chalking up a second place finish instead of trying to go for the win. Should have looked at the big picture. But at the same time, the team pays me to go win races. And that’s what we did. I just have to be smarter in the long run if I’m gonna get this thing. Keep my head about me a little bit better. Instead of looking at just
