My goodness. That. Was. Intense. In an absolute slobber-knocker of a finish, Ben Rhodes took the victory in the 2021 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season-opener at Daytona International Speedway.
Rhodes utilized incredible drafting prowess to set up and pass underdog race Cory Roper for the lead, and he held off Jordan Anderson and Roper in a three-wide battle to the checkered flag.
RELATED: 2021 NCWTS NextEra Energy 250 at Daytona Race Results
Rhodes didn’t even know how he wound up winning the event.
“I don’t even know, man,” Rhodes explained. “I have to give such a big thank you to my team. This is so special. Biggest win of my career, I can’t even believe this. You know, as a driver, you’re always asked what your biggest accomplishment is. This is it.”
Here is the video of the electrifying finish:
Video: Last Lap Wreck Ensues As Rhodes, Roper and Anderson Race Towards Checkered Flag at Daytona
This victory marks the fourth of Rhodes’ NCWTS career.
For Anderson, who rallied from 11th-place with one lap to go, it’s the second-consecutive year that he has finished second in a side-by-side finish with the winner at Daytona.
“I need to go back to Chevrolet and see about making these Silverados just a little bit longer. Two years in a row, we’ve finished second, here. It’s a dream come true,” an elated Anderson exclaimed following the race.
Ryan Truex finished fourth in the No. 40 Niece Motorsports entry, while Carson Hocevar finished right behind in the No. 42 truck.
Sheldon Creed, John Hunter Nemechek, Codie Rohrbaugh, Chandler Smith and Drew Dollar emerged from a wreck-filled dash to the finish line to round out the top-10 finishers in the race.
Through the opening couple of Stages of the race, things were relatively clean aside from some issues from Derek Kraus. However, in the final Stage, things went off. Six of the race’s 10 cautions occurred in the final Stage of the race.
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