Louisville's Ben Rhodes must get stage points, have a top 5 finish (or win) in order to advance to the Championship 4 in Phoenix in a few weeks in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Ben is 4th in points out of eight drivers. Fifth place in only a handful of points behind. The 2021 defending Camping World Truck Champion tells Kentuckiana Motorsports the feeling leading up to this truck race is "intense". The race is Saturday in Homestead. Rhodes added, " We've put in weeks of work into simulation and building the truck. The goal is to be in the top 5 in both race stages. Once the dust settles, we'll know what we have to do at the end of the race". After the race Saturday in Florida, four truck drivers will be eliminated. Ben says he is 100% focused and the effort will be there behind the wheel. In his last race at Homestead, Ben started in the top 5, but finished 18th. We wish the Louisville Holy Cross High alumni the best. (More Vintage Ben Rhodes below) A huge regional stock car race at the Salem Speedway, and another big win for Will Kimmel in the 34th Annual Halloween 200. It was a packed field and standing room only crowd in the Lucas Oil Great American Stocks event at the half-mile and high banked track about hour from Louisville in Southern Indiana. Kimmel also won the Halloween 200 race last year to make it back-to-back wins! His team took home more than $11,000 in winnings, qualifying, and lap money.
Will's father and crew chief, Bill Kimmel Jr. said, " We kept out of trouble and stayed up front. Will ran a great race". A name very familiar to fans, Brett Hudson from Owensboro, Kentucky came in second. He was followed by another driver known to local race fans, Jeff Caudell, in third place. The Halloween 200 topped off three days of racing and fun fan activities at the facility located about an hour from Louisville in Southern Indiana. Next week more on Will Kimmel's career, stay tuned! Another driver who has competed at the Salem Speedway is Josh Berry. The Tennessee born driver ran a smooth and dominant race to get the NASCAR Xfinity Series win at Las Vegas. It is his third of the season. With the victory, Berry is the first Xfinity driver to move into the final championship race at Phoenix in November. In the NASCAR Cup Series, Joey Logano is in the playoffs at Phoenix! This after taking the win at Las Vegas. The driver of the #22 Penske Ford took the lead from Ross Chastain with 2 laps to go to win by just under one second. Not long ago, Joey was a guest of Kentuckiana Motorsports while visiting Louisville. He's quietly has had a strong second half of the season. The race wasn't without tension! On Lap 95, Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson rubbed paint and wrecked. Christopher Bell got caught up in it, ending his day. The playoff driver finished 34th. Wallace did not like the way Larson raced. After getting out of the car, Wallace confronted Larson, shoved him a few times, and walked away. Whether a playoff driver or other competitors racing hard, the tension has been thick! The NHRA Fall Nationals at Texas saw some great competition. One big upset and win belonged to Lucas Oil racer Hector Arana Jr. in the Pro Stock Motorcycle Division. It was only his 5th race of the year. He stunned favorite, Jerry Savoie. In Top Fuel, points leader Justin Ashley claimed the Texas title beating, Austin Prock. There are two more events this season. Up next, October 27-30 is the NHRA Nevada Nationals! Lucas Oil has been a longtime sponsor of the series. Watch the action on Fox Sports 1. Fall is always exciting with season ending races locally, and the playoffs and battle for points in other series. We also like to give a shout out to the Indianapolis Colts! They play home games at Lucas Oil Stadium! If you've enjoyed Kentuckiana Motorsports over the past 20 years, you know Lucas Oil has been a huge backer of all we do. We thank Lucas Oil as a longtime sponsor. We're able to talk racing locally and in other ways, thanks to Forrest, Charlotte, and Morgan Lucas and the entire Lucas Oil Family. Other backers: PNC Bank (Sponsor of Scott Dixon's Indy Car Series Car), Sportsdrome Speedway (Celebrating more than 75 years of Racing!) locally owned Bright Pest Control and Bright Retail in Louisville, (Offering Do-It-Yourself Professional Pest Products with a retail store), and Knox Ford in Radcliff (KY). KMS supporters also include: VoiceTel Kentucky (Offering telephone service for $25.00 a line, and that includes all taxes and fees), Temco Roofing, Andriots Paint, Flooring, & Blinds, ICA Dumpsters, Kentucky Raceway Ministries, St. Matthews Cycling, Nimlok Kentucky, Dynamic Healthcare, and Lyndon Mower Repair. We also thank our media connections in all series, especially NASCAR and with NASCAR Media for helping us bring the sport to the fans! The Indianapolis Colts have won two in a row, beating Jacksonville at Lucas Oil Stadum. After a slow start, The Colts team record is now 3-2-1. Up Next the Tennessee Titans. Keep the entries coming for the Fall Gas Card KMS Giveaway! Once the racing season is over, we'll select the winners! Click on the Giveaway tab for more! And a reminder about helping our farmers, hunters, and ranchers. See what Protect the Harvest is doing at www.protecttheharvest.com Enjoy the racing!
