Ben Rhodes: 2024 Craftsman Truck year ‘was not a kind season’

To say Ben Rhodes’ 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck season was out of character would be an understatement. 

Rhodes recorded his worst average finish (15.4) since 2016 — his first full-time season — as well as the fewest top 10 (nine) and top five (three) finishes he’s had in a year since 2016. 

Rhodes told Yardbarker that 2024 “was not a kind season” for the 27-year-old from Louisville, Kentucky. 

“It started off looking strong at Daytona,” Rhodes said. “I think we were leading the outside line and got a tire cut down. (At) Atlanta we followed up with a strong performance and didn’t get the finish again because a tire went down. It got off to a weak start and kind of stayed that way.”

After eight races, Rhodes’ crew chief, Rich Lushes, swapped trucks, moving to the No. 13 of Jake Garcia. Garcia’s crew chief, Doug Randolph, joined Rhodes starting at Darlington. 

“The crew chief swap was something Rich and I didn’t know about,” Rhodes said. “It was on the horizon for a little bit. I think he and I still have really good communication. We can definitely win together. If the time presents itself, I think we’d both agree to work with each other again.”

The crew chief swap — labeled by Rhodes as an “out of the blue moment” — initially yielded a string of four top-seven finishes in five races. Unfortunately, the No. 99 team lost a step as the postseason neared. 

“Later in the year, as we got into the playoffs, we stagnated a bit,” Rhodes said. “The NASCAR world we live in, we’re left in the dark a little bit. I’m old-school enough to support having practice. Right now, we get the 20 minutes of practice and you can’t even change anything.”

The lack of available adjustments before the race leaves teams virtually stuck with the truck taking the green flag in the same condition it was in when it rolled off the truck, which isn’t a good thing when a team isn’t bringing consistent speed to the track. 

“I still need the practice, but I need to be able to change stuff on the truck more,” Rhodes added. 

In both 2021 and 2023, Rhodes wasn’t seen as a championship favorite, but was able to take home both titles. That wasn’t the case this season, however, as Rhodes was eliminated in the Round of 10. 

“2021 was our strongest run into the playoffs, and in 2023 we were still able to win the championship, but it wasn’t as strong leading up to it. That’s the name of the game, right? You take your opportunities and create your opportunities where you can. You recognize what’s happening (in the) big picture and you capitalize on it.

“You still have to have speed to match that. Everybody that’s in the Championship 4, they’re there for a reason. You have to have that base speed. If you don’t have the base speed and you’re finishing 15th, you’re not going to make it. That was our story this year. We didn’t have the base speed in the playoffs that we needed to capitalize on the opportunities in front of us or get stage points.

“In years before, we had the base speed. We may not have dominated races, but we had the base speed and capitalized on things that were occurring.” 

Rhodes will look to get back into championship form in 2025. If his recent pattern continues, he could be looking at a third championship.