Ben Rhodes shares his thoughts after beating Corey Heim and earning a $50,000 bonus at Charlotte

As the NASCAR Truck Series returned to the Charlotte Motor Speedway, Ben Rhodes took the checkered flag ahead of Corey Heim, scoring his first race win of the season. Winning the North Carolina Education Lottery 200, Rhodes also bagged a $50,000 Triple Truck Challenge bonus.

The #99 Thorsport Racing driver won his first race on asphalt since his early season Daytona Road Course victory in 2021. Between the two wins, Rhodes won the dirt race in Bristol last year.

In the post-race press conference, Ben Rhodes revealed that the victory was much needed and he would celebrate it as long as it lasts. Speaking about ending his winless streak on asphalt, Rhodes said:

"It was the road course on asphalt I won last so. Yeah, we won a road course we won a dirt and now we're on a mile and a half. I guess we are just trying to win on whatever we can get a win on. It felt like a long time, any time you get a win you don't know when the next one's gonna come. You celebrate it as much as you can and enjoy it while it lasts...because this is just a really tough sport."

Ben Rhodes in the lead, Corey Heim in Third place

Starting the race in the 19th position, Ben Rhodes gradually progressed through the field to catch the leaders. However, it was the restart with 24 laps left that changed his fortunes. He aced the restart to take the lead and pulled away from the quartet of Corey Heim, Carson Hocevar, Dean Thompson, and Grant Enfinger who swapped places for second position.

The 2021 Truck Series champion said about the restart:

"I've been in the Truck Series now full-time since 2016 and since then I can think back to '16-17 I worked on my restarts religiously, like really hard. I analyzed everything that Kyle Busch did because he was the best at the time."

He added:

"And now I think, when Busch comes to the Truck Series, you don't just say 'Oh he's gonna whack somebody on the restarts'. They are really hard and really competitive. Everybody upped their game, and I think now it's harder than ever to get a win in the Truck Series...."

Rhodes took the checkered flag 2.398 seconds ahead of Corey Heim who had to settle for second place.

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Corey Heim reflects on a lost race win

Corey Heim was the fastest driver on the track on Friday as he led a race-high 49-laps and won the first stage. The Tricon Garage driver lost the race on the restart unable to challenge Ben Rhodes in the final laps.

The runner-up finisher said after the race:

"Me and the 42 (Hocevar) and the 5 (Thompson) were probably the best trucks. But the 99 (Rhodes) just came along really strong, and once we got to second on the restart where the 42 got put in the middle there, I really thought we had a shot at it. But it just proves that clean air is king here...."

Heim has one race win to his name this season and currently sits atop the Truck Series driver standings.