Trucks: St. Petersburg Mid-Race Report

What’s Happening?

It’s been a relatively clean affair so far for the NASCAR Truck Series down in St. Pete. Truck Series vet Ben Rhodes paced the field early on, winning the first stage. The second stage belonged to Chandler Riggs. Two stages deep, here’s where everything currently stands in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at St. Petersburg.

• Ben Rhodes has led the most laps thus far at 23. He dominated the opening stage on his way to the stage win. Rhodes has had a solid start to his 2026 campaign. He showed speed at Daytona, earning a 12th place finish. And he scored his first top 5 of the year at Atlanta with a 4th place finish. He’s certainly riding a wave of momentum right now down in St. Pete.
• The IndyCar veterans of Dario Franchitti and James Hinchcliffe have held their own so far. Franchitti finished both stages in the top 10 and Hinchcliffe was right there in the mix as well.
• The second stage belonged to the Ford of Chandler Smith. He led 3 laps of the second stage while his teammate Layne Riggs led 7. They were duking it out in the closing laps of the third stage.
• The on-track incidents we’ve seen so far have all involved the No. 5 Toyota of Adam Andretti. He triggered one caution and plowed into the tire barrier, destroying the left rear of his truck. He currently is running in the 30th position.

What do you think about this? Let us know your opinion on Discord or X. Don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.