In the heat of summer, Watkins Glen International was transformed from the serene hills of upstate New York into a relentless proving ground for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. The 2025 Mission 176 was more than another race—it was survival, as engines ruptured and wheels flew amid a backdrop of playoff pressure and mechanical carnage. Ben Rhodes, 2021 Truck Series champion and perennial playoff contender, found himself in a garage echoing with the aftermath of a scene lined with broken axles, battered trucks, and somber faces.

Rhodes had just wrestled through the most difficult twenty laps of his career, feeling his truck’s rear end bucking wildly as he navigated brutal G-forces and towering curbs on a course where “tough” is standard and mercy is rare. Amid these hardships, and with

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