MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Ben Rhodes started from the pole and got out front early, but Mother Nature was the ultimate winner Saturday afternoon at Martinsville Speedway.

Rhodes led the first 23 laps of the Alpha Energy Solutions 250 in dicey conditions before rain and snow moved over the speedway around 2:30 p.m. local time.

Knowing that the weather would remain well into the night, with predicted snow accumulations of up to five inches, NASCAR officials quickly made the decision to postpone the remaining 227 laps of the race until Sunday at 7 p.m. ET, following the completion of the 500-lap Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series event earlier in the day.

After coming onto pit road, Rhodes admitted that he was nervous during the opening laps, but still was excited about the early speed his Ford F-150 showed.

“That was a little unnerving, I’m not gonna lie,” Rhodes said. “I was actually fearful for myself and my teammate Matt Crafton (who started on the front row), because we were both charging into the first corner so fast. I knew he wanted the lead … but I wasn’t going to give it to him.”

“I was really happy with how our truck was handling. Our Ford F-150 was fast. The characteristics (of the track) were a little bit different than what I expected, but I think that was mostly because the track was getting pretty slick there already. No complaints on my side, so we’ll come back tomorrow and try again. Whenever we race, I’ll be ready to get going again.”

The only major issue in the early laps was a caution flag that waved for Mike Senica stopping on the backstretch on lap 15. That caution flag waved moments before the precipitation began to pick up around the track and eventually soaked it beyond the point of being able to continue.

At the stoppage, Crafton was scored in second, ahead of Kyle Benjamin, Grant Enfinger and Johnny Sauter.

Stewart Friesen, John Hunter Nemechek, Brett Moffitt, Noah Gragson and Cody Coughlin completed the top 10.

After starting from the rear of the field due to an engine change on Friday, Todd Gilliland worked his way from the rear of the field up to 18th before the caution and eventual red flags ended racing for the day.

TV coverage of the remainder of the Truck Series event will air on FOX Sports 1.