Team Information:
Crew Chief: Kevin Bellicourt
Manufacturer: Toyota
Engine: Triad Racing Technologies
2016 Driver Point Standings: 12th
2016 Owner Point Standings: 13th
Sounding Off – Ben Rhodes:
How do you prepare for a place like Pocono, a track you’ve never raced on? It has three long straightaways, three different corners, a very unique triangle.
“Pocono reminds me of this go-kart track we used to run on called Beaver Run, in Pennsylvania. I had a blast there, and I actually won a race there. So, if it’s anything like the go-kart track they called ‘Little Pocono,’ then I think we’ll do really well. But man, all I can really do is talk to the experienced drivers and just try to watch as much film as possible. There’s really nothing I can do to prepare myself for a place like Pocono, other than just hop in my 41 Toyota Tundra for practice on Friday. I’m just looking forward to it. Any track that’s different like Pocono, and Eldora for that matter, it’s a real treat. I grew up racing the short tracks and we’ve been to a couple mile-and-a-half tracks now, but if I can experience something new, that’s a lot of fun.”
News & Notes:
- Chassis Chatter…The No. 41 ThorSport Racing team will unload chassis No. 36 for Saturday’s Pocono Mountains 150 at Pocono Raceway. This is the same chassis Rhodes piloted earlier this season at Dover International Raceway (28th), and Kentucky Speedway (13th).
- Tricky Triangle Debut… Although Rhodes will be making his 16th career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) start on Saturday at Pocono, the ThorSport Racing driver will be making his track debut at the “Tricky Triangle.”
- Rookie Stripe… Rhodes is currently third in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings behind leader, William Byron after 11 of 23 races this season.
- Race Rewind – Eldora… Making his track debut at Eldora Speedway, Rhodes started fifth, ran as high as second, and finished 23rd, due to a radiator problem, in the 4th annual event at the “Big E.”
Rhodes’ 2016 NCWTS Stats:
- Starts: 11
- Poles: 1 (Martinsville, 2016)
- Top-5 Finishes: 2
- Top-10 Finishes: 4
- Laps Completed: 1732 of 1816 (95.4%)
- Laps Led: 51
- Start: 9.2
- Finish: 13.2
Rhodes’ Career NCWTS stats:
- Starts: 15 since 2014
- First full-time season: 2016
- Poles: 1 (Martinsville, 2016)
- Top-5 Finishes: 3
- Top-10 Finishes: 7
- Laps Completed: 2483
- Laps Led: 51
- First start: Martinsville (8th)
- Best finish: 2nd (Gateway, 2016)
- Start: 9.0
- Finish: 12.6
Race Information:
Date: Saturday, July 30, 3016
Time: 1:00pm ET on FOX Sports 1, and MRN Radio
Track: 2.5-mile tri-oval
Distance: 60 laps/150 miles