Ben Rhodes – 2017 Charlotte Recap

Recap:

Ben Rhodes, driver of the No. 27 Safelite AutoGlass Toyota Tundra, made his second start at Charlotte (NC) Motor Speedway (CMS) in Friday night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) NC Education Lottery 200. Starting a track-best fifth, the ThorSport Racing driver overcame handling issues, an unscheduled pit stop – to work on the handling of his Safelite Tundra, and a late-race caution, to finish eighth behind race winner, Kyle Busch. The top-10 result was Rhodes track-best finish in two starts at the 1.5-mile oval.

Photo by Sarah Crabill/Getty Images

Quote:

“Our Safelite Tundra had short-run speed, for about two laps, and then it would fall off, a ton. Eddie (Troconis, crew chief) and I were debating changing the setup before qualifying, but it was such a risk without actually running it. We decided it wasn’t the smart thing to do, but hindsight 20-20, it would have been worth a shot – I was actually regretting it during the race. We’re building notes though, and we know what we need now going to Dover and Texas – all of those places. We tried something completely new here tonight, and it didn’t work out.”

“Our Safelite Tundra just had no grip – front or rear – all night. We tried to make it turn a little better, but it took all the grip out of the rear and we’d slide up the track. We almost wrecked, multiple times. Eddie finally put everything back, and we went another direction. It just seemed like any change we made this weekend, it took the rear-end out of the race track, and never helped the front.”

Team Information:
Started: 5th
Finished: 8th
Laps: 134/134
Laps Led: 0
Status: Running
Driver Points: 5th
Owner Points: 6th

Notes:

• The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) had two practice sessions on Thursday evening in preparation for Friday night’s NC Education Lottery 200 at CMS. Ben Rhodes was third and eighth quick, respectively, in both sessions.
• Making his second start at CMS, Rhodes started fifth, ran as high as second, and finished eighth in the 134-lap event.
• The ThorSport Racing driver earned bonus points in Stages 1 and 2 at CMS, for finishing inside the top-10.
• In two starts at the 1.5-mile track, Rhodes has one top-10 finish.
• After five starts in 2017, the Safelite AutoGlass driver has led 45 laps en route to one top-five (Atlanta), and two top-10 finishes.
• In 32 career starts, Rhodes has one pole (Martinsville-1, 2016), and has led 100 laps en route to four top-five, and 10 top-10 finishes.
• Rhodes’ ThorSport Racing teammates finished sixth (Crafton), seventh (Enfinger), and 16th (Coughlin).
• Up Next: The Bar Harbor 200 at Dover (Del.) International Speedway on Friday, June 2 at 5:30pm ET on FS1.