Team Info/Stats:
Crew Chief: Eddie Troconis
Driver Point Standings: 4th
Owner Point Standings: 6th
Spotter: Lloyd Garner
News and Notes:
- This Week’s No. 41 Ford F-150… The No. 41 Alpha Energy Solutions Ford F-150 team will unload chassis No. 35 at Texas Motor Speedway for this weekend’s Rattlesnake 400. Known as “Chupacabra,” a nickname that stems from the creature of folklore, the chassis last saw the track earlier this season at Kansas Speedway where Rhodes and the No. 41 team finished 18th, after starting seventh. Competing under the ThorSport Racing banner for four seasons, the truck has seen great success over the years with multiple drivers behind the wheel. The chassis competed three times in 2017, finishing fifth at Texas in June, earning the first stage win of Rhodes’s season at Kentucky Speedway, and leading 30 laps among the three events. Nabbing two runner-up finishes (Atlanta Motor Speedway and Pocono Raceway) and a top-five (Michigan International Speedway) in 2016 with Cameron Hayley behind the wheel, the truck also saw victory lane with Rhodes’s teammate Matt Crafton in 2015 at Kansas Speedway. Overall, the chassis has one win, one pole award, five top-five and one top-10 finish in its four seasons.
- Texas by the Numbers…Competing for a fifth time in the Lone Star state, Rhodes looks to capitalize on momentum he’s shown in previous races at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend. Starting inside the top-10 three of the four events he’s competed at in 2016 and 2017, Rhodes roped in a top-five finish in last year’s June race at the 1.5-mile oval.
- Catch Rhodes in Texas…Rhodes will join fellow ThorSport Racing teammates, and other NCWTS drivers, for a series autograph session, Friday, June 8, from 3:30 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. CT, located in the Midway at the Texas Motor Speedway display near Gate 4.
Chatting with Ben Rhodes…
“With the recent repave at Texas Motor Speedway, combined with the new Ilmor NT1 motor and the high-drag of the NCWTS truck, it can create some exciting racing the fans will love. Track position will be key and qualifying up front will be important. Historically, we seem to qualify okay, but I feel we need to do even better this go-around. We need to be in the top-five, preferably on the pole. The higher you qualify, the better your race will be – the smoother your night is going to go. It’s very hard to pass, but on the restarts, there is a whole lot of action. That can create some exciting moments, along with some big wrecks. I’m really excited to take Chassis No. 35 to Texas. It’s an amazing chassis for us – I got my first stage win in NCWTS with this truck, as well as competing for victories multiple times. Unfortunately, we seem to come up a little bit short, but I feel this chassis is dominant and one of the best in our stable. I’m hoping with everything that has happened, the big gains we’ve made this season, that this weekend can be the weekend we can get a win in the Lone Star state.”