Ben Rhodes – 2017 Eldora Speedway Recap

Recap:

Ben Rhodes, driver of the No. 27 Safelite AutoGlass Toyota Tundra, made his second career start at Eldora Speedway in Wednesday night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Eldora Dirt Derby. Starting seventh, Rhodes ran as high as fourth, but was involved in a multi-truck incident in Turn 3, on lap 20. With damage to the right rear of the No. 27 Safelite Tundra, Rhodes came to pit road, under caution, for repairs, and would spend an extended amount of time on pit road to cool down his Tundra, due to mud on the grille. The Safelite AutoGlass driver would restart from the 29th position at lap 32.

At the conclusion of Stage 1, Rhodes came to pit road for a scheduled stop, and would start Stage 2 from the 26th position. Unfortunately, contact with the 02 in Turn 4, would end the ThorSport Racing driver’s night early, relegating Rhodes to a 30th-place finish behind teammate and race winner, Matt Crafton.

Team Information:
Started: 7th
Finished: 30th
Laps: 40/150
Laps Led: 0
Status: Accident
Driver Points: 7th
Owner Points: 9th

Quote:

“The wreck was coming down the track, as I was coming around the corner. It’s just a shame. We have a lot of people here from Safelite supporting us tonight, and I hoped to give them a better run than this. It was a horrible points night for us – we’re going to lose some positions – and that’s tough coming up on the playoffs. We need to get in there. The track was just so muddy tonight – it covered the grille, and put us in a bad position.”

Notes:

• The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) had two practice sessions on Tuesday evening in preparation for Wednesday night’s Eldora Dirt Derby at Eldora Speedway. Ben Rhodes was fourth, and eighth, respectively in each session.
• The No. 27 Safelite AutoGlass Toyota Tundra was 12th in single truck qualifying on Wednesday afternoon.
• Rhodes started third, and finished second in Qualifying Race No. 2, earning a seventh-place starting position for the main event.
• Starting seventh, Rhodes ran as high as fourth, but heavy damage due to contact with the 02 machine at lap 40 of 150, relegated the ThorSport Racing driver to a 30th-place finish in the fifth annual event.
• After 11 starts in 2017, the ThorSport Racing driver has led 121 laps en route to three top-five, and five top-10 finishes.
• In 38 career starts, Rhodes has one pole (Martinsville-1, 2016), and has led 176 laps en route to six top-five, and 13 top-10 finishes.
• Rhodes’ ThorSport Racing teammates finished first (Crafton), fourth (Enfinger), 11th (Coughlin), and 26th (Abreu).
• Up Next: The Pocono Mountains 150 at Pocono Raceway on Saturday, July 29 at 1:00 p.m. on FOX.