Ben Rhodes – 2018 Kansas Preview

May 9, 2018

Hero Card Requests:

Send a Self Addressed Stamped Envelope to: ThorSport Racing Attn: Hero Card Request PO Box 2218 Sandusky, OH 44871

Team Info/Stats:
Crew Chief: Eddie Troconis
Driver Point Standings: 2nd
Owner Point Standings: 2nd
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 Kansas Speedway this weekend. Last competing at Kentucky in 2017, seeing its first stage win of the season in the Bluegrass State, the truck also finished fifth at Texas Motor Speedway that year. Seeing two runner-up finishes with Cameron Hayley behind the wheel at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Pocono Raceway in 2016, the truck has also graced Kansas Speedway’s Victory Lane, with Rhodes’ teammate Matt Crafton taking the checkered flag first in 2015. Overall, the truck chassis has accumulated one win, four top-five and five top-10 finishes.
  • Kansas by the Stats… This weekend’s 37 Kind Days 250 is Rhodes’s third appearance at Kansas, all in the NCWTS. In both previous appearances, Rhodes has led a total of 30 laps, almost finding his way to victory lane, if it weren’t for a late race incident costing an engine failure last season. Entering Kansas this weekend, Rhodes looks for redemption, and for Victory Lane.
  • Catch Rhodes in Kansas… Rhodes will join fellow ThorSport Racing teammate Myatt Snider for a Racing 101 Fan Q&A in the Midway at Kansas, Friday, May 11 at 2 p.m. CT, followed by the NCWTS Autograph Session from 2:30 to 3:15 p.m. CT.
Chatting with Ben Rhodes…
 
“Kansas is one of my favorite tracks on the schedule just for the fact that it’s a 1.5-mile track that carries a lot of speed, but you can move from the bottom to the high-side. It makes for some great racing and some wild restarts. There’s a lot of drafting that takes place in the NCWTS there, and I feel like there will be even more drafting this year due to the new Ilmor NT1 motor. There have been a lot of changes that have taken place in the past year. Between the new NT1 motor, switching to Ford, new aerodynamic numbers, new chassis, a lot of stuff has happened since our race at Kansas last year. I’m hoping for the same strong performance we saw in 2017, but this year I want to finish it out. It was such a heartbreaker of a race, one I hope to not experience again, but I’m sure that will happen more than once in my career. I just hope I can be in a relatively s situation with a great Ford F-150, a great team behind me, and the chance to win the race.”

2024 NASCAR Banquet

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – NOVEMBER 22: 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion, Ty Majeski poses for a photo with the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series trophy prior to the NASCAR Awards and Champion Celebration at the Charlotte Convention Center on November 22, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

2024 NASCAR Banquet

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – NOVEMBER 22: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion, Ty Majeski speaks during the NASCAR Awards and Champion Celebration at the Charlotte Convention Center on November 22, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

2024 NASCAR Banquet

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – NOVEMBER 22: 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion, Ty Majeski and Ali VanderLoop pose for a photo with the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series trophy prior to the NASCAR Awards and Champion Celebration at the Charlotte Convention Center on November 22, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

2024 NASCAR Banquet

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – NOVEMBER 22: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion, Ty Majeski speaks during the NASCAR Awards and Champion Celebration at the Charlotte Convention Center on November 22, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

2024 NASCAR Banquet

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – NOVEMBER 22: 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion, Ty Majeski and Mike Curb pose for a photo with the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series trophy prior to the NASCAR Awards and Champion Celebration at the Charlotte Convention Center on November 22, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

2024 NASCAR Banquet

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – NOVEMBER 22: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion, Ty Majeski poses for photos with the Cometic Gasket Pole Award trophy on the red carpet prior to the NASCAR Awards and Champion Celebration poses for a photo on the red carpet prior to the NASCAR Awards and Champion Celebration at the Charlotte Convention Center on November 22, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

2024 NASCAR Banquet

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – NOVEMBER 22: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion, Ty Majeski speaks during the NASCAR Awards and Champion Celebration at the Charlotte Convention Center on November 22, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

2024 NASCAR Banquet

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – NOVEMBER 22: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion, Ty Majeski and crew chief Joe Shear Jr. pose for a photo on the red carpet prior to the NASCAR Awards and Champion Celebration at the Charlotte Convention Center on November 22, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

2024 NASCAR Banquet

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – NOVEMBER 22: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion, Ty Majeski speaks during the NASCAR Awards and Champion Celebration at the Charlotte Convention Center on November 22, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

2024 NASCAR Banquet

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – NOVEMBER 22: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion, Ty Majeski and Ali VanderLoop pose for a photo on the red carpet prior to the NASCAR Awards and Champion Celebration at the Charlotte Convention Center on November 22, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

2024 NASCAR Banquet

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – NOVEMBER 22: 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion, Ty Majeski poses for a photo with the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series trophy prior to the NASCAR Awards and Champion Celebration at the Charlotte Convention Center on November 22, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

2024 NASCAR Banquet

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – NOVEMBER 22: 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion, Ty Majeski poses for a photo with the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series trophy prior to the NASCAR Awards and Champion Celebration at the Charlotte Convention Center on November 22, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

2024 NASCAR Banquet

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – NOVEMBER 22: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion, Ty Majeski speaks during the NASCAR Awards and Champion Celebration at the Charlotte Convention Center on November 22, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

2024 NASCAR Banquet

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – NOVEMBER 22: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion, Ty Majeski poses for photos with the Sunoco Diamond Performance Award trophy on the red carpet prior to the NASCAR Awards and Champion Celebration poses for a photo on the red carpet prior to the NASCAR Awards and Champion Celebration at the Charlotte Convention Center on November 22, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

2024 NASCAR Banquet

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – NOVEMBER 22: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion, Ty Majeski speaks during the NASCAR Awards and Champion Celebration at the Charlotte Convention Center on November 22, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

2024 NASCAR Banquet

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – NOVEMBER 22: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion, Ty Majeski speaks during the NASCAR Awards and Champion Celebration at the Charlotte Convention Center on November 22, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)