Team Info/Stats:
Crew Chief: Eddie Troconis
Driver Point Standings: 7th
Owner Point Standings: 8th
Playoff Position: 4th
Spotter: Lloyd Garner
News and Notes:
- This Week’s No. 41 Carolina Nut Co. Ford F-150… The No. 41 Carolina Nut Co. Ford F-150 team will unload Chassis No. 62, nicknamed “Jasmine,” for Saturday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) Gander Outdoors 150. The chassis first made its debut for ThorSport Racing in 2016 at Chicagoland Speedway, finishing third. Dressed as the No. 27 in 2017 with Ben Rhodes behind the wheel, the chassis finished fourth at Atlanta Motor Speedway, eighth at Charlotte Motor Speedway after starting fifth, earned its first pole of the season at Pocono Raceway and finished second, finished sixth at Chicagoland Speedway, and started second at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where Rhodes led 43 laps during the season-finale race. Pocono this weekend will mark its fourth start of the 2018 season, previously finishing fourth at Atlanta, fifth at Charlotte and second at Chicagoland this year. Overall, the truck has one pole award, six top-five and nine top-10 finishes.
- Unfinished Business… Aiming to bounce back from the Eldora Dirt Derby, Rhodes is ready to take on the “Tricky Triangle.” In his first race at Pocono in 2016, Rhodes qualified third and finished 11th. Returning a year later, Rhodes’s qualifying effort was record-setting at 170.033 mph, earning him his first but only pole award of the 2017 season. Battling until the end, Rhodes finished second in his second start at the 2.5-mile track last year but is still looking for a win in Pennsylvania.
- Playing in the Dirt… This past week at the Sixth Annual Dirt Derby, Rhodes kicked off race day by qualifying first with a fastest lap at 86.801 mph, then winning Qualifying Race No. 1, earning him pole position for the main event. Leading the field to the green flag, Rhodes was able to win Stage 1, and led half of the second stage, before a run in with the wall unfortunately forced the team to finish 29th.
- Catch Rhodes at Pocono… Rhodes will join fellow ThorSport Racing teammates, and other NCWTS drivers, for the track’s Open Garage, Friday, July 27, from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET, located in the NCWTS Garage at Pocono Raceway.
Chatting with Ben Rhodes…
“I’m really excited to be heading back to Pocono Raceway this weekend. We’re going there to win, get stage wins and playoff points. Our sole focus is building up as many playoff points as we can for the Playoffs once that comes around, and Pocono is a track we’ve had good success at in past. We finished second there last year, and I’m really wanting to one-up that with a win. We also have the track record, so I definitely want to defend that in qualifying this year. I feel like ThorSport Racing has been giving me super-fast Ford F-150s, and I feel like going back to a familiar place like Pocono is not only going to give myself, but also my team, a lot of confidence.”