NEWTON, IA :: 16-year-old NASCAR Next driver Ben Rhodes looked to be on his way to his first NASCAR K&N Pro Series East victory on Friday, August 2nd, at Iowa Speedway (IA). The Louisville, Kentucky, native, in just his fourth series start, raced his way from 15th to second before the two-thirds mark of the “Pork Be Inspired 150” East-West combo event. However, a tire issue following a restart at lap 108 dropped him back in the pack, but he was able to hang on and finish 10th, his third top-10 finish in his first four starts in the series.
Going off notes from June, Rhodes and his Turner Scott Motorsports team had his No. 41 Alpha Energy Solutions Chevrolet fast during practice, turning the fifth-fastest lap in the final session. However, Rhodes made a mistake in qualifying, putting him 15th on the grid.
“I know where I made the mistake,” said Rhodes. “It cost us some positions, but I wasn’t worried. I knew Lee McCall (crew chief) and my Turner Scott Motorsports team had my car set up really good for the race. We knew we were going to move forward right at the green flag.”
Rhodes did just that, moving into the 10th position by lap 15 and up to fifth by lap 40. A few laps later, he worked his way to fourth, which is where he stayed until the halfway break. The No. 41 team bolted on new tires, fueled up the car, and prepared for the second half.
When the green flag flew at lap 77 to start the second half of the race, Rhodes ran in that spot until moving into second at lap 95 following another caution-flag restart. A few laps later, another caution flew, and during the long delay, Rhodes discussed making changes to his line to compensate some handling issues with the car. Unfortunately, when the green flew once again at lap 108, Rhodes went backwards in a hurry.
“The car just felt weird,” said Rhodes. “I thought I had a tire going down because it was super tight coming off the corner, and before the restart it was a little loose. I stayed on the track to try and feel it out, but I just couldn’t drive it like I could before. It stabilized out after about 10 laps, but it still wasn’t right.”
Late in the race, Rhodes turned faster laps than anyone, but without a caution flag and losing all the time on the track earlier, he wasn’t able to make up any of the spots he lost. Rhodes crossed the finish line in the 10th position.
Following the race, the team determined the tire stagger was a few inches off where it should have been, which was caused by a Goodyear tire issue throughout the weekend for the teams.
“When the tires heated up, it was manageable, but after the tires cooled down during the long caution, it made the car really hard to handle until they got heat built back up in them,” said Rhodes. “It is unfortunate it happened to us when it did, but we were still able to get a 10th-place finish out of it.”
Rhodes finished fifth at the Iowa track back in June, and with his 10th-place finish Friday combined with a ninth-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway (TN) earlier this year (in a back-up car), he has three top-10 finishes in his first four series starts. His only finish outside the top 10 occurred at Richmond International Raceway (VA), when he had to pull off the track due to an oil leak while running within the top 10.
“My Turner Scott Motorsports team has my car fast every time we get to the track,” said Rhodes. “Even though this is my first year in these cars and their first year as a team, we are prepared to race for the win each time. We have three races left this year before running the full season next year for the Rookie of the Year and championship, and we plan on trying to put the No. 41 Alpha Energy Solutions Chevy in victory lane before the end of 2013.”
Rhodes is sponsored by Alpha Energy Solutions as well as Alliance Comfort Systems, Kentucky National Guard, Refrigerant Rescue, and Park Community Federal Credit Union.
The next NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race for Rhodes and his TSM team will be at Greenville-Pickens Speedway (SC) on Monday, September 2nd. Rhodes will be back in his Hawk-McCall Motorsports No. 41 Alpha Energy Solutions Late Model Stock this weekend, racing Friday night, August 9th, at Kingsport Speedway (TN) and Saturday night, August 10th, at Hickory Motor Speedway (NC).
