(Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images)
Catch the Action
NC Education Lottery 200: Friday, May 18 | 8:30 p.m. ET | FOX Sports 1 / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Channel 90
Race 7 of 23: Charlotte Motor Speedway
Track Length: 1.5-miles
Race Distance: 134 laps, 201 miles
Format: Three Stages (Stage 1: 30 laps, Stage 2: 30 laps, Final Stage: 74 laps, ending at Lap 134.)
Ford Fact – Charlotte Motor Speedway
Charlotte Motor Speedway is one of 15 different racing venues on the 2018, 23-race schedule, that Ford-powered F-150’s have not found victory lane or earned a Keystone Light Pole Award.
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. 62 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (CMS) this weekend. Known as “Jasmine,” the chassis last saw the track earlier this season at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where Rhodes and the No. 41 team finished fourth. Debuting in 2016 at Chicagoland Speedway with Cameron Hayley behind the wheel of the No. 13, the chassis finished third, going on to fin ish 10th at Texas Motor Speedway that Fall. Dressed as the No. 27 in 2017 with Rhodes behind the wheel, the chassis saw a successful season, with all finishes within the top-10. Finishing fourth at Atlanta, the truck saw a fifth-place start at CMS before nabbing the pole at Pocono Raceway, finishing second. Finishing sixth at Chicagoland Speedway, the chassis wrapped the 2017 season at Homestead-Miami Speedway by starting second and leading 43 laps. Overall the chassis has accumulated one pole award, five top-five and three top-10 finishes.
- Charlotte by the Numbers… This weekend’s NC Education Lottery 200 is Rhodes’s third appearance at CMS, both previous starts with ThorSport Racing in the NCWTS. Getting his first taste of the 1.5-mile oval in 2016, Rhodes started 12th, finishing 17th in the debut. Showing growth and improvement, Rhodes then went on in 2017 to start fifth, finishing eighth in last year’s NC Education Lottery 200.
- Healing Heartache in the Heartland… Facing mechanical mishaps for the second time this season, this time at Kansas Speedway, the No. 41 Alpha Energy Solutions Ford F-150 wasn’t in an ideal situation leaving the Sunflower State. Looking ahead to CMS and other upcoming mile-and-a-half tracks in the coming months, Rhodes looks to recover points, and positions, lost in the driver and owner standings, previously earning one win, four top-five and four top-10 finishes in 2017 and 2018 at tracks similar to CMS in the NCWTS.
- Catch Rhodes in Charlotte… Rhodes will join fellow ThorSport Racing teammate, Myatt Snider, and other NCWTS drivers for an autograph session at Camping World of Concord near Charlotte Motor Speedway, Friday, May 18, from 1 to 1:30 p.m. ET. Additionally, Rhodes will then join fellow NCWTS drivers for the series autograph session following the event at Camping World, from 3 to 3:45 p.m. ET, located in the Whiskey River Fan Area under the Ford Grandstands at track.
Chatting with Ben Rhodes…
“Charlotte Motor Speedway is a very challenging racetrack. It’s a tough and bumpy racetrack. We don’t have the best record there, but I’m looking to change that this weekend, especially after Kansas. Our mile-and-a-half program is getting better and better, and I’m looking to get a top-five, or a win, at Charlotte to bump ourselves back up in the point standings, or to lock ourselves into the Playoffs.”