Top Five Earns Rhodes Second Rookie of the Race Award of 2012
LOUISVILLE, KY (July 16th, 2012) – The eighth stop on the UARA-STARS Late Model Stock Tour took place on Saturday, July 14th, at Newport Motor Speedway (TN). Ben Rhodes and the #9 Widow Wax / Alpha Energy Solutions Ford Fusion with Marcos Ambrose Motorsport entered the event coming off the momentum of a second-place finish in the last UARA race at Hickory Motor Speedway (NC). Starting near the front in the 150-lap feature, Rhodes was spun out early in the race, but was able to rebound to cross the finish line in fifth, earning the Rookie of the Race award.
On Friday, Rhodes and the team headed to the track to get some practice in. Using used tires, the car timed in seventh fastest at the end of the practice session.
“We decided to not bolt on sticker tires during Friday’s practice,” said Rhodes. “We wanted to work on the balance of the car and at the end of the day we felt confident on where the car was.”
During the two practice sessions on Saturday prior to qualifying, the Marcos Ambrose Motorsport team continued to tune on the car with old tires, only bolting on new tires during the final practice session.
“We didn’t get to race many laps in the first race here earlier this year, so we wanted to work on how the car would handle on old and worn tires,” explained Rhodes. “At the end of the first practice Saturday we had over 100 laps on the tires, but the car felt pretty good. The second session we put on new tires and was second fastest going into qualifying. We were ready for qualifying.”
With weather in the area, qualifying took place with a heavy cloud cover, increasing the speeds. Usually going out last in the qualifying session is an advantage, but with a handful of cars left to go it started to sprinkle, and when Rhodes hit the track, it had picked up. Rhodes qualified fifth.
“The track was starting to get slick when I went out to qualify. I probably left a little on the track, but I didn’t want to risk wrecking the car with the rain drops coming down. Fifth was a great position for us to start with, so we were looking forward to getting into the race.”
When the green flag dropped, Rhodes ran within the top five while many cars jockeyed for position. Just before the 50-lap mark, Rhodes was spun out by the car behind him, bringing out the caution flag. He was able to get his car turned around and back going, but he lost a lot of track position. Restarting from back in the pack, Rhodes spent the rest of the race recovering from the spin and avoiding a few wrecks to get back to fifth. Reeling in the leaders, Rhodes was just behind the top four when the checkered flag flew.
“It was unfortunate getting spun out like that, but I couldn’t focus on that during the race,” said Rhodes. “I had to get up on the wheel and stay focused on moving through the field. I had some great battles on my way back towards the front, including running multiple laps side by side with Scott Turlington. I want to thank him for racing me clean. That was a lot of fun.”
His fifth-place finish also earned him the Rookie of the Race honors, the second time this season.
“Billy Smith (crew chief) and the entire Marcos Ambrose Motorsport crew worked extremely hard again this weekend dialing in the #9 Widow Wax / Alpha Energy Solutions Ford. We had a better car than where we finished, but to finish fifth and earn the Rookie of the Race award is a great accomplishment after that early spin. I have to thank Smith Racing Engines as well for their awesome horsepower. The car was wicked fast and we are close to getting that first win.”
The next race for Rhodes and the #9 Widow Wax / Alpha Energy Solutions Ford Fusion will be the UARA-STARS Late Model Stock event at Caraway Speedway (NC) on Saturday, July 28th.
For more information on Ben Rhodes, please contact Jason “Stix” Buckley of STIX FX Entertainment at (704) 519-5528 or [email protected], and make sure to keep up to date on Ben Rhodes’ racing career at www.benrhodesinc.com, and follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/benrhodesinc and Twitter at www.twitter.com/benrhodesinc.