Rhodes Gets Collected in Late-Race Accident, Results in 22nd-Place Finish
(Turner Scott Motorsports PR) DOVER, Del. (May 31, 2014) – In his second NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) start for Turner Scott Motorsports (TSM), Ben Rhodes continued to impress until two competitors made contact with 30 laps to go and ended the young driver’s shot at a top-10 finish. On Thursday, Rhodes and the No. 32 Alpha Energy Solutions Chevy hit the track for just four laps before rain settled in on the northern state, causing all track activity to be postponed until Friday morning. Electing to use the scheduled qualifying time as practice, NASCAR set the field per the rulebook, which placed the No. 32 TSM truck in the ninth position for the start of the 200-lap race. As the green flag waved on the Monster Mile, Rhodes radioed to crew chief Mike Hillman Jr. that his Alpha Energy Solutions truck was extremely loose. When the second caution arose, Hillman called Rhodes to pit road for adjustments and fuel. Still dealing with loose conditions, Rhodes revisited pit road under the fourth caution for four Goodyear tires, fuel and additional adjustments to tighten up his Chevy. By the halfway mark, Rhodes communicated that his truck had switched to being a bit tight. When the next caution arose, Hillman elected to leave the No. 32 truck snug and refuel while adding four tires. Rhodes was running just outside the top 10 when the next caution flag waved and Rhodes received the wave around by remaining on the track. Restarting in the 10th position, Rhodes had a solid shot at charging to the front until two competitors made contact on the low side. With no where to go, Rhodes and his No. 32 Alpha Energy Solutions Chevy made direct contact with one of the competitors, causing major damage that relegated the TSM team to a 22nd-place finish.
Ben Rhodes on Racing at Dover International Speedway:
“I wish that would’ve ended better for us. I had nowhere to go except straight into the 20 truck. I really appreciate all the hard work that this Turner Scott Motorsports team put into my truck this weekend. This was definitely a great learning experience for me, and I can’t thank Mike Hillman Jr. and my spotter Eddie D’Hondt enough for their feedback. I would’ve liked to get this team and Alpha Energy Solutions another top-10 finish, but it just didn’t work out for us this time around. I’m already looking forward to getting back in the No. 32 truck in August at Bristol Motor Speedway. Until then, I’m going to keep focused on the K&N championship, hopefully win some more races, and learn as much as I can for my next shot in the Truck Series.”