From JR Motorsports PR –
DRIVER: Ben Rhodes / No. 88 Alpha Energy Solutions Chevrolet
RACE: Lakes Region 200 (200 laps / 211.6 miles)
TRACK: New Hampshire Motor Speedway
DATE: Saturday, July 18, 2015
Quotes | Ben Rhodes
“I’m looking forward to getting back in the Alpha Energy Solutions Chevy this weekend and returning to a track where I have experience. While I’ve never raced at Loudon in the XFINITY Series, I’ve been there in the K&N Pro Series, so I’ll already know my way around the track and will only have to adapt to the car.
“My goal for this weekend is to get a top-10 finish and bring the car back in one piece. I remember the bumps going into turn three from previous races, but they weren’t really an issue in the K&N car. I’m interested to see how that may change and what challenges the track will bring to an XFINITY Series car. I’m actually excited to see the changes and how I have to adapt to the track in this series.”
Notes | No. 88 Team
RHODES AT LOUDON: This weekend’s event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway will mark Rhodes’ first NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) start at the “Magic Mile.” However, the 18-year-old has experience at the track in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East (NKNPSE), where he has earned one pole and one top-five finish in just two starts, and has led 18 total laps.
ROOKIE REPORT: Through his first two NXS races (Iowa and Chicagoland), Rhodes has earned one top 10, which was a seventh-place finish in Chicago, and has an average finishing position of 14.0. While the 1.5-mile Chicagoland track proved to be a challenge for Rhodes and the No. 88 team, the next two events where Rhodes will be behind the wheel, New Hampshire and Iowa, will be in the JRM rookie’s wheelhouse. The 2014 KNPSE champion has raced at both venues – the one-mile New Hampshire in KNPSE, and the 0.875-mile Iowa in both the NXS and KNSPE.
CHASSIS SELECTION: The No. 88 team will unload with chassis No. 862 this weekend. The chassis has been raced six times, three times at Richmond, twice at Phoenix and most recently at Dover. Four of those races have been with Kevin Harvick at the wheel, where he’s earned one win (Richmond, April 2014) and two top-three finishes. Kasey Kahne has raced the chassis once, earning a top-five finish at Dover in May.
RHODES’ 2015 SCHEDULE: Rhodes will pilot the No. 88 Alpha Energy Solutions Chevrolet at Iowa (Aug. 1), Watkins Glen (Aug. 8), Mid-Ohio (Aug. 15), Road America (Aug. 29), Kentucky (Sept. 26), Dover (Oct. 3) and Homestead (Nov. 21).
ALPHA: Alpha Energy Solutions, Inc., the regional leader in delivering top quality commercial and industrial mechanical service, is scheduled to be Louisville, Ky. native Rhodes’ primary partner for all 10 of his races in 2015.
For the full event preview, click here for the PDF.