Kentucky racer Ben Rhodes spent the off-season testing the #9 Stanley Ford Fusion for Marcos Ambrose Motorsport at various tracks across the south. On Saturday, March 10th, the team entered their first race of the 2012 season at Hickory Motor Speedway (NC). In the 100-lap NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Late Model Stock feature, Rhodes started 11th, overcoming adversity and a spin to rally back to a fourth-place finish.
After a successful practice, Rhodes headed into qualifying, timing in 11th.
“We were looking for a little more during qualifying,” said Rhodes. “There was a little hiccup during the run, so afterwards we decided to change the carburetors and make a few adjustments for the feature. Otherwise, the car was really solid and I was excited to get going in the race.”
In the first few laps of the race, Rhodes moved up a few positions, but ran conservative to save his tires for later in the race. Multiple cautions kept the field bunched up and put Rhodes in the outside line, making him have to race hard on the outside.
“The car was a little tight, but was pretty good in the low groove,” explained Rhodes. “We kept getting stuck on the outside on restarts, which hurt us a little. We also had a transmission gremlin crop up that made it hard to get the car into fourth on the restarts. We were able to hang in there though and keep the Stanley Ford in contention.”
Just past the halfway point, contact from another car sent Rhodes spinning down the front stretch. Rhodes grabbed a gear and got going, but had to restart the race from the 14th position, where he had to slowly makeup all the positions he lost.
With just 15 laps remaining, the “Savage” Rhodes made his move, driving from eighth to fourth, running down the leaders. With just a few laps left, the car developed a vibration, but Rhodes was able to hang on, crossing the finish line in fourth.
“Earlier in the race we scrubbed the wall battling on the high side coming off turn four,” said Rhodes. “That damaged the right rear a bit. Over the final laps, I started to notice the car shaking a bit. On the last lap, the right rear hub broke. I was able to nurse it back around though to finish fourth.
“Jamie Yelton, Lee McCall and the whole Marcos Ambrose Motorsport team did great today,” continued Rhodes. “We had a lot of things thrown at our #9 Stanley Ford Fusion during the race, and we were able to overcome all the craziness during the day. This was a great tune-up for next week’s UARA-STARS race here at Hickory.”
Next up for Rhodes and the #9 Stanley Ford Fusion for Marcos Ambrose Motorsport is the UARA-STARS Late Model Stock series opener at Hickory Motor Speedway on Saturday, March 17th. For those that cannot make it to the track, fans can watch the race live online at MotorsportsBroadcasting.com for just $7.50.
Make sure to follow Rhodes on Facebook and Twitter for updates during the week and race day updates at www.facebook.com/benrhodesinc and www.twitter.com/benrhodesinc.