Kentucky Native Leads Over 50 Laps in Strong Showing in North Carolina
LOUISVILLE, KY (June 25th, 2012) – In March, 15-year-old Kentucky native Ben Rhodes drove the Marcos Ambrose Motorsport #9 Stanley / Alpha Energy Solutions Ford Fusion to a third-place finish at Hickory Motor Speedway (NC) in the UARA-STARS Late Model Stock season opener, earning the Rookie of the Race award. On Saturday, June 23rd, the series headed back to the historic North Carolina track, and after qualifying fourth, Rhodes raced in the top three the entire event, leading over 50 laps late in the race, finishing second in a wild run to the checkered flag.
The great weekend of racing at Hickory started on Friday at the track for Rhodes and the team. Despite a little weather in the area, Rhodes was third fastest in the practice session. On Saturday, Rhodes and the Marcos Ambrose Motorsport team spent both practice sessions working on the car’s handling over the long run.
“Billy Smith (crew chief) and the team worked hard on the car both days trying multiple things to make sure #9 Stanley / Alpha Energy Solutions Ford was good on the long runs,” said Rhodes. “We felt comfortable with it at the end of practice heading into qualifying.”
With the sun blazing down on the track surface, Rhodes and the other 27 racers bolted on new tires and headed into the qualifying session just after 5pm. The #9 machine qualified fourth.
“To be honest, I didn’t expect to qualify that far up. With the way we had our car set-up for long runs, we knew we were going to sacrifice some speed during qualifying. Fourth place ended up being a great spot though, so we were excited going into the race.”
When the green flag dropped, Rhodes quickly moved into the third position, moving to second briefly by lap 30 before settling back into the third position, logging laps. At the halfway mark, Rhodes was second, right behind the leader. On lap 94 of 150, he made his move, taking over the top spot.
“The car was handling great during the race,” said Rhodes. “I was saving tires, but the car just seemed to want to move forward. When I got to second, I rode behind the leader until it seemed like the right time to put the #9 Stanley / Alpha Energy Solutions Ford on the point. From there, we checked out from the field while still conserving tires.”
A caution flew with 25 laps remaining, and after a few laps of green flag racing, Rhodes was able to distance himself a bit from the pack until a late-race yellow flew, setting up a short four-lap dash for the win. The final green flag flew with many drivers trying to claw their way to the front in a very physical battle for the victory. Leading by a few inches at the white flag, contact from a few cars cost Rhodes some track space with his car crossing the finish line second.
“We didn’t need those last-few cautions. Our car was better after about five laps of green flag racing, so I knew I had to get up on the wheel as much as I could. On the last restart everyone was going for it and I got moved up the track. The car stuck on the high side so I was able to lead taking the white flag. Through turn two though another driver made it three wide on my outside, and we all banged off each other coming off turn two. I gave it one more shot in three and four, but my momentum was killed from the turn two contact, so I crossed the line second.
“I want to congratulate Dillon Bassett on his first UARA win. I really wanted this victory for the Marcos Ambrose Motorsport team, but Dillon drove a great race and it was a very good battle to the end. It was a lot of fun and a great show for the fans. I have a feeling Dillon and I are going to have some great battles all season.”
Along with Rhodes’ strong second-place finish, his new Marcos Ambrose Motorsport teammate David Garbo Jr brought home a fifth-place finish.
“This was the first Late Model race David and I raced in together,” said Rhodes. “He did a great job and it was fun racing with him. We both ran in the top five most of the night and we battled each other a few times, giving each other room and respect on the track. It was all high fives in the pits after the race.
“The entire Marcos Ambrose Motorsport organization is really coming into its own and I have had a blast racing with David Garbo and Chad Reed (multiple AMA/World Supercross champion) recently under the MAM banner. We have all gelled together providing great feedback back and forth. All of us want to get to victory lane, not only for ourselves, but for Marcos so we can bring Marcos Ambrose Motorsport their first team win. Whether it is Chad, David or I, we feel that victory is right around the corner. We are all very excited!”
Rhodes will spend the upcoming weekend back in his home state of Kentucky, making multiple appearances during the NASCAR race weekend at Kentucky Speedway.
The next race for Rhodes and the #9 Stanley / Alpha Energy Solutions Ford Fusion will be the “Rusty Harpe Memorial” Late Model Stock event on Wednesday, July 4th, at Caraway Speedway (NC).
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 atwww.facebook.com/benrhodesinc and Twitter at www.twitter.com/benrhodesinc.
High-Res Photos: http://www.marcosambrosemotorsport.com/marcos-ambrose-motorsport-pr-photos.html