LOUISVILLE, Ky. (January 4th, 2013) – After a few months of voting at the end of 2012, Speed51.com, The Short Track Source, announced today the results of their 2012 Late Model Most Popular Driver voting presented by ARbodies. With nearly 500 drivers represented nationally on the ballot, 15-year-old Louisville, Kentucky, native Ben Rhodes finished third in the fan vote of over 68,000 votes.
“I want to thank all my fans and sponsors for voting for me during the contest,” said Rhodes. “”We might not have won, but to place in the top three of all the drivers in the country means a lot.”
Drivers were placed on the ballot based on their finishing points position in Late Model touring series and local track points championships. Rhodes finished ninth in the 2012 UARA-STARS Late Model tour, despite not entering the final two events of the season. His presence during the season made a mark with the fans.
“It has been an amazing year at the track and on my social media with fans,” said Rhodes. “I love strapping into the race car and taking the green flag, but I also have enjoyed interacting with the fans at the track and on Facebook and Twitter when I am not racing. This third-place finish in the voting contest shows the power of the fans, and I appreciate every one of them.”
Rhodes was the lone UARA-STARS driver in the final top-five vote count, and with his third-place finish in the voting contest, he won $500 off the “M” package at ARbodies. ARCA/CRA racer Kenzie Ruston and PASS Super Limited driver Cole Timm were first and second, with Kingsport Speedway’s Paul Nogradi and Old Dominion Speedway’s David Polenz fourth and fifth.
“Congratulations to Kenzie Ruston for winning the voting contest and to all the other drivers in the top five. Also I want to give a big thanks to ARBodies, and to Speed51.com for holding the contest and their support of short track racing.”
Rhodes will return to the UARA-STARS in the 2013 season, driving the #41 Alpha Energy Solutions Chevy for Hawk-McCall Motorsports as well as select NASCAR Whelen All-American Series events with the team. Also, he will race several NASCAR K&N Pro Series East races in the #41 Alpha Energy Solutions Chevy with Turner Scott Motorsports. His first race of the 2013 season will take place at Daytona International Speedway (FL) in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series “UNOH Battle at the Beach” on Monday, February 18th.
For more information on Ben Rhodes, including sponsorship opportunities, 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.
# # # #