From ThorSport Racing PR –
Race 11 of 23: Chicagoland Speedway
Track Length / Type: 1.5-mile Oval
Opened: July, 2001
Race Distance: 150 laps I 225 miles
Format: Three Stages | Stage 1: 35 laps (ending at lap 35), Stage 2: 35 laps (ending at Lap 70), Final Stage: 80 laps, ending at Lap 150)
ThorSport Racing at Chicagoland Speedway
ThorSport Racing has made 26 starts at Chicagoland Speedway with 9 different drivers (Ben Rhodes, Cameron Hayley, Cody Coughlin, Dakoda Armstrong, Grant Enfinger, Jeb Burton, Johnny Sauter, Matt Crafton, Rico Abreu) since 2009. The Sandusky, Ohio-based team’s success includes two poles (Matt Crafton and Johnny Sauter), and 116 laps led en route to nine top-five and 14 top-10 finishes.
Ford Fact – Chicagoland Speedway
Friday night’s Overton’s 225 is one of 15 different racing venues on the 2018, 23-race NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule, that Ford-powered F-150’s have not found victory lane or earned a series pole award.
NASCAR Salutes
ThorSport Racing, along with all the trucks entered in the Overton’s 225 on Friday at Chicagoland Speedway, will run special headers on their truck windshields in honor of the 2018 NASCAR Salutes program. Additionally, service men and their families will join the teams at the track, and each driver will also wear a special pair of gloves during the 150-lap event that will be signed by each driver following the race, and will be used by NASCAR, Camping World, and Chicagoland Speedway throughout the season.
Team Info/Stats:
Crew Chief: Eddie Troconis
Driver Point Standings: 8th
Owner Point Standings: 10th
Spotter: Lloyd Garner
News and Notes:
- This Week’s No. 41 Alpha Energy Solutions Ford F-150… The No. 41 Alpha Energy Solutions Ford F-150 team will unload chassis No. 62 for Friday night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) Overton’s 225 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. Affectionately known as “Jasmine,” the chassis will make its third track appearance of the season this weekend. Previously earning two top-five finishes at Atlanta Motor Speedway (fourth) and Charlotte Motor Speedway (fifth) this season, the truck saw two top-fives (Atlanta, Pocono Raceway), two top-10’s (Charlotte, Chicagoland), 43 laps led (Homestead-Miami Speedway) and one pole award (Pocono) dressed as the No. 27 in 2017. Debuting in 2016 as the No. 13 for ThorSport Racing, the truck saw one top-five (third) at Chicagoland, before finishing 10th at Texas Motor Speedway in the fall of 2016.
- Windy City Weekends… This weekend’s NCWTS Overton’s 225 marks Rhodes’s fourth start in the Windy City, with two in NCWTS under ThorSport Racing’s banner (2016, 2017), in addition to a NASCAR Xfinity Series start with JR Motorsports (2015). Of those three starts, Rhodes earned a top-10 finish (sixth) in 2017, after starting 13th.
- Wedding Bells Are Ringing… Rhodes recently popped the question to his now-fiancée, Caitlynn, this past weekend in St. Louis, getting engaged to his longtime sweetheart under the Gateway Arch.
- Catch Rhodes at Chicagoland… Rhodes will join fellow ThorSport Racing teammates, and other NCWTS drivers, for an autograph session at 2 p.m. CT, Friday, June 29, in Champion’s Park — west of Chicagoland Speedway’s grandstands.
Chatting with Ben Rhodes…
“This weekend at Chicagoland Speedway, it’s all about getting our No. 41 Ford F-150 team back on the right track. We’ve had a rough go of it the past few weeks and have lost a lot of points – getting a win for the Playoffs is going to be our way in. Our goal is to run safe and get as many points back as we can. We need to be upfront in the stages, collecting as many points as possible throughout the race. If a win presents itself, we’re going to have to take it. If we have to ruffle feathers, that’s what we’re going to do. At this point, my sole focus is on the No. 41 Alpha Energy Solutions team and doing everything it takes to get ourselves back into contention, to get into the Playoffs, and contend for the championship. Unfortunately, things outside of our control have done this to us, but we’re going to rebound strong in the summer months.”
Catch the Action
Overton’s 225: Friday, June 29 | 9 p.m. ET | FOX Sports 1 (FS1) | Motor Racing Network (MRN) | SiriusXM NASCAR Channel 90
Join the Conversation
Use #Overtons225 or #NASCARSalutes to join the conversation on social media, and be sure to follow and tag ThorSport Racing on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to share in the weekend’s excitement.