Youngest Invitee to Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown Turns Heads in the Industry
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With the racing action for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Richmond International Raceway (VA) happening this weekend, 15-year-old Kentucky native Ben Rhodes will be watching the event from outside his race car, remembering his first trip to the 0.75-mile short track oval in April, where he raced against some of the best NASCAR big league racers as well as short track stars in the invite-only Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown. Turning heads and putting his name on the national map, Rhodes, the youngest invitee to the event as a wild card entry, drove the #91 Stanley / Alpha Energy Solutions Ford Fusion for Marcos Ambrose Motorsport to a sixth-place finish.
“That was such a great experience,” said Rhodes. “Being invited to the Showdown was an honor in itself, but to race strong against some of the biggest stars in racing was amazing.”
Rhodes and the Marcos Ambrose Motorsport crew unloaded fast at the track on Wednesday, April 18th, during the official event test (a video of his test day can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFmxXdnOyvY). That testing session helped Rhodes when he headed back to the track to race on Thursday, April 26th, where he timed in 13th in a 36-car field with big names in the race including NASCAR stars Tony Stewart, Jeff Burton, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, Aric Almirola, and Denny Hamlin, as well as short track stars Chase Elliott, Darrell Wallace, Greg Edwards, Sergio Pena, and others.
With the race live on SPEED, the green flag dropped in the 75-lap event. Rhodes methodically worked his way up into the top 10, then top five. At the lap 50 break, Rhodes was fourth and looking to move in to a position to challenge for the victory.
“The car was really good during the first segment of the event,” said Rhodes. “I was taking care of the tires and at the same time picking up a few positions on the track. We had a good game plan in place for the final 25 laps.”
It took a few laps for his car to come up to speed on the tires, but after they did, Rhodes was still sitting in fourth when a caution came out, setting up a 12-lap dash to the checkered flag.
“I was ready for the final 12 laps,” explained Rhodes. “Unfortunately, on the restart, Jeff Burton (who was second) missed a shift and jammed up the outside line. I had to get off the gas and swerve to miss him which cost me a lot of track space and a few positions. I battled back to the bumper of third, fourth, and fifth at the end of the race and the car was faster than them, but I decided not to push the issue and tear up cars.”
Rhodes finished the race in sixth behind Stewart, Edwards, Brandon Butler, Burton and Logano.
“I was a bit disappointed we didn’t finish higher. We had a better car than sixth, but that restart killed us there. Still though, it was an amazing day and I want to thank Denny Hamlin and the Denny Hamlin Foundation for inviting me to participate in this event. Racing at Richmond for my first time was an experience I will never forget.”
To view the SPEED TV broadcast of the last restart and run to the checkered flag, click the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEcB4npfGx0
For more information on Ben Rhodes, please contact Jason “Stix” Buckley of STIX FX Entertainment at (704) 519-5528 or stix@stixfx.com, 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.