From ThorSport Racing PR –
Ben Rhodes, No. 27 Safelite AutoGlass Toyota Tundra
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Texas Motor Speedway – WinStarGamingOnline.com 400
Race No. 7 of 23
Team Information:
Started: 7th
Finished: 5th
Laps: 167/167
Laps Led: 0
Status: Running
Driver Points: 5th
Owner Points: 6th
Recap:
Ben Rhodes, driver of the No. 27 Safelite AutoGlass Toyota Tundra, made his third career start at Texas Motor Speedway (TMS) in Friday night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) WinStarGamingOnline.com 400. Starting a track-best seventh, Rhodes was forced to make an unscheduled pit stop on lap 14, for a flat right rear tire, relegating the Safelite driver to a 19th-place finish in Stage 1, and an 11th-place finish in Stage 2. Restarting sixth for the final Stage, Rhodes was able to maintain a top-10 position through the final 81 laps to finish a track-best fifth, under caution, behind race winner, Christopher Bell.
The top-five result was Rhodes second consecutive top-five finish, and his third top-five in seven NCWTS starts this season.
Quote:
“We had a fast Toyota Tundra tonight, it’s just a shame we weren’t able to take it to victory lane. Unfortunately, we had a tire go down at the the beginning of the race, which put us all the way in the back to begin with. So, bad luck just plagued us from the very start. Again, the results didn’t show our performance. We had the best truck on the race track, hands down. We kept having to restart on the outside line, which didn’t have a groove, or if we could go on the outside line, the line in front of us would just check up, and we would be a sitting duck. It’s just a shame I couldn’t put this Safelite Tundra in victory lane for all these hard working ThorSport guys.”
Notes:
- The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) had three practice sessions on Thursday in preparation for Friday night’s WinStarGamingOnline.com 400. Ben Rhodes was third, 14th and third, respectively, in each session.
- Making his third start at TMS, Rhodes started a track-best seventh, ran as high as fourth and finished a track-best fifth in the 167-lap event. The top-five result was the Safelite AutoGlass drivers second consecutive top-five finish.
- In three starts at TMS, Rhodes has one top-five finish (2017).
- After seven starts in 2017, the ThorSport Racing driver has led 116 laps en route to three top-five, and four top-10 finishes.
- In 34 career starts, Rhodes has one pole (Martinsville-1, 2016), and has led 171 laps en route to six top-five, and 12 top-10 finishes.
- Rhodes’ ThorSport Racing teammates finished third (Enfinger), ninth (Crafton), and 18th (Coughlin).
- Up Next: The Drivin’ for Linemen 200 at Gateway Motorsports Park in St. Louis at 8:30pm ET on Saturday, June 13.
About Safelite AutoGlass®:
Safelite AutoGlass® is the nation’s largest provider of vehicle glass repair and replacement services with more than 7,200 MobileGlassShops™ and company stores in all 50 states. Last year, nearly 6 million customers chose Safelite for its 24/7 national contact centers, advanced online scheduling, superior repair and replacement systems, and the industry’s only nationwide lifetime guarantee. Founded in 1947, the Columbus, Ohio-based company employs 13,000 people across the United States. For more information visit: www.Safelite.com.
About ThorSport Racing:
ThorSport Racing, based in Sandusky, Ohio, is the longest-tenured NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team. ThorSport Racing, which has competed in the NCWTS since 1996, will run the No. 88 Menards Toyota Tundra driven by two-time NCWTS drivers’ champion Matt Crafton, the No. 13 JEGS/RIDE TV Toyota Tundra driven by Cody Coughlin, the No. 27 Safelite AutoGlass Toyota Tundra driven by Ben Rhodes, and the No. 98 RIDE TV/Champion Power Equipment/Jive Communications Toyota Tundra driven by Grant Enfinger. For more information visit www.ThorSport.com.