15-Year-Old Kentucky Native Looking to Better His 2011 Results at the Beach
LOUISVILLE, KY (November 14th, 2012) – After a successful debut with Hawk-McCall Motorsports on October 21st at Martinsville Speedway (VA), 15-year-old Louisville, Kentucky, native Ben Rhodes is ready for his second race with the team Sunday, November 18th, in the Late Model Stock portion of the Myrtle Beach 400 weekend at Myrtle Beach Speedway (SC). Rhodes will be racing in the No. 41 Alpha Energy Solutions Ford-powered Late Model, looking to conclude his 2012 season with a strong run.
While this is just his second venture with HMM this season prior to heading into the 2013 season with the team co-owned by AmPro Racing’s Randy Hawkins and legendary NASCAR crew chief Lee McCall, it isn’t the first pairing for Rhodes and McCall at Myrtle Beach Speedway as McCall was the crew chief for Rhodes’ maiden voyage at the track in the 2011 event.
“Last year I raced in the Limited Late Model portion of the Myrtle Beach 400 event,” said Rhodes. “It was my seventh-career start in a Late Model and my first time racing at Myrtle Beach Speedway. We had a great run during the weekend and ended up finishing 12th after racing our way all the way up to just outside the top five.”
In last year’s lower division event, Rhodes was fast in practice, but overdrove the car in qualifying, forcing him to start 31st, something he has learned from.
“Last year it really cooled down and qualifying went well into the evening,” explained Rhodes. “I made a rookie mistake thinking the car would grip more if I drove it in hard, and that didn’t work out so well. The good thing is that Lee had the car handling well so I was able to drive up through the field. We faded late after a red flag, and I think it had to do with using up too much tire getting up through the field as well as an air pressure issue after sitting a while under red. It was still a solid run and a great learning experience for me.”
After spending most of the season with another crew chief with his former team, Rhodes in thrilled to be back at “The Beach” with McCall calling the shots and with his new team Hawk-McCall Motorsports.
“At Martinsville last month we had a great showing and had a lot of fun,” said Rhodes. “Lee and I communicate real well and we are always on the same page. We are both looking forward to this weekend and seeing what we can do in the No. 41 Alpha Energy Solutions Ford-powered ride.”
Practice for the Myrtle Beach 400 event at Myrtle Beach Speedway (SC) takes place Wednesday, November 11th – Friday, November 16th, with qualifying on Saturday, November 17th. The race will roll off at 2pm on Sunday, November 18th. For more information on the event, visit www.myrtlebeachspeedway.com.
Weekend updates on Ben Rhodes can be found on his social media outlets at www.facebook.com/benrhodesinc and www.twitter.com/benrhodesinc, with live race updates occurring on his Twitter.
For more information on Ben Rhodes, including press or sponsorship opportunities, 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.
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