Rhodes Finishes 14th at Anderson Motor Speedway; Concludes Tenure with MAM / FHR

On Saturday, October 6th, Ben Rhodes started the #9 Stanley / Alpha Energy Solutions Ford with Marcos Ambrose Motorsport / Fat Head Racing in the sixth position at Anderson Motor Speedway (SC) in the UARA-STARS 150-lap event.  Moving up to fourth in the early laps of the race, Rhodes was looking for a solid run and possibly a victory, but shortly before the one-third mark, the handling of his car went away, dropping him back through the field to a 14^th-place finish.

On Friday, Rhodes and the team worked on the car, getting him second fastest by the end of the four-hour practice session.  However, on Saturday, they weren’t able to get the car back to that point.  Despite having good power under the hood, he wasn’t able to use it during the race.

“I started on the outside line and ran out there for many laps as I wasn’t able to get down low,” said Rhodes.  “Once I did, I was in fourth and thought we would be fine, but the handling went away and I was just hanging on at that point.  The car felt like it was on ice, and I was getting passed on the inside and outside.  We pitted to make an adjustment.  It helped for a few laps, but I just couldn’t put the power down to the wheels.”

Rhodes finished 14^th.

On Tuesday, October 9^th, Rhodes and Fat Head Racing decided to part ways, concluding Rhodes’ tenure at Marcos Ambrose Motorsport.

“I want to thank Marcos Ambrose and the entire Marcos Ambrose Motorsport group for their support and knowledge over this past year,” said Rhodes.  “I also want to thank Jamie Yelton and the Fat Head Racing team.  We learned a lot this year, and by going our separate ways now we all can get a jump start on our 2013 driver and team alignments.”

Rhodes, who had a successful test Monday, October 8^th, in a NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Toyota with Andy Santerre and Hattori Racing Enterprises, will now prepare for the Sunday, October 21^st, “Virginia Is For Racing Lovers 300” Late Model event at Martinsville Speedway (VA), driving the #41 Alpha Energy Solutions / Alliance Comfort Systems Chevy with Hawk-McCall Motorsports.