QUALIFYING: Rhodes On Point At Greenville
Third Straight Pole For 17-Year-Old
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Ben Rhodes won the 21 Means 21 Pole Award presented by Coors Brewing Company in NASCAR K&N Pro Series East qualifying on Saturday for the Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 150 at Greenville Pickens Speedway.
After being third-quickest in practice, Rhodes posted a time of 20.684 seconds on the half-mile track for an average speed of 87.024 mph. It’s the third straight series pole win for the 17-year-old out of Louisville, Ky., and his first at Greenville.
Cameron Hayley, who topped the speed charts during practice earlier in the day, will start alongside Rhodes on the front row after registering a 20.743-second lap (86.776 mph).
Jesse Little was third fastest with a time of 20.763 seconds (86.693 mph) followed by Austin Hill at 20.782 seconds (86.613 mph) and Josh Berry with a time of 20.845 seconds (86.352 mph).
Kaz Grala, Lee Pulliam, Brodie Kostecki, Scott Heckert and Ryan Gifford rounded out the top 10.
The Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 150 is set to get underway at 8 p.m. ET.
NKNPS East Greenville 3/22/14 Qualifying
Pos No. Name Sponsor Best Tm Best Speed In Lap Laps Diff
1 41 Ben Rhodes * Alpha Energy Solutions Chevrolet 20.684 87.024 2 2
2 98 Cameron Hayley Cabinets by Hayley Chevrolet 20.743 86.776 2 2 0.059
3 97 Jesse Little Mac’s Speed Shop/NTI Chevrolet 20.763 86.693 2 2 0.079
4 22 Austin Hill * A&D Welding/Don-Rich Ford Ford 20.782 86.613 2 2 0.098
5 45 Josh Berry * Speedco Ford 20.845 86.352 2 2 0.161
6 31 Kaz Grala * OzLINK Chevrolet 20.855 86.310 2 2 0.171
7 11 Lee Pulliam * NTI/JTB Toyota 20.901 86.120 2 2 0.217
8 43 Brodie Kostecki * Arcoplate Toyota 20.908 86.091 2 2 0.224
9 34 Scott Heckert Turner Scott Motorsports Chevrolet 20.944 85.943 2 2 0.260
10 2 Ryan Gifford Sunoco Race Fuel Toyota 20.958 85.886 2 2 0.274
11 04 Ronnie Bassett Jr. * Butler Trailer Mfg. Toyota 20.962 85.870 2 2 0.278
12 1 David Garbo Jr. * Big Machine Records/Garbo Lobster Toyota 20.992 85.747 2 2 0.308
13 96 Kenzie Ruston Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet Chevrolet 20.998 85.722 2 2 0.314
14 20 Gray Gaulding Krispy Kreme Chevrolet 21.006 85.690 2 2 0.322
15 6 Daniel Suarez Toyota Racing Development Toyota 21.029 85.596 2 2 0.345
16 24 Brennan Newberry Qore24 Chevrolet 21.036 85.568 2 2 0.352
17 21 Mackena Bell Special Smiles Pediatric Dentistry Toyota 21.105 85.288 2 2 0.421
18 33 Brandon Jones Wolfpack Energy Services Chevrolet 21.168 85.034 2 2 0.484
19 18 Sam Hunt Drive Technology Toyota 21.197 84.918 2 2 0.513
20 71 Eddie MacDonald Grimm Const./National MS Society Chevrolet 21.208 84.874 2 2 0.524
21 4 Sergio Pena UTI/NASCAR Technical Institute Toyota 21.237 84.758 2 2 0.553
22 15 Nick Drake * NAPA Auto Parts Toyota 21.275 84.606 2 2 0.591
23 54 Zach Bruenger * No Talent Motorsports/Cutting Edge Chevrolet 21.411 84.069 2 2 0.727
24 07 Clint King * King Oil Products/Warehouse Design Chevrolet 21.461 83.873 2 2 0.777
25 42 Jay Beasley * Toyota Racing Development Toyota 21.519 83.647 2 2 0.835
26 55 Jerry Dawson * EXIT Realty Chevrolet 22.560 79.787 2 2 1.876
* Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender
Sources: John Tejeda/NASCAR PR