QUALIFYING: Rhodes Nets 5th Pole
Record Run At New Hampshire For K&N Pro East Leader
LOUDON, N.H. – Ben Rhodes has repeatedly been asked if the opportunity to tie the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East record for consecutive wins this week is becoming a distraction.
Based on his track-record performance in capturing the pole for Friday’s Granite State 100 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, it’s clear the 17-year-old NASCAR Next driver isn’t suffering from the attention.
“I just do my best and forget the rest,” Rhodes said after posting a fast lap of 128.580 mph (29.622 second) around the 1.058-mile oval. A victory in Friday’s race would let Rhodes tie Ricky Craven’s 23-year-old record of five straight series wins.
Rhodes, the series championship points leader, broke the track mark of 128.467 (29.648) set by Brett Moffitt in Sept. 2012. He has qualified either first or second in nine of the season’s 10 races.
Rhodes’ No. 41 Alpha Energy Solutions Chevrolet went out with two other cars remaining to go in qualifying and knocked Jesse Little off the provisional pole, denying the second-generation driver his first career pole.
Little will start on the outside of the front row after a qualifying lap of 29.673 (128.359).
Chad Finley, making his second series start, qualified third. Finley started third and finished 12th earlier this season at Richmond International Raceway.
Sergio Pena and Gray Gaulding qualified fourth and fifth, respectively. Rhodes’ Turner Scott Motorsports teammates Scott Heckert, Brandon Jones, and Cameron Hayley took positions six through eight, while Massachusetts driver Eddie McDonald and Nick Drake rounded out the top ten.
MacDonald, who has three New Hampshire wins in the K&N Pro East, is the last driver to beat Rhodes, taking the lead from him on a green-white-checkered finish to win at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 15.
McDonald will also make his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut in Sunday’s Camping World RV Sales 301.
The Granite State 100 is set to take the green flag Friday at 6 p.m. ET. It will air on Fox Sports 1 on July 20 at noon.
NKNPS East New Hampshire 07/10/14 Qualifying
Pos No. Name Sponsor Best Tm Best Speed In Lap Laps Diff
1 41 Ben Rhodes* Alpha Energy Solutions Chevrolet 29.622 128.580 1 2
2 97 Jesse Little Chad Little Outdoor Power Equip./NTI Chevrolet 29.673 128.359 2 2 0.051
3 29 Chad Finley* Auto Value/Air Lift Ford 29.762 127.975 1 2 0.140
4 4 Sergio Pena Toyota Racing Development Toyota 29.789 127.859 1 2 0.167
5 20 Gray Gaulding Krispy Kreme Chevrolet 29.791 127.851 2 2 0.169
6 34 Scott Heckert Project Lifesaver Chevrolet 29.825 127.705 2 2 0.203
7 33 Brandon Jones Wolfpack Energy Services Chevrolet 29.832 127.675 2 2 0.210
8 98 Cameron Hayley Cabinets by Hayley Chevrolet 29.833 127.671 2 2 0.211
9 71 Eddie MacDonald Grimm Const./EXIT Realty/National MS Society Chevrolet 29.900 127.385 2 2 0.278
10 15 Nick Drake * NAPA Auto Parts Toyota 29.903 127.372 2 2 0.281
11 27 Kyle Benjamin * Benjamin Motorsports Ford 29.903 127.372 2 2 0.281
12 24 Brennan Newberry Qore24 Chevrolet 29.924 127.282 1 2 0.302
13 22 Austin Hill * A&D Welding Ford 29.941 127.210 2 2 0.319
14 52 Matt Tifft Federated Auto Parts Dodge 29.946 127.189 1 2 0.324
15 6 Daniel Suarez Rev Racing Toyota 30.044 126.774 2 2 0.422
16 81 Jeremy Burns* BBR Chevrolet 30.137 126.383 1 2 0.515
17 46 Brandon Gdovic American Messaging\Windstax Toyota 30.164 126.270 1 2 0.542
18 2 Ryan Gifford UTI/NASCAR Technical Institut Toyota 30.212 126.069 2 2 0.590
19 43 Brodie Kostecki* Arcoplate Toyota 30.236 125.969 1 2 0.614
20 42 Jay Beasley* Toyota Racing Development Toyota 30.248 125.919 2 2 0.626
21 21 Mackena Bell Special Smiles Pediatric Dentistry Toyota 30.271 125.823 1 2 0.649
22 14 Trey Hutchens* All-Star Truck Repair Chevrolet 30.480 124.961 2 2 0.858
23 05 Codie Rohrbaugh * Grant County Mulch Toyota 30.482 124.952 1 2 0.860
24 96 Kenzie Ruston Ben Kennedy Racing Chevrolet 30.528 124.764 2 2 0.906
25 1 David Garbo Jr.* Big Machine Records/Garbo Lobster Toyota 30.578 124.560 1 2 0.956
26 04 Ronnie Bassett Jr. * Butler Trailers/Roush-Yates Toyota 30.594 124.495 2 2 0.972
27 77 Anderson Bowen * Cunningham Motorsports Dodge 30.668 124.195 1 2 1.046
28 31 Kaz Grala* NETTTS Chevrolet 30.846 123.478 1 2 1.224
29 63 John Salemi Envirotek USA Toyota 31.555 120.704 2 2 1.933
30 47 Cale Conley Conley Motorsports Chevrolet – 0
* Denotes Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate
Sources: Tom Bryant, NASCAR PR