Rhodes Reigns in K&N East
Louisville Driver to be Honored December 13
Ben Rhodes of Louisville, KY made his first campaign in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East memorable. The NASCAR Next driver took the series by storm claiming many laurels this season: the championship, Most Popular Driver, and Rookie of the Year awards. He led virtually every category: wins, top fives, top 10s, poles, laps completed, laps led, average start, and average finish.
“It’s been a great season and looking back it’s been kind of a whirlwind that has gone by very fast, but at the same time, it’s been kind of a long journey to get to this point,” Rhodes said. “I know that there’s been a lot of hard work and dedication by all the guys on my team as well as myself throughout the year. But I think we had a lot of good luck on our side too in the beginning of the year, but then towards the end luck kind of left our side. We had some mistakes. We didn’t get any more wins after our fifth one, but either way it was a very strong season for us and it all came down to that hard work and communication that our guys had that kind of determined the outcome of all these races.”
Rhodes ran a partial schedule last season with Turner Scott Motorsports. Despite an average finish of 13, Rhodes knew the foundation was there. He was not surprised when the team had speed early in the season. His Late Model car owner and crew chief Lee McCall handled the crew chief duties for Rhodes’ first seven races for Turner Scott Motorsports. “It was a little bit easier transition having the same guy to work with when going to these bigger track like Bristol and Iowa and these places that I’ve never seen or been to before.”
“We had a lot of ups and downs. The finishes don’t really do us justice on how our performance was. There was a lot of other stuff that was going on that was good on our end. We had a lot of great performance. We had fast cars, but it seemed like something always went wrong where we couldn’t finish the race up front or we had the car to beat but something would happen.”
“I knew we had it in us. It took a couple of races to get our stuff down and get on the right path, but once it did I grabbed hold and we were able to go out there and string the wins together and I think that shows the strength that we had. It was just cool that we could bring it all together in one place like that, which is extremely hard to do, but I feel like we’ve had it from the season before. We had that momentum coming our way.”
Rhodes was paired with former NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national champion Mark McFarland as his crew chief in 2014. Rhodes believes communication contributed to his success this season. McFarland understands the Rhode’s feedback through common driving experience.
“Having a guy like Mark (McFarland), who’s been in a racecar, we can both relate to what’s going on. That’s really big because I can tell him something that the car’s doing, may not even be able to explain it exactly in words like I should be able to, and I can kind of give him my feel on something that’s hard to explain, really difficult to understand and he’s had that before and he understands what I’m talking about, so that communication level is huge and I think that’s what lead to a lot of success.”
“Communication is key in racing. I actually value it more than anything. Communication is just huge and I agree with you I think it gets overlooked pretty easily by people’s stats, their successes and stuff that they’ve done.”
Once Rhodes hit his stride, the team was tough to beat. Rhodes nearly won at Bristol from the pole before finishing third when Eddie MacDonald prevailed. The next race at Greenville Pickens was a familiar track from Rhodes’ Late Model days. He excelled with his first victory there in March. A second at Richmond setup a hot streak. Despite a run of four wins in a row at Iowa, Bowman Gray, Five Flags and Langley, Rhodes was not focused on celebrating victories.
“None of that stuff really hit me. I was really focused on the next race. As soon as the checkered flag fell, we were focused on the next race and I think that’s where some of our strength came from too. Whether it was good, bad, indifferent, we were always focused on the next race, whether it was a bad finish also. We’d forget about it, we’d learn what we needed to learn. Every race was a learning experience. You overcome it and move forward and I think that was pretty huge.”
While the team was winless after Langley, Rhodes’ remained consistent with just two finishes outside the top 10 to close the year. The team rallied at Watkins Glen to claim third place.
Rhodes pointed to a miscommunication at Iowa the prior race that sent him to the rear of the 40 car field after the halfway break. With less than 75 laps to go, Rhodes recovered to finish seventh.
“I think that shows our strength as well because Iowa is one of those tracks where you have to keep your momentum up, but it’s really hard to do. Even though it has a lot of room to pass, it’s hard to get around people there and keep your momentum up at the same time to make those passes efficient to chain ’em and link ’em together.”
Rhodes spent the summer working on the K&N East cars. He said that getting comfortable with the car and seat time are essential. That has allowed him to understand the tendencies of the car. He also has competed in the ARCA Racing Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series part time. Rhodes insists on spending as much time as he can on any new rides to aid the learning curve.
“It’s been a quick progression, but at the same time I’ve spent so much seat time in all of these vehicles that I feel comfortable in all of them. The K&N car I’ve spent so much time in it now it feels like my home.”
Rhodes is like many aspiring drivers trying to make it to NASCAR’s top series and get a Sprint Cup championship.
“(The) championship is huge. … But this is just a sign that we’re on our way. It’s really cool to have that under our belt. Not many people can say they’ve won a NASCAR championship, and to be able to say that now is pretty special. I’m looking forward to the festivities, the whole celebration, everything that’s going to take place because we haven’t really gotten to celebrate all of our wins or anything a whole lot yet. … It’s going to be cool to look at all these memories, all the friendships that have been made, and think about the year.”
Rhodes hopes this year is a step to the next level. Recent champions Kyle Larson and Dylan Kwasniewski have moved on to compete in the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series. Rhodes wants to be racing in the second tier Nationwide Series (which will carry the XFINITY title in 2015) or Camping World Truck Series next season.
“One of those national series I would love to be a part of just to get that experience at these bigger tracks, different tires, a splitter, heavier car, more horsepower. I just really need to get that experience, especially with aero. I think aero is pretty underrated on how much it actually effects the car and I’ve been getting used to that over all these tracks that I’ve been going to and it plays a bigger effect that what people think, and I’ve been learning that slowly.”
Rhodes did not rule out a return to the NASCAR K&N Pro Series next season. The series will have a cost containment program in place with a spec body that will lower the material and labor burdens for teams.
“I would love to run back in the K&N Series again. It’s been huge for me this year. It’s a great stepping stone series. It’s a great series to learn in, to get seat time, and I’m excited for it especially with this new body that’s coming out. I’ve seen the excitement that’s in the air from it now and I’m really happy for all the teams the reduced price for the bodies and labor and I’m excited for the whole K&N program that’s taken place and how much attention it’s been getting.”
The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East provides a platform for drivers through companion events with NASCAR’s top three series. The opportunity to race in front of an important audience gives drivers important experience at bigger tracks.
“The K&N Series is the place to be in my opinion.” Rhodes provided Iowa as a track he has won at. When Rhodes moves to Nationwide or the Trucks, he prefers to race at venues that he has experience at. “I know the feel that I need there and I know what to look for. I know how to race that track, so if you can just change one thing, the car, the team, whatever it may be, it should mean for greater success and I think that’s how the K&N Series prepares you is by making those leaps and bounds at these tracks.”
Rhodes competed in Late Models across the southeast before moving up to the K&N East Series. One of the tours that he competed in was the former UARA Series that recently shut down. Other drivers with experience in the series are Kaz Grala and Corey LaJoie. Rhodes started in Go Karts before moving to Bandoleros and Legends Cars.
“It was big for me because the UARA Series was one of the touring series where I really got my start in Late Models. I tried to tour around and try to go get all these different tracks and get as much experience as possible and the different approach in the corners in a big heavy car. I never really driven anything like it before, so that was really good for me. It’s cool to see how they tried to go to some of these bigger tracks that would relate to the next step and I think that’s the key for every series is to prepare you for the next step.”
Since the NASCAR Busch North Series left its New England roots, it has grown to NASCAR’s top developmental series under K&N sponsorship. A number of Sprint Cup organizations have fielded young drivers in that span including Dale Earnhardt, Inc., Joe Gibbs Racing and Michael Waltrip Racing. Turner Scott Motorsports is one of the last teams to field teams in the series.
“I think it’s great that Turner Scott Motorsports has that interest and the interest in finding the new young drivers for the sport. I think that’s really cool that they’re putting the time and effort into it and they certainly have a great program. I know that their cars are the best ones out on the track. They put so much time, energy, and effort into ’em. They are virtually show cars when they leave the shop. They’re just very, very nice pieces. It looks like it come out of something you’d see in Hendrick Motorsports.
“They do an awesome job at it and I’m proud to be associated with them this year. They’ve given me great equipment every race and I’ve just been happy to learn from ’em.”
“I’ve already been daydreaming about the banquet and drawing all the memories that have been made throughout the season and seeing all of my guys again, who are great friends now. We’re great friends, great partners and they’ve taught me a lot over the summer and over this year and I’m just looking forward to seeing everybody again and celebrate this awesome season.”
Notes :
Consider that the average champion’s age is 32. The only champion under 30 was Ricky Craven of Newburgh, ME until 2007. Joey Logano of Middletown, CT won the title that year. In the last six years, the champion’s average age is 17.83. With the exception of Matt Kobyluck (2008), teenagers have won every championship since with Ryan Truex, Max Gresham, Kyle Larson and Dylan Kwasniewski.
Rhodes won his first race at Greenville Pickens Speedway. He joined Logano, and Kwasniewski as drivers to win at the historic South Carolina half mile during their title seasons. By finishing fourth in the penultimate race at Greenville, Rhodes kept a streak intact dating back to 2001. The points leader entering the last two races has won the championship.
Rhodes is the third driver to win Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors and the championship in the same season, joining Joey Logano (2007) and Ryan Truex (2009).
Turner Scott Motorsports of Mooresville, NC joined Michael Waltrip Racing, Joe Bessey, Steve and Peg Griswold, Mike Greci, Don Crisman, and Allen Avery as multi-time owner champions. The drivers were Kwasniewski, Truex, Andy Santerre, Brad Leighton, Mike Stefanik, Dick McCabe, and Jamie Aube.
Sources: Nicholas Teto/YankeeRacer.com
The Alpha Energy Solutions No. 41 for Turner Scott Motorsports had 5 wins, 11 top fives, 13 top 10s, 6 poles in 16 starts. The team will be honored on NASCAR Touring Series Awards night, December 13 in Charlotte, NC.