Ben Rhodes, the driver of the #27 Safelite Auto Glass Toyota, stands in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series TheHouse.com 225 at Chicagoland Speedway on September 14, 2017, in Joliet, Illinois Photo – Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
Sitting in eighth-place – the last place to qualify for the playoffs – and hoping to stay there tonight at Chicagoland Speedway in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series’ TheHouse.com 225 is Ben Rhodes of ThorSport Racing. Having a chance to take part in this year’s playoffs means a great deal to the Louisville, KY native, but he knows he has his work cut out for him in the last race of the regular season.
“We’re fifth in points, but unfortunately being fifth doesn’t do anything for us because all those other guys have wins,” says Rhodes. “So, overall tonight we just have to be in front of the No. 16 all night long and we can point our way in. But if anybody who isn’t in the playoffs already wins, we’re out. So it’s going to be a very difficult night for us.”
The good and bad news is that Rhodes practice sessions have not gone as well as they had hoped. But on the positive side, he’s confident that he’ll have the same speed they’ve had all year-long.
“We didn’t have the best practice yesterday,” continues Rhodes. “So I’m looking forward to a really nice night here at Chicagoland Speedway. That’s the way I want it to go at least. Is it going to go that way? I don’t know. But I’m going to do everything I can in my power to keep our Safelite No. 27 safe and all in one piece. And I know if we just do that, we’ll be up front, we’ve had speed all year-long.”
In yesterday’s practice session, Rhodes cut a tire on his No. 27 truck and that meant a tire change. Unfortunately, the new tire was a challenge for the driver and his team.
“Practice didn’t go the way we wanted yesterday,” says Rhodes. “We actually cut down a right rear tire and had to put on a new right rear tire and it kind of upset the handling of the car. So we didn’t get the best read from what we had. “That was a little upsetting, and I don’t think it was the smoothest practice session. But I think we’ll be okay. We always seem to find speed for the race. I have faith in my ThorSport Racing team that they’ll make all the right changes.”
With tenth-place finishes in both practice sessions, Rhodes sees a positive side to the challenges that will help in the race at Chicagoland Speedway. He’s also taken note of one of the most successful drivers in NASCAR.
“The biggest thing I learned (from practice) was running behind traffic,” continues Rhodes. “And managing my equipment to try to make the best passes and keep my momentum going. That’s why Kyle Busch is so fast is because he knows how to do that. He knows how to manage the tires, and manage his position and momentum really well. And I just really focused on that a lot yesterday and I feel that’s going to be a dividend for the race.”
Chicagoland Speedway is one of the tracks on the circuit that hasn’t yet gone through a repave of the surface. That means the surface is rough on tires and that point is not lost with Rhodes experience in the series and understanding the transition to the evening hours will mean tire management is key.
“The track is definitely going to change a lot, this seems to be a track that changes more than others, but I’m not really worried about that as much as I am the tires,” says Rhodes.
“The tires are quite the challenge we have here, they fall off quite a bit and they have a big memory so, if you abuse them, it definitely hurts your handling and performance for the rest of the run. I’ve got to do my best to take care of those and if I can do that, I think that’s going to be my biggest challenge. If I can do that I’ll be just fine.”
Tune in to FOX Sports 1 for TheHouse.com 225 tonight, September 15th at 7:35 pm ET for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series last race of their regular season.
