Ben Rhodes (racing driver)

Benjamin J. Rhodes^[1] (born February 21, 1997) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 99 Ford F-150 for ThorSport Racing. He is the 2021 and 2023 Truck Series champion.^[2] Before moving up to the Truck Series, Rhodes competed full-time in what is now the ARCA Menards Series East, where he drove for Turner Scott Motorsports and won the 2014 series championship. He also has previously competed part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and what is now the ARCA Menards Series.

Ben Rhodes
Rhodes at Martinsville Speedway in 2024
Born	Benjamin J. Rhodes (1997-02-21) February 21, 1997 (age 27) Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Achievements	2021, 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion 2014 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Champion
NASCAR Cup Series career
1 race run over 1 year
2021 position	63rd
Best finish	63rd (2021)
First race	2021 Toyota/Save Mart 350 (Sonoma)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
10 races run over 1 year
2015 position	28th
Best finish	28th (2015)
First race	2015 3M 250 (Iowa)
Last race	2015 Ford EcoBoost 300 (Homestead)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 2 0
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career
202 races run over 10 years
Truck no., team	No. 99 (ThorSport Racing)
2023 position	1st
Best finish	1st (2021, 2023)
First race	2014 Kroger 250 (Martinsville)
Last race	2024 Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 200 (Martinsville)
First win	2017 Las Vegas 350 (Las Vegas)
Last win	2023 North Carolina Education Lottery 200 (Charlotte)
Wins Top tens Poles 7 108 5
ARCA Menards Series career
2 races run over 1 year
Best finish	61st (2014)
First race	2014 Herr's Live Life With Flavor 200 (Madison)
Last race	2014 ZLOOP 150 (Kentucky)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0
ARCA Menards Series East career
23 races run over 2 years
Best finish	1st (2014)
First race	2013 DRIVE4COPD 125 (Bristol)
Last race	2014 Drive Sober 150 (Dover)
First win	2014 Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 150 (Greenville-Pickens)
Last win	2014 Visit Hampton VA 175 (Langley)
Wins Top tens Poles 5 18 6
Statistics current as of July 19, 2024.

Racing career

Early years

Rhodes began his career in 2004 when he was seven years old, starting in kart racing, winning several champion titles before moving to Bandoleros in 2008, and Legends cars in 2010, then moving up to late model stock cars beginning in 2011.^[3][4]

After earning several wins, in 2012 he signed with then-Sprint Cup Series driver Marcos Ambrose to begin racing Late Model cars in the UARA-STARS Series under the Marcos Ambrose Motorsports banner.^[5][6] After the 2012 season, Rhodes signed a deal with Turner Scott Motorsports to begin racing part-time in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East in 2013.^[7] Rhodes scored five top five finishes in seven starts.^[5] In June of that year, Rhodes was named to the NASCAR Next roster, composed of up-and-coming drivers expected to become the next group of stars in NASCAR competition.^[8]

K&N Pro Series East

Rhodes would move full-time in the K&N East Series for 2014, with former driver Mark McFarland as his crew chief.^[5] In mid-March 2014, it was announced Rhodes would make his Camping World Truck Series debut at Martinsville in the Kroger 250 for TSM, and drive in three additional Truck series races that season.^[9] He earned three top tens, including an 8th-place finish in his debut, in four Truck Series races.^[4] Rhodes would also make his ARCA Racing Series debut at his home track Kentucky Speedway, starting fifth but finishing 27th after a crash.^[5] Rhodes would claim TSM's second consecutive K&N Pro Series East Championship through five wins, 11 top-five finishes, and six poles. Rhodes would also tie a series record set by Ricky Craven in 1991 by winning four consecutive races (Iowa, Bowman Gray, Five Flags, Langley Speedway) between May and June.^[5]

Rhodes turning left in Turn 6 after winning his first pole position at Road America in 2015

Xfinity Series

In December 2014, it was announced that Rhodes would move up to NASCAR's second-tier national series the Xfinity Series (formerly Busch and Nationwide) with JR Motorsports for 10 races in the 2015 season, sharing the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro with Sprint Cup Series drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick, and Kasey Kahne. Rhodes made his debut with the team at Iowa Speedway on May 16, finishing seventh.^[10][4][11] Rhodes had the fastest time in the first practice at Road America in August 2015 and he was awarded the pole position after qualifying rained out. On October 20, Rhodes announced that he had left JRM, intending to run a full-time Xfinity schedule in 2016.^[12]

Craftsman Truck Series

Rhodes racing at Darlington Raceway in 2021

On December 15, 2015, Rhodes joined ThorSport Racing to run full-time in the Truck Series in 2016, driving the No. 41 Toyota Tundra.^[13] Rhodes started the season with a 7th-place finish at Daytona. Rhodes and Johnny Sauter were in contention for the win at Kansas but both crashed on the final lap, allowing William Byron to secure the first win of his career.^[14] Rhodes missed the inaugural Truck Series Chase and finished 14th in series points.^[15]

Rhodes returned to ThorSport for the 2017 season with new crew chief Eddie Troconis and renumbered No. 27 Tundra.^[16] Rhodes came close to victory at Kansas when, after passing Kyle Busch late in the race, his engine expired with 10 laps to go. On September 15, Rhodes secured a spot in the 2017 Truck Series playoffs.^[17] On September 30, Rhodes held off eventual champion Christopher Bell to win his first Truck race at the Las Vegas 350.^[18]

For 2018, Rhodes returned to the No. 41 truck, now a Ford F-Series, with Troconis returning as crew chief. After being plagued by engine troubles throughout the year, he won his second career race at Kentucky Speedway after dominating the race and holding off a hard-charging Stewart Friesen.^[19] He finished the season eighth in points.^[20]

A repeat win in 2019 with ThorSport was not to be, however, as the lapped truck of Brennan Poole made contact with Rhodes in the late stages of the race, causing tire problems and relegating Rhodes to a 19th-place finish. Rhodes, irate with Poole after the race, twice tried to physically confront Poole before being pulled away. Rhodes later said he was mad at Poole because he believed the lapped truck cost him a shot at a win and a berth in the NASCAR playoffs.^[21] Later in the regular season at Eldora Speedway, Tyler Dippel forced Rhodes into the wall in the late stages of the race, again knocking Rhodes from a top-ten finish, and then rammed his truck into Rhodes on the cooldown lap. On pit road after the race, Rhodes tried to drag Dippel from his truck before calling him a dirty driver. Dippel, in return, directed an expletive-laced tirade at Rhodes and called it "cool" that Rhodes would miss the playoffs, which Rhodes indeed did.^[22]

Rhodes returned to ThorSport in 2020. He had a tumultuous race at the SpeedyCash.com 400 in October, when contact from Rhodes caused Todd Gilliland, Christian Eckes and Josh Bilicki to retire from the race in three separate incidents. Rhodes blamed Eckes driving him into the wall for retaliation against him, and blamed Chandler Smith for the wreck with Bilicki; Rhodes later exchanged words and had a shoving match with Eckes after the race.^[23]

The 2021 season began with Rhodes winning the first race at Daytona International Speedway after passing leader Cory Roper as they approached the finish.^[24] Rhodes followed his Daytona oval win with a victory at the Daytona Road Course the next week in the BrakeBest Brake Pads 159, scoring back to back victories for the first time in his career. Rhodes won his first Truck Series championship on November 5 by finishing third in the race.^[2] Overall, Rhodes had 2 wins, 8 top five finishes, 16 top ten finishes, 19 lead lap finishes, an average finish of 9.3, and no DNF's.^[25]

In 2022, Rhodes finished second at Daytona. He DNF'd at 31st place at Las Vegas, but made up for the loss with three consecutive top-five finishes before winning at the Bristol dirt race.^[26] Rhodes finished second at Phoenix and second in the standings.^[27]

Rhodes started the 2023 season with an 11th-place finish at Daytona. He scored his first win of the season at Charlotte.^[28] Rhodes finished second at Homestead to make the Championship 4, and would go on to win the title.^[29] He finished fifth at Phoenix; as the highest-finishing Championship 4 driver in the race, he clinched his second Truck Series championship.^[30]

Cup Series

Rhodes' No. 77 car at Sonoma Raceway in 2021

On May 31, 2021, it was revealed through the release of the entry list for the Cup Series race at Sonoma that Rhodes would make his debut in the series in the No. 77 for Spire Motorsports. The usual driver of that car, Justin Haley, a full-time Xfinity Series driver, was at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the race in that series that weekend. Rhodes was available due to the Truck Series having an off weekend that weekend. Rhodes started 31st and finished 30th.

Other racing

In March 2019, Rhodes participated in the Michelin Pilot Challenge sports car race at Sebring International Raceway, driving a Ford for Multimatic Motorsports alongside ThorSport Racing teammates Matt Crafton, Grant Enfinger, and Myatt Snider.^[31]

Personal life

Rhodes is the son of Lori and Joe Rhodes. His father is the president of Kentucky-based mechanical service contractor Alpha Energy Solutions which has sponsored Ben's racing efforts.^[32]

Rhodes graduated from Holy Cross High School in Louisville, Kentucky in 2015, finishing with a 3.98 GPA despite missing classes due to his racing career. He missed the school's graduation ceremony on May 15 because he was in Iowa to prepare for his Xfinity Series debut the next day; the school's president traveled to the race to present Rhodes with his diploma during driver introductions.^[10]

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Cup Series

NASCAR Cup Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	NCSC	Pts	Ref
2021	Spire Motorsports	77	Chevy	DAY	DRC	HOM	LVS	PHO	ATL	BRD	MAR	RCH	TAL	KAN	DAR	DOV	COA	CLT	SON 30	NSH	POC	POC	ROA	ATL	NHA	GLN	IRC	MCH	DAY	DAR	RCH	BRI	LVS	TAL	ROV	TEX	KAN	MAR	PHO	63rd	01	[33]
2022	Kaulig Racing	16	Chevy	DAY	CAL	LVS	PHO	ATL	COA	RCH	MAR	BRD	TAL	DOV	DAR	KAN	CLT	GTW QL†	SON	NSH	ROA	ATL	NHA	POC	IRC	MCH	RCH	GLN	DAY	DAR	KAN	BRI	TEX	TAL	ROV	LVS	HOM	MAR	PHO	N/A	–	[34]
† – Qualified for A. J. Allmendinger

Xfinity Series

NASCAR Xfinity Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	NXSC	Pts	Ref
2015	JR Motorsports	88	Chevy	DAY	ATL	LVS	PHO	CAL	TEX	BRI	RCH	TAL	IOW 7	CLT	DOV	MCH	CHI 21	DAY	KEN	NHA 12	IND	IOW 30	GLN 35	MOH 10	BRI	ROA 32	DAR	RCH	CHI	KEN 30	DOV 13	CLT	KAN	TEX	PHO	HOM 20	28th	230	[35]

Craftsman Truck Series

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	NCTC	Pts	Ref
2014	Turner Scott Motorsports	32	Chevy	DAY	MAR 7	KAN	CLT	DOV 22	TEX	GTW	KEN	IOW	ELD	POC	MCH	BRI 9	MSP	CHI	NHA	LVS	TAL	MAR	TEX	PHO 5	HOM		35th	132	[36]
2016	ThorSport Racing	41	Toyota	DAY 7	ATL 6	MAR 16	KAN 18	DOV 28	CLT 17	TEX 11	IOW 4	GTW 2	KEN 13	ELD 23	POC 11	BRI 30	MCH 6	MSP 30	CHI 25	NHA 15	LVS 12	TAL 24	MAR 19	TEX 15	PHO 14	HOM 20	14th	387	[15]
2017		27		DAY 12	ATL 4	MAR 20	KAN 23	CLT 8	DOV 4*	TEX 5	GTW 8	IOW 14	KEN 27	ELD 30	POC 2	MCH 11	BRI 5	MSP 10	CHI 6	NHA 7	LVS 1	TAL 23	MAR 9	TEX 18	PHO 20	HOM 19	5th	2263	[37]
2018		41	Ford	DAY 4	ATL 4	LVS 7	MAR 12*	DOV 8	KAN 18	CLT 5	TEX 16	IOW 17	GTW 19	CHI 2	KEN 1	ELD 29	POC 11	MCH 6	BRI 7	MSP 14	LVS 4	TAL 16	MAR 4	TEX 2	PHO 12	HOM 10	8th	2254	[20]
2019		99		DAY 14	ATL 5	LVS 25	MAR 2	TEX 10	DOV 6	KAN 2	CLT 4	TEX 21	IOW 2	GTW 8	CHI 32	KEN 19	POC 9	ELD 14	MCH 23	BRI 8	MSP 3	LVS 8	TAL 12	MAR 16	PHO 4*	HOM 12	9th	773	[38]
2020				DAY 25	LVS 5	CLT 10	ATL 9	HOM 18	POC 5	KEN 2	TEX 9	KAN 7	KAN 5	MCH 11	DRC 14	DOV 5	GTW 11	DAR 1	RCH 3*	BRI 13	LVS 23	TAL 4	KAN 20	TEX 20	MAR 2	PHO 7	7th	2240	[39]
2021			Toyota	DAY 1	DRC 1	LVS 10	ATL 16	BRD 2	RCH 7	KAN 10	DAR 2	COA 10	CLT 3	TEX 26	NSH 7	POC 17	KNX 7	GLN 15	GTW 3	DAR 34	BRI 9	LVS 2	TAL 13	MAR 7	PHO 3		1st	4034	[40]
2022				DAY 2	LVS 31	ATL 2	COA 4	MAR 5	BRD 1*	DAR 25	KAN 10	TEX 27	CLT 10	GTW 8*	SON 18	KNX 10	NSH 12	MOH 23	POC 19	IRP 2	RCH 18	KAN 13	BRI 18	TAL 2	HOM 6	PHO 2	2nd	4035	[41]
2023			Ford	DAY 11	LVS 3	ATL 5	COA 10	TEX 10	BRD 19	MAR 6	KAN 16	DAR 18	NWS 33	CLT 1	GTW 7	NSH 9	MOH 5	POC 9	RCH 12	IRP 16	MLW 16	KAN 25	BRI 7	TAL 2	HOM 2	PHO 5	1st	4032	[42]
2024				DAY 30	ATL 28	LVS 13	BRI 16	COA 7	MAR 14	TEX 24	KAN 16	DAR 3	NWS 22	CLT 5	GTW 7	NSH 7	POC 18	IRP 21	RCH 7	MLW 9	BRI 27	KAN 22	TAL 35	HOM 12	MAR 2	PHO	-*	-*	[43]

^* Season still in progress
¹ Ineligible for series points

K&N Pro Series East

NASCAR K&N Pro Series East results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	NKNPSEC	Pts	Ref
2013	Turner Scott Motorsports	41	Chevy	BRI 9	GRE	FIF	RCH 35	BGS	IOW 3	LGY	COL	IOW 8	VIR	GRE 6	NHA 4	DOV 26	RAL			19th	217	[44]
2014				NSM 4	DAY 15	BRI 3*	GRE 1*	RCH 2	IOW 1*	BGS 1*	FIF 1	LGY 1*	NHA 22	COL 3	IOW 7	GLN 3	VIR 10	GRE 4	DOV 15	1st	640	[45]

ARCA Racing Series

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

ARCA Racing Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	ARSC	Pts	Ref
2014	Venturini Motorsports	55	Toyota	DAY	MOB	SLM	TAL	TOL	NJE	POC	MCH	ELK	WIN	CHI	IRP	POC	BLN	ISF	MAD 11	DSF	SLM			61st	275	[46]
	Turner Scott Motorsports	41	Chevy																			KEN 27	KAN

References

1. "Team Event Rosters – Bristol Motor Speedway – Thursday, August 15, 2019" (PDF). NASCAR. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 17, 2021. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
2. "Ben Rhodes clinches first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series title". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 5, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
3. "Ben Rhodes Profile". Ben Rhodes official site. Archived from the original on October 19, 2013. Retrieved October 18, 2013.
4. Pennell, Jay (December 13, 2014). "Newest young gun? Ben Rhodes excited for JR Motorsports opportunity". foxsports.com. Fox Sports. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
5. Wolkin, Joseph (September 28, 2014). "Teenager, high school student, and NASCAR champion Ben Rhodes". motorsport.com. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
6. "Marcos Ambrose Motorsports expands to two cars in 2012". Yardbarker. Fox Sports. February 14, 2012. Archived from the original on October 19, 2013. Retrieved October 18, 2013.
7. "Rhodes Joins Turner For Partial East Slate". National Speed Sport News. December 18, 2012. Retrieved October 18, 2013.
8. Norman, Brad (June 7, 2013). "NASCAR Next a diverse, accomplished class". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved October 18, 2013.
9. "Ben Rhodes to run partial Truck Series schedule". NASCAR.
10. Lintner, Jonathan (May 17, 2015). "Louisville's Rhodes top 10 in 1st NASCAR race". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
11. Staff Report (December 5, 2014). "NASCAR NEXT'S RHODES TO RUN XFINITY SERIES FOR JRM". nascar.com. NASCAR. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
12. Lintner, Jonathan (October 20, 2015). "Louisville's Rhodes parting with JR Motorsports". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
13. Pennell, Jay (December 15, 2015). "Ben Rhodes joins ThorSport Racing for 2016 Camping World Truck season". Foxsports.com. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
14. "Camping World Truck Series Final Laps". Retrieved January 31, 2017.
15. "Ben Rhodes – 2016 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
16. "Ben Rhodes to remain with ThorSport for 2017 NASCAR Truck season". Motorsport.com. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
17. "Camping World Truck Series playoff field set; Bell captures regular-season crown". Nascar.com. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
18. "Ben Rhodes holds off Christopher Bell in wild Trucks finish". Nascar.com. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
19. "Ben Rhodes lands special home-state Truck Series win at Kentucky". Nascar.com. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
20. "Ben Rhodes – 2018 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
21. Chernoff, Andrew (July 12, 2019). "No repeat win for Ben Rhodes at home track". WLKY. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
22. Seelman, Jacob (August 2, 2019). "Rhodes & Dippel Come To Blows After Dirt Derby". Speed Sport. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
23. Cheek, Adam (October 25, 2020). "'KBM Trucks Run Over Everybody': Ben Rhodes Among Drivers Angry As Wrecks Mar Texas Truck Race". Frontstretch. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
24. "Ben Rhodes gets first career Daytona win in Truck series opener". ESPN.com. ESPN. AP. February 12, 2021. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
25. "Driver Season Stats".
26. Spencer, Reid (April 16, 2022). "Ben Rhodes rallies past Hocevar, corrals Camping World Trucks win on Bristol dirt". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
27. "Zane Smith proves third time is charm by winning Truck Series title". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 4, 2022. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
28. Richardson, Cameron (May 26, 2023). "Ben Rhodes: 'Depth of the field shows up' in Triple Truck Challenge". NASCAR. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
29. Cain, Holly (October 21, 2023). "Carson Hocevar converts Homestead win, joins Rhodes, Heim, Enfinger in Championship 4 field". NASCAR. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
30. Albino, Dustin (November 3, 2023). "Ben Rhodes becomes fifth driver to win multiple Truck Series championships". NASCAR. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
31. "NASCAR Stars Swap Trucks for Mustang GT4s at Sebring". Sportscar365. March 13, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
32. Lintner, Jonathan (June 25, 2014). "Louisville driver Ben Rhodes chasing NASCAR dreams". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
33. "Ben Rhodes – 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
34. "Ben Rhodes – 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
35. "Ben Rhodes – 2015 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
36. "Ben Rhodes – 2014 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
37. "Ben Rhodes – 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
38. "Ben Rhodes – 2019 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
39. "Ben Rhodes – 2020 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
40. "Ben Rhodes – 2021 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
41. "Ben Rhodes – 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
42. "Ben Rhodes – 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
43. "Ben Rhodes – 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
44. "Ben Rhodes – 2013 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
45. "Ben Rhodes – 2014 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
46. "Ben Rhodes – 2014 ARCA Racing Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 4, 2018.

External links

• Official website
• Official profile at ThorSport Racing
• Ben Rhodes driver statistics at Racing-Reference

Sporting positions
Preceded by Dylan Kwasniewski	NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Champion 2014	Succeeded by William Byron