Page 244 - 2019_NPPG_digital copy

BEN RHODES

Birth Date: August 12, 1993 Hometown: Bakersfield, CA
Birth Date: February 21, 1997 Hometown: Louisville, KY
Team: No. 16 Toyota Tundra/Roush Fenway Racing
Team: No. 41 Ford F-150 / ThorSports Racing

Ben Rhodes can look back on his third in the NASCAR GANDER
OUTDOORS Truck Series with a sincere sense of satisfaction.

Driving the No. 41 Ford F-150 for ThorSport Racing, Rhodes
won at the Kentucky Speedway – just 57 miles from his home
in Louisville – in July to qualify for the NASCAR Playoffs for
the second consecutive year.

Although he won for the first time a year earlier, he
said winning at his home track, especially with so
many friends and family in the grandstands, is
something he never will forget.
FEATURED DRIVERS “I still don’t have any words,” said Rhodes

after the win. “This is amazing. Dreams come

true. Everybody shares in this victory. Because I
have so many people that come out here that are
friends, family, people that I have met after years
and years and years of coming to this race.

“This was sweeter than my first win. This is sweeter because
of the people that are here. [Kentucky Speedway] doesn’t have
the history that Daytona does but it has the history for me.”

Rhodes joined ThorSport Racing in 2017. Working with teammates
Grant Enfinger, Matt Crafton and Myatt Snider, Rhodes has
methodically pulled his own weight with the powerhouse truck-racing
organization.

He started 2018 with fourth-place finishes at Daytona and Atlanta,
followed by seventh-place effort at Las Vegas. More important, he only
finished 19th or worse twice in 23 starts.

In the process, Rhodes added his name to a list of successful racers
from the Bluegrass State. Owensboro’s Darrell Waltrip won three

244 THE OFFICIAL NASCAR 2019 PREVIEW & PRESS GUIDE