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USA
Special feature

Ben Rhodes' midwest road trip

Road trip to St. Louis prepares Ben Rhodes for Gateway debut

Ben Rhodes, ThorSport Racing Toyota

Ben Rhodes, ThorSport Racing Toyota

NASCAR Media

Ben Rhodes, ThorSport Racing Toyota
Ben Rhodes throwing out first pitch at MLB game between St. Louis and Houston
Ben Rhodes, ThorSport Racing Toyota
Ben Rhodes, ThorSport Racing Toyota pole winner
Ben Rhodes, ThorSport Racing Toyota, Kyle Busch, Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota
Ben Rhodes, ThorSport Racing Toyota
Ben Rhodes, ThorSport Racing Toyota
Ben Rhodes, ThorSport Racing Toyota
Cameron Hayley, ThorSport Racing Toyota
Rico Abreu, ThorSport Racing Toyota
Matt Crafton, ThorSport Racing Toyota
Ben Rhodes, ThorSport Racing Toyota
Ben Rhodes, ThorSport Racing Toyota
Ben Rhodes, ThorSport Racing Toyota
Ben Rhodes, ThorSport Racing Toyota
Ben Rhodes, ThorSport Racing Toyota

Louisville native Ben Rhodes was rooting for a different Cardinals team on Tuesday

Rhodes threw out the first pitch at Busch Stadium prior to the start of the Major League Baseball game between St. Louis and Houston. 

The driver of the No. 41 ThorSport Racing Tundra was in town to promote NASCAR’s Camping World Truck Series race at Gateway Motorsports Park on June 25

“Throwing out the first pitch gave me a new perspective and respect for these guys,” Rhodes told Motorsport.com. “Standing up on the mound, I never realized how far away that really is. So they’re incredible athletes. 

“I did all I could to get it to the glove — in control — but I can’t imagine trying to throw it fast and as hard as possible and still get it there.”

Rhodes was tested by hurling a baseball 60 feet and six inches. But no doubt, if the roles were reversed any of the bullpen aces would realize that driving a truck at 135 miles per hour for 160 laps around the 1.25-mile track is equally challenging. 

Rhodes still searching for first win

Next weekend, when the truck tour arrives at Gateway, just across the Mississippi River in Madison, Illinois, Rhodes will be tested again. Rhodes has 11 starts in the truck series, with one top-five and five top 10 finishes, but has yet to race at Gateway. 

Following a few laps around the track in a street car, Rhodes was impressed with the venue. 

“Just getting to see it before you get to the race track is huge for a driver,” Rhodes said. “You do all you can watching video and in car video, but getting to see it in real life and seeing the elevation changes and the banking changes, bumps, feeling where they are at — it just means the world to a driver. For me, it already gives me an idea heading into the race.

“It’s an amazing facility. I like the flat track. I like the speed it has, the long straightaways. It’s just an awesome track that I believe will lend itself to some great racing for my crew chief (Kevin Bellicourt) and I. That’s the kind of background that we come from.”

This is Rhodes first full season in a NASCAR series since 2014 when he competed in the K&N Pro Series East tour. At 17, Rhodes had a remarkable qualifying average of 2.6 and posted five wins, six poles 11 top fives and 13 top 10s on the way to the NKNPSE title.

After a limited-run of 10 Xfinity races last year for JR Motorsports, Rhodes joined ThorSport in 2016. Although he started with top 10 finishes at Daytona and Atlanta, Rhodes has struggled to get back on track since the month-long series break. 

Fire partially destroys race shop

Rhodes suffered another setback earlier this week when fire ravaged the ThorSport race shop Monday morning. Fortunately, two of the 15 trucks salvaged from the 100,000-square-foot Sandusky, Ohio shop are primary vehicles earmarked for Rhodes’ races at Iowa Speedway this weekend and Gateway. Rhodes won the pole at Martinsville with the Iowa truck. 

Unfortunately, fire destroyed the truck prepared for his home race at Kentucky Speedway on July 7. Bellicourt waited until business hours before giving Rhodes the news. 

“My crew chief tried not to get me up in the middle of the night and worry me,” Rhodes said. “When he called, he went over everything and what was going on at the time. What they were trying to get out of the building, what they were able to get out. We weren’t really talking about plans for the future, just trying to salvage what was still there.

“I felt bad that I couldn’t be there for such a major event because we put so much work into these race trucks that for something like this happen, it leaves you breathless. At the same time, I know how hard this team will work to rebound. These guys don’t have any quit in them. They’re going to work as hard as possible to keep moving forward.”

As of Tuesday, Rhodes said the ThorSport crews were working out of a Kroger parking lot — about one-quarter mile down the street from charred shop.

Staying optimistic 

Despite the setback, Rhodes chooses to focus on the positives. 

“We’re good for the next couple of weeks,” Rhodes said. “Unfortunately, our Kentucky truck is gone. We’re just rebuilding from there. We have a couple of weeks to get everything in a row. We’ll go to Kentucky and put on a good show and do the best with what we have right now. We’re just rebuilding everything.

“We still expect to be in the Chase later this year. We’re going to keep pushing. These next two races will be really strong one for us. It will be like nothing happened because we got our primaries out of the shop and all the components and pieces for the next two races. After that, we’re going to have to look at rebuilding a few things. But overall, we’re 100 percent in.”

Rhodes, who is 15th in the truck standings, is hoping to rebound this weekend at Iowa Speedway. Although he’s never raced a truck on the .875-mile track, Rhodes finished seventh in the June Xfinity race last year and has one win, two top fives and four top 10 finishes in his K&N Pro Series starts. 

Visiting Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital

As a warm up, Rhodes raced go-karts against a few local standouts at Gateway’s Kartplex on Tuesday. The rising NASCAR star admitted the youngsters, “Put a hurtin’ to me.” 

Wednesday, Rhodes was scheduled to visit Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital. The time spent with the patients keeps the racer grounded.

“If I can go there and put a smile on someone’s face, then it’s a good day,” Rhodes said. “To see some of the hardships the children go through on a day to day basis and you look at some of the hardships that we may go through, really puts things in perspective."

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