By Caleb Whisler, Staff Writer
The start to the 2018 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season has been better for Ben Rhodes.
In 2017, Rhodes finished 12th at Daytona and fourth at Atlanta. In 2018, he has finished the first three races of the season in the top-10. The finishes in 2018 have not come easy for the No. 41 team for ThorSport Racing. At Daytona, Rhodes qualified 24th and was not worried about collecting stage points until the last stage. At Atlanta, the team looked back at data from the ECU (engine control unit) and found out that it was turning off for a second and a half in the corners.
With the way the Truck series schedule is laid out with two weekends off after Las Vegas Motor Speedway and five weeks off after Martinsville Speedway, Rhodes knows that his team needs the break.
ThorSport Racing had only three weeks before Daytona to switch over to Ford Performance. For Rhodes and the No. 41 team, this five-week break to Dover will be crucial.
“Once May hits, it’s tough. I know that myself, the team, we need that time even though we aren’t at the track. We can use this time for every ounce that it is worth. The reason why is that we switched to Ford this year,” stated Rhodes.
“We need all the time that we can get. We haven’t been to the wind tunnel yet, we haven’t done the things KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports) or GMS are doing to get ahead. This allows us to do some R&D on our side and really work off the track to get that speed. The speed you see now days is made from the shop.”
Despite not having that time at the wind tunnel, Rhodes believes that the transition has been good for the organization as a whole.
“It’s been good. It’s been a real good transition. I love the way that Ford has welcomed us into the family with open arms, but at the same time I would have loved to have been able to get into the wind tunnel and some other resources sooner. I know that we have this whole month of April. It has been hard enough as it is to get the Trucks built for Daytona,” continued Rhodes.
“Now that we have had these weeks off before and after Martinsville, I feel like this is our time to reset and really focus for the Playoffs. The first three races we were just trying to get through them. I feel like now that we reset that we are doing pretty good.”