By Caleb Whisler, Staff Writer
For the first two stages of the Alpha Energy Solutions 250 at Martinsville Speedway, it looked like Ben Rhodes would easily score the victory, but once again, pit stops were an issue.
Pit stops have been a constant issue for the No. 41 Ford team from ThorSport Racing. According to Rhodes, issues on pit road seem to occur when the team is having a decent run.
“Our pit stops have been our struggle for all of this year and last year. Anytime that we are leading or have a decent run, we always go out last,” stated Rhodes.
Once in “dirty” air, Rhodes was unable to make moves to get to the front of the field. Another downside of moving from the lead to the back is your truck gets damaged.
“The race itself was so wild. Once you got back there, you couldn’t do much. It was a really tough day. I hate it for our guys. We didn’t have any damage on the truck when we were leading. We go to the back and the whole truck is a wreck,” continued Rhodes.
“We are going to have to redo the whole truck. It’s not often you can escape Martinsville without any damage, but it looked like we were having a pretty good day for it. It’s unfortunate for everyone involved.”
Despite missing the win, Rhodes hopes that the two playoff points he gained for winning the first two stages would salvage his day.
With pit stops costing him a shot for the championship at Homestead and the race win at Martinsville, Rhodes alluded that the team would be making some changes before Dover.
“We are going to be making some changes on this 41 team. We have way too fast of a Truck to be losing races on pit road.”