ThorSport's Rhodes, off to slow start in 2024, gets new crew chief

PERKINS TWP. — ThorSport Racing, which is off to a slow start this year in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, shook up its lineup on Wednesday. ThorSport announced that it has switched crew chiefs for drivers Ben Rhodes and Jake Garcia, meaning Rich Lushes will work with Garcia and Doug Randolph will work with Rhodes. The move will go into effect at Friday's Buckle Up South Carolina 200 at Darlington Raceway. Rhodes, who won the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship with Lushes calling the shots, has struggled this season. Rhodes is 12th in driver points in the series and has only one top-10 finish in the first eight races. Garcia, new to the ThorSport team this year, is 14th in points and has no top-10 finishes. "The organizational changes at ThorSport were made to strengthen our program for the remainder of the season," the Sandusky-based team said in a statement. "These adjustments offer new opportunities and signal our proactive approach to progress." Ty Majeski has had ThorSport's best start. He is sitting fourth in points and has three top-five finishes, but did not finish two races. Veteran ThorSport driver Matt Crafton is eighth in points with one top-five finish. Part-time driver Connor Jones hasn't cracked the top 10 in four starts. ThorSport's team is competing in Ford trucks — a switch the team made last year when Hailie Deegan raced with ThorSport for a year. Five of the top 10 drivers in the Truck Series this year drive Chevrolets and three are in Toyotas. "With 28 years in the Truck Series, we look forward to the partnership with Ford Performance in NASCAR," ThorSport team owner Duke Thorson said in a news release in December 2022, when Deegan's addition was announced. "Our pursuit of wins and championships remains at the forefront of our objectives." Lushes was Deegan's crew chief for most of 2023 before switching to Rhodes, a move that led to a championship. Deegan finished 19th in points last year. She is competing in the Xfinity Series this year and currently is 26th in driver points. Rhodes had three different crew chiefs in 2023 and told the Register last December that he was looking forward to working with Lushes this year. "It's a really good group of guys," Rhodes said about his team. "One of the things that determines success in life as much as anything is attitude. Our guys have amazing attitudes. They're all-in all the time. If things are going bad they don't complain. They just want to win the next one." Rhodes, who qualified 11th last week at Kansas before finishing 16th, is one of just five drivers to win multiple Truck Series season championships. ThorSport has won season five titles in the last 10 years. There are 15 races remaining this year in the Truck Series.