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Rhodes returns to site of NASCAR top-10 finish

Jonathan Lintner
@JonathanLintner
Ben Rhodes stands in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix International Raceway on November 6, 2014 in Avondale, Arizona.

In five races at the Iowa Speedway, Ben Rhodes has never finished outside of the top-10. The Louisville native likes his chances as NASCAR's Xfinity Series returns to the .875-mile oval for Saturday's U.S. Cellular 250.

Rhodes ran seventh at Iowa in his first Xfinity race back in May, and he'll be in the same JR Motorsports No. 88 chassis this time around.

"Since I have already run there," Rhodes said, "my confidence level is much higher and I know that we will have an even better Alpha Energy Solutions Camaro than before thanks to the hard work and collaboration of the entire JR Motorsports team."

Rhodes also ran three NASCAR K&N Pro Series East races at Iowa, winning one of the events on the developmental circuit on his way to the 2014 championship. Those runs attracted the eye of JR Motorsports owner Dale Earnhardt Jr., who's fielding Rhodes in 10 Xfinity Series races this year.

Rhodes, an 18-year-old Holy Cross High School graduate, finished 21st at Chicagoland and 12th at New Hampshire since his debut at Iowa in NASCAR's second-tier series.

"My goals for this weekend are to finish all the laps and to get a top 10," he said. "I haven't met my top-10 goal since my last Iowa start, so it is exciting for me to go back. The key is to be more patient and minimize my mistakes. In the past, I was aggressive in times that I needed to patient and it cost me positions on the track.

"The good news is that I have been finishing all the laps and using each race in the No. 88 as an opportunity to better myself as a driver."

NBC Sports Network will broadcast Saturday's race, which starts just after 8 p.m. in Newton, Iowa.