Rodgers Finishes Ninth After Qualifying Mishap at Chicagoland

By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer 

A top-10 finish in a patched and repaired car was the story of Will Rodgers’ Scott 150. The ARCA Racing Series driver overcame adversity to finish ninth at Chicagoland Speedway.

In the final scramble to the checkered flag, Rodgers jumped from ninth to fifth. Just as it looked like the Ken Schrader Racing driver was about to score his first top-five finish, it nearly came to an end. Rodgers’ No. 52 Drydene Ford Fusion was loosened by Codie Rohrbaugh on the final lap. The NASCAR Next driver didn’t spin but slid up the track and lost his momentum before falling to ninth. Luckily, Rodgers avoided the last lap incident between Natalie Decker and Joe Graf, Jr. to finish ninth.

Rodgers’ night started with an incident in qualifying. In the 20-minute group session, the No. 55 of Toni Breidinger and the No. 52 collided on pit road. The damage was minor for Breidinger, while the entire right side of Rodgers’ car was torn off. His Ken Schrader Racing crew had to scramble to repair the damage with limited time prior to the start of the race. As a result, Rodgers started the race from last.

The ninth-place finish was the third top-10 for Rodgers and came in his fifth career ARCA race. The Maui, Hawaii native is splitting time between ARCA and the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West.

Now Rodgers will head to the 0.375-mile Douglas County Speedway for the Clint Newell Toyota 150 Presented by NAPA Auto Parts on Saturday, June 30. There, the 23-year-old driver will drive the familiar No. 4 Southwest Tenant Development Ford Fusion.