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Rhodes Puts Pack Back on Track

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NC State student Harrison Rhodes will take another turn at the Xfinity Hisense 4K TV 300 on Saturday at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The senior business major, in his fourth year as a driver on the NASCAR Xfinity circuit, is set to graduate in December, completing the degree he has worked on while moonlighting as a driver at speedways around the country.

Saturday, Rhodes will be piloting the No. 97 car sponsored by NC State, decorated with red-and-white stripes, university marks, College of Engineering logos and the #STATEMENT hashtag used by Wolfpack Athletics.

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Senior business major Harrison Rhodes with Xfinity Series stock car.

Rhodes, in his first year driving for the Obaika Racing team, finished the spring semester as a dean’s list student and will take two classes in summer school, business law and online PE 100. He will then be 15 hours away from his degree. Saturday will be his seventh Xfinity race of the season.

The native of High Point, North Carolina, began racing regularly two years ago shortly after he transferred to NC State following one year at High Point University.

He raced full-time last year with JD Motorsports, finishing in the Top 10 at a race at the Daytona International Speedway and making a splash in the pits and garages with scores of fellow alumni working in the industry while wearing his NC State-branded helmet and racing suit.