Dale Jr. wants Lou's Rhodes full-time in 2016

SPARTA, Ky. -- Louisville native Ben Rhodes won't make his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut until next month, but the 18-year-old's already attended a number of races this season, hovering over the No. 88 team with which he'll work with 10 times this year.

Rhodes' team owner – and NASCAR's most popular driver – has come away plenty impressed. Dale Earnhardt Jr. said Wednesday at a Kentucky Speedway test session he'd like to bring on Rhodes for a full season next year in the second-tier circuit – "in a perfect world," of course.

"He's an exceptional young man – very well-mannered and well-spoken and has a great opportunity to be successful as a driver but also represent his partners well," Earnhardt Jr. said. "He seems to really understand the importance of being the whole package. He's really doing a lot when it comes to being accountable at the races, standing around and trying to be a sponge for the information that's available to him while we're practicing."

Rhodes enters this year off a championship season in NASCAR's K&N Pro Series East, a developmental circuit. He also led laps in his big-track debut last fall in Kentucky Speedway's ARCA Racing Series event and finished 5th at Phoenix Raceway in a Camping World Truck Series race.

JR Motorsports' 2015 Xfinity Series lineup consists of mainstay Regan Smith in the No. 7, defending champion Chase Elliott in the No. 9 and Rhodes, along with Sprint Cup Series drivers Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick and Kasey Kahne splitting time in the No. 88.

Next year, Elliott will succeed retiring Jeff Gordon in the Cup Series' No. 24. If sponsorship is there for Rhodes, the opportunity to go full time could be, too.

"I've seen him at every (Xfinity Series) race I've been at," Earnhardt Jr. said. "When I drove this year, he's in the garage asking questions. Between runs, he's listening and asking questions and very inquisitive. It's genuine. He really wants to be as prepared as possible, and we want to get him every opportunity we can. We feel like giving him that opportunity will let him succeed."

Rhodes' Xfinity Series debut comes May 17 at the Iowa Speedway, the same weekend as his graduation from Holy Cross High School. He's also booked for the Sept. 26 race at Kentucky Speedway but hasn't yet secured a deal to drive when the circuit visits his home state in July.