In the Hot Seat: Ben Rhodes

Ben Rhodes hopes to be all smiles after Friday night’s Kansas Lottery 200 at Kansas Speedway. (Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podium Finish)

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – When it comes to dynamic racers in the motorsports scene, it is hard to hold a candle to 26-year-old Ben Rhodes of Louisville, Kentucky.

Tenacious, driven and personable, the 2021 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion is as amiable as he is determined to succeed on the track. Rhodes’ No. 99 Ford F-150 is often a frontrunner throughout the Truck season, often in the mix for wins when it counts.

While fans may recall Rhodes for his genuine, jubilant and relatable post-championship conference in 2021, most know him as one of NASCAR’s passionate drivers. Despite his young age, Rhodes is a page to NASCAR’s past with being genuine and an individual who wears his heart on his sleeve.

For the past seven years, Rhodes has been a thriving, consistent driver for ThorSport Racing. Throughout those season, he has evolved from an upstart, promising talent to a respected racer who balances aggression with poise in this paint trading series.

The seven-time Truck race winner is seeking a second bid for this year’s championship. Presently, he sits three points from potentially challenging for another shot at the Truck title ahead of Friday night’s Kansas Lottery 200 at Kansas Speedway.

Understandably, Rhodes knows it is not a totally straightforward situation. As the pursuer, he has to have a virtually flawless Friday starting from practice and qualifying to race evening at the 1.5-mile speeedway.

Then again, Rhodes is used to the pressure and making the best of a challenging moment. After all, he had to cross that river in the 2021 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway.

On that occasion, Rhodes succeeded against a stacked Championship 4 field. Now, he and crew chief Brian Ross face a stock truck equivalent to a Game 7 moment like in baseball with two outs and bases loaded.

If any driver can handle the rigors of a pressure packed situation, Rhodes is up to the task. Based on Rhodes’ latest appearance “In the Hot Seat,” he is more like a man who is genuinely as calm as can be ahead of the Friday night lights at Kansas.

Prior to Friday night’s race, Rhodes spoke about preparing for the Round of 10 cutoff duel, working with Ross, and balancing the demands of racing with family and other passion projects. Here is the latest edition of “In the Hot Seat: Ben Rhodes” on The Podium Finish!

Rob Tiongson: Before we get started, how are you doing and how are you feeling ahead of the race on Friday night at Kansas?

Certainly, Ben Rhodes is no stranger to Game 7 moments in the Truck Series. (Photo: Mitchell Richtymre | The Podium Finish)

Ben Rhodes: Yeah, feeling good. This is nothing we haven’t been in before. Right now, our Playoff picture, I think I’m three below the cutline. And I say I think because I really haven’t looked at it all that much. I’m pretty much just focusing on what we can control, which is trying to build a fast Ford F-150 and show up and do everything right.

That’s obviously easier said than done, but we have been in this situation before. We’ve faced it every year. And I think that’s one of the things that makes us a strong contender every time we show up at Phoenix is that for each round, we always have to race one of the races like Phoenix.

Right now, that’s Kansas. We’re going into Kansas racing just like it’s for the championship because it could be, right? Like we could maybe get in on a point here at Kansas and then we could go on to win the championship. That happened for me in 2021.

I’m not going to say it can’t happen again. I hope it does. But ultimately, I would like the race to go in our favor where we don’t have to worry about points, but that’s not going to be the case. I’m racing against some really fast guys.

Tiongson: You’re up for the challenge and you’ve been there before. And Kansas is certainly a great opportunity for you knowing that you are typically hovering inside that top ten. You have been contention to win and you certainly know your way around this place. So like you said, nothing new and you know what it’s like to be under the pressure. So now you’re now you’re gonna earn your paycheck for sure as we say out there in the workforce world.

Rhodes: Yeah, Kansas is a track that I feel like it owes us one. There’s like two races. 2016, I was trying to pass Johnny Sauter for the lead and we wrecked on the last lap in Turns 3 and 4.

And then in 2017, I was leading over Kyle Busch and we had a bolt go through the radiator (with) 2 or 3 laps to go. And then earlier this year, we had what I would call arguably the fastest truck. We got the lead early in the race and the caution comes out before the stage.

We short pit so that way we can try to get back to the front to get stage points and then have the lead when when everything cycles. And we got caught up in a wreck, basically. Kyle Busch hit the wall in front of me and slowed his truck down so fast. When it happened, I ran into the back of him, knocked a hole in the nose and that was it. So, you know, Kansas has been up and down, but our performances have been strong.

So, if I had to pick a cutoff race for us, this would be the cutoff race. Like I wouldn’t have it any other way. And that does mean a lot when you’re when you feel like you’ve got your back up against the wall knowing that you’re going to a place that you should have speed or you feel like you’ve had success in the past. That makes a big difference.

Tiongson: I’m sure it does. And you’ve shown all year long, I mean, you guys have fast trucks. Even with the OEM switch going back to Ford, it’s like it’s been pretty seamless. And another thing that’s changed since we last spoke in 2021, you have a new crew chief (in) Brian Ross.

I’ve been kind of curious how you and Brian are working together so that at Kansas and hopefully in the Round of 10, you’re strengthening the No. 99 team’s efforts? What’s it been like to work with him and kind of see how things are meshing along together?

Rhodes: Well, that’s the funny thing, right? When we last spoke, I had a new crew chief for the season, which was Rich Lushes in 2021. That’s when we won the championship. I had him in 2022.

Then to start out this year of 2023, I had Jeriod Prince. Well, as soon as we won our race at Charlotte, Jeriod Prince was taken off my team and went over to Matt Crafton. So Matt Crafton has been with him since then.

And Brian Ross, which was my engineer at the time, was elevated to become my crew chief. So I’ve only had a select number of races now with with Brian as my crew chief, right? So basically the back half of May, he has six races now total that he has under his belt as the crew chief.

We’re meshing and gelling. I’ve worked with Brian for a long time, actually. It’s just not in the position he’s currently in. He’s worked with me in my position. I’ve just been the driver and he’s worked with a couple other drivers, which I think is ultimately good for for crew chiefs and engineers to work with other people.

This is his first time as crew chief and doing it in the Playoffs. He’s done quite well so far. He had me a couple of really fast trucks early on at Mid-Ohio and Richmond. Right now, though, the last two races, we kind of hit a little bit of a lull.

We know that the short tracks have kind of been difficult for us, right? We went to Milwaukee, we weren’t running the best. We went to not running the best. The short tracks have been kind of a pain point for us, so I’m glad to be past that.

I would say Brian’s strong suits are big picture between aerodynamics and mechanical, so that would be a mile and a half. That’s Kansas. That’s where we’re going. So I think this is a track that plays into his strong suits. And then me as a driver, I don’t know what I am. I’m just going to try to drive the thing go fast. So I’ve got confidence in Brian for this race, which is good.

Tiongson: It sounds like it’s going to be Hail Mary racing, but again, that’s what you guys learned in the short tracks. Racing in those bandoleros legend cars and late models is the pressure cooker time. We’re now at it.

If you can make it to the next round, you guys are going to love these next tracks. You’ve got Talladega, Bristol, Homestead. I mean, I would say maybe not so much Talladega, but I would call this a driver’s delight, wouldn’t you say?

By all means, Ben Rhodes hopes his title quest this year does not conclude at Kansas Speedway. (Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podium Finish)

Rhodes: I don’t mind racing with Talladega in the Playoffs. I kind of really enjoy it, actually. It’s a wild card and it seems to rattle others more so than us. I don’t know why that is. Maybe just because the fact, like mentally, I just enjoy it.

But I can tell you it wouldn’t be the same if we don’t advance past this round. I thrive in this time of the year. I like feeling the pressure. I like the extra intensity that comes along with it. I like the feeling of going to the racetrack and the idea that your season kind of rides on a moment like this, I enjoy that.

Talladega is the supreme type of feeling that you get with that because there’s so much you can’t control with Talladega and things happen so quickly. A decision you made five laps ago puts you on the bottom or the top and puts you with a certain person you may or may not want to be drafting around. And those split second decisions all add up.

They’re like dominoes. And before you know it, five laps later you’re in a wreck because you decided to stay low instead of making the move to go high. So that’s fun. I like that. But for some reason, if we couldn’t make it past Kansas, it just wouldn’t be the same, right? Like Talladega would would lose its luster to me.

Tiongson: Let’s hope that’s not the case, because I’m sure the fans want to see you make it into the next round and Championship 4. I don’t need to say anything further because at Phoenix two years ago, you delivered one of the best post championship speeches. And I think people want to see an encore of that, I would imagine.

I imagine you’re ready for the challenge and you kind of touched upon this. A couple of years ago, it seemed like NASCAR had a standard template of schedules and tracks. But in the last year or two, I’d say we have tried to go to different markets. And it’s been interesting to see Trucks at COTA, an F1 track primarily speaking.

You guys are back at IRP and racing at The Milwaukee Mile. What do you think about this variety in the truck schedule, knowing that you’re going to tracks that you’ve probably haven’t been to until this year?

Rhodes: Yeah, it’s great. I love it. I’m glad they’re putting so much emphasis on changing up the schedule and mixing it up and not running (the same) tracks.

All the feedback that prior to this all happening was that we were all going to so many mile and a half and that all the tracks are the same. The word was cookie cutter, and you’re watching the same thing each week because that feedback propelled NASCAR along this path of, “Let’s go to new markets, let’s try it, let’s change it up. Who cares if if it’s we have a bad race here or there? Because we tried something new. Let’s just go places and people are enjoying it.”

And I can’t say that there has been a bad race from them taking the risk. They’ve gone to all kinds of different tracks and I can’t say that any one of them was bad. They were all unique. They all put on great shows and I think the fans appreciated that and liked it.

I’m speaking for them when I say that, but I can tell you as a driver, we liked it. I like going to the Bristol Dirt race. I like going to Mid-Ohio this year. I think everybody really enjoyed going to North Wilkesboro, Milwaukee and IRP and these tracks that maybe haven’t seen action in a long time that we’re getting to return at. It’s special. It creates a new level of excitement and interest.

Tiongson: And that’s what people want to see is excitement and interest. I can tell you seeing NASCAR in Austin was so kismet because I live in Austin these days and it’s so nice not to have to go out of state. I can just go to my local road course and bam, you guys are racing on Saturday afternoon to lead the NASCAR race weekend here in the capital of Texas.

I hope we keep taking on these new venues just because it’s it’s what helps grow the sport along with trying to diversify the sport on the talent side and getting good personalities like you out there, too. So it’s good to see NASCAR in this particular state. And we have the 75th anniversary.

I’m curious to get your thoughts about what it means to you to be racing in this special anniversary season for for NASCAR.

No doubt, Ben Rhodes would love to win the Truck title in the midst of NASCAR’s 75th anniversary season. (Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podium Finish)

Rhodes: Yeah, pretty cool, right? It’s funny to start the year off, they were asking me something similar and they were talking about all the history and they got to talking and all these NASCAR legends. They all got their feedback and they told all these cool stories.

I got to listen to that. And I don’t know, man. It’s just a big picture type of thing. I think everyday, we just approach it as head down. We’re in the trenches, we’re fighting, we’re in the Playoffs. Bang, bang, bang, let’s go.

But, when you kind of step back and say, “Wait a minute, we’re taking a part of history here, 75 years this has been going on. We’re racing in the 75th season,” I don’t know. It’s neat, right?

I don’t think there’s words I can use to describe it, but it’s fun to know that you’re a part of all of this. When you know you’re a part of something big like that, you want to make your splash.

Winning the championship this year, I think would be that much more special if they were ever to pull up highlights of, let’s say, the 100th anniversary, 25, 50, 75 years, hopefully your name would get drawn right and pulled up.

So I think that’s one of the things that drives us competitors is the recognition that we were able to go out and do what we love and then find success at it. 75 years is pretty cool.

Tiongson: It certainly is. And I’m just thinking, if you open a book in 2048, which is a scary thought for me at this point, you’d still be much younger than me. But like you said, if you can get a championship in a milestone season, that’s something that people are going to say, “Hey, do you remember Ben Rhodes in 2023 when NASCAR turned 75 and how he was able to come back and win a championship?” So that would be that’d be quite a thrill for sure.

I think people are never going to forget 2021. That was one of the most amazing moments I’ve seen in the Truck Series history.

How much has your life changed since becoming a Truck champion knowing that people approach you and say, “Hey, you’re Ben Rhodes. You won the championship before?”

Rhodes: Yeah, that’s fun, right? Well, what led up to all that was just the way that we won the race. We were so up and down during the race. We led a whole bunch of laps early on. And then out of nowhere in the third stage, we basically led, when I say led laps, we led laps over the other playoff contenders, the other championship contenders.

I think I was second or third, but I was ahead of everybody else for the first two stages. Well, finally the third stage rolls around and I lose two spots right off the bat to the Playoff or the championship contenders, which was Todd Gilliland, and then for sure, Zane Smith.

Before I know it, they’re gone. Like checked out. Gone. So 60 lap run, here we go. I passed Todd Gilliland back, but eventually, I mean, I’m like fighting for my life to get back to Zane. We finally get back to him. I nudge him up the track and we take off and we win the thing.

The highs from the emotions of that happening, like leading the whole race and then your hopes just disappeared… all of a sudden, we got the speed there falling off. Here we go. We want it.

Oh, man. It’s a crazy feeling. And you don’t know that you’re feeling that way while you’re driving the truck. Or at least you try not to pay attention to it. But then once it all settles, you really, really can lean into your emotions and just enjoy the situation and the lifetime that it took to get to this point.

So I can tell you what, I didn’t get in trouble for giving a drunken press conference. Not that it was on purpose by any means, because it wasn’t. I was happy. Well, I didn’t get in trouble.

I can tell you round two would be just as big, if not bigger, because I got I got all kinds of support actually. Nobody was mad at me.

Tiongson: It was one of the most genuine celebrations, I will say, in all of motorsports history. Nobody’s gonna top what Ben just did at Phoenix. So I would be very curious what would happen in a couple months time if you were to be in that position. That would be a quite a sight to beholden.

Rhodes: I can tell you what we weren’t prepared at all for, for what the celebration would entail, right? We were given these massive champagne bottles on stage. I mean, I don’t know if a normal bottle 750ml, this had to be like 1.5, 1.5l. I mean, it’s massive.

So I sprayed probably a quarter of it or a third of it. I drank probably a third of it. And then I took the other bit and I filled up my shoe and I gave it to my crew chief to do a shoey on an empty stomach, no fluids, dehydrated.

That third of that bottle of champagne plus like four or five beers that the fans gave me out at The Barn, there was no planning at all. So I can tell you now I know what to expect. I’m going to live it up if we can get to that that point. But Kansas first. I got to get past this weekend and it’s a daunting task.

Tiongson: We didn’t talk about this two years ago, but I understand you like to work on car restoration projects, which makes me think you should have a show on Motor Trend. What would be your favorite car restoration project so far in your life?

Most recently, Ben Rhodes worked on a vintage Volkswagen Beetle. (Photo: Bobby Krug | The Podium Finish)

Rhodes: So it’s funny, right? When I was kind of talking about that, I was working on a 1971 Volkswagen Beetle, which we were putting custom air right on it. When I say we, it was really just me.

I was putting custom air ride on it and I was having a lot of fun. But I got to a point where a lot of stuff changed in life. I had a baby and we moved into a different house and we had all these different projects going on.

I just couldn’t get the time to work on it. So I sold the thing about three quarters of the way done. Now I haven’t worked on a car since. But I’ll tell you what, right now, my wife and I bought some land up in the Kentucky area where I live now, and we’ve been kind of working on it almost like farmers.

I got a Kubota tractor here and we’ve been bush hogging the land and putting in a driveway and trenching and running electric and doing different stuff. We would like to build a house here soon for our growing family.

We’ve got one one child here and one on the way, and we’re just kind of we’re just kind of doing life, I guess, right? So we’re just kind of going along. And that kind of puts your passion projects of restoration vehicles and stuff to the side. So I have not touched a old car to work on since I sold that beetle.

Tiongson: Well, at least you have a good reason for that. And you’re a family man.. That’s probably one of the best things you could ever be in life…. to be a father, raising your kids with your wife and having that land in Kentucky where, when you’re trying to decompress from this busyness of NASCAR, you can just escape to your house with your family and feel refreshed.

I know as the years go on, there’s a lot of pressure with this sport. So to just go home and look forward to coming to a nice house or just the land in general, I mean, I’m just imagining.

Rhodes: The big thing, right? Like you got to have a place to go and and kind of escape, it’s nice to get out and see some nature and stuff. And the land’s been vacant forever. So we just come out here and look at the animals for now. But one day, one day, I don’t know how many years, year or two, five. I don’t know. We’d like to eventually live here, but for now, we come out here and just spend some time and piddle around and enjoy the animals and go from there.

It’d be cool to have some cows one day. That’s another thing I’ve wanted to do is have some of my own cows.

Tiongson: Oh my goodness. Get them from Texas. We’ve got plenty of longhorns over here, man. Like, I just have to go five minutes from my house walking wise, and I see a bunch of cows, which for someone like me from the city, that’s not common to come across.

Rhodes: Maybe your listeners can let me know. I looked at longhorns because again, I’m a way off from doing this. But I was told they’re not very good cattle to eat. So my thing is I wanted to get a couple of cows to be able to eat and harvest for my family. So like myself, my my extended family, parents, we would all kind of share.

We’ll go out instead of buying meat at a supermarket, we’ll go out and buy like a quarter or a whole cow and we’ll split it amongst each other. I was like, “Well, you know, we’ve got land. We might as well do that, and then we can name them.”

And then my wife’s like, “Well, once you name them, you’re not going to want to eat them.” And I’m like, “We’ll see about that.”

So I don’t know if anybody of your listeners know what’s the best breed of cattle cows to to eat. I know the obvious ones, but maybe you drop a comment and let us know.

Tiongson: I will definitely let you know. I’ll let Len know so she can pass the word to you or you want to talk about it.

Maybe that will be your Friday night treat in Kansas, because that is obviously a good place to have steaks, too. So just just putting it out there…

Rhodes: That’s my my every race day treat actually – a steak. So Justin Lofton, as you know, used to race in the Truck Series. He owns a farm now called AhBeef. So if you go in online and you type in AhBeef, like all beef, they actually ship out boxes of of steak and ground beef and roasts and bones and whatever you guys can imagine. They’ve got it. So he sends me a box and we have steak before each race. He’s been awesome.

Tiongson: I got to look that up. Actually, that sounds kind of good. Maybe they can be a sponsor of TPF Live! We would proudly do those little things and say, “This is the Hot Seat presented by AhBeef with Ben Rhodes.

Rhodes: There we go.

Tiongson: You’re just helping me out. I like this.

You talked about having a steak for treats during a race weekend. What would be a favorite cut and how do you like it cooked?

Rhodes: Favorite cut… oh, gosh. He sent me so many different cuts here lately. The last one I had was a Delmonico from him, and that was fantastic. I’m a ribeye guy. If I go to a restaurant, I get a ribeye and I just get a medium.

I feel like that’s a good, safe bet because (if) they undercook it. I’ll still eat it. If they overcook it, I’ll still eat it. But if you ask for like something more on one of the ends of the spectrum, then there’s a good chance they don’t cook your steak right.

I go medium ribeyes at almost all restaurants. But a Delmonico from AhBeef…. man, that was really good.

Tiongson: Yeah, that’s a really good cut for sure.  think that’s a good choice. (For me), New York strips are the best, but I’ll never say no to a Delmonico.

I know you don’t have a lot of time to work on cars, but I imagine like your other peers at the racetrack, you have a joy of aviation. And I’m just kind of curious what inspired you to take up flying as a hobby?

Although Ben Rhodes enjoys the thrills of aviation, winning races and championships likely ranks at the top of the list for him. (Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podium Finish)

Rhodes: I don’t know. I guess I saw some parallels to racing and I just like unique experiences. I like the fact that you’re doing something with the machine, man, and machine against nature.

It’s kind of like racing in a sense. You’re trying to get the best time and you’re wrestling a machine around the track. Similar feeling, I guess, trying to wrestle the machine up into the air. I really enjoyed it though.

I’d say I was influenced most by a crew chief of mine back when I raced Legends cars. He was taking some flight lessons and really piqued my curiosity. I got like an Explorer flight through a silent auction, which I didn’t even bid on. I didn’t know what was in the basket and it was there.

So I went and took the exploration flight, and then I was just absolutely hooked. So I went and got my license and I figured, you know, I could fly to races and do all this cool stuff, which I haven’t flown to races, but I got my license nonetheless.

Editor’s Notes

Special thanks to Ben Rhodes for taking time for his latest “In the Hot Seat” interview segment! Also, special thanks to Len Glockner of ThorSport Racing for her kindness and support for this feature story.

Follow Ben on his social media channels on Facebook, Instagram and X right now!

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.