BEN RHODES, No. 99 Bombardier LearJet 75 Toyota Tundra, ThorSport Racing
Finishing Position: 1st
How do you describe this week and this moment?
“It‘s unbelievable. I don‘t have words for it. I don‘t even know what to say. This is so cool. I just have to thank my team. The Bombardier Tundra was fast all day. ThorSport Racing gave me a truck that handled this year and we were fast. Rich (Luches) is a really good crew chief. It‘s good to be paired up with him and all of the guys on my team. I‘m just thrilled. I don‘t know what to say. I‘ve been on cloud nine all week, so it‘s above that. I‘m just so happy.”
Can you describe your emotions after winning at Daytona for a second time in seven days?
“We did the sweep. I didn‘t know that there was a sweep possible at Daytona, but we did it. I don‘t know what to say. This Bombardier Tundra was fast from the get-go. Starting on the pole, I knew that if we just played it safe, if I gave up the lead — I didn‘t care about the laps led, none of that stuff. We didn‘t need an ego, we needed to win the race. We played it smart all day. The rain was so fun. I prayed for the rain before the race and we got it. I just wish it had stayed the whole time because we were making so much hay once I got the handling down on it. I honestly didn‘t want it to go dry, but I guess I‘m glad that it did because it worked out okay.”
How difficult were all the restarts at the end of the race?
“It was the most stressful race of my life for sure. There‘s been stressful races, but this was really stressful. I thought it was going to be taken away from us for sure. I‘m not sure if they showed me throwing my hands up, I hope they didn‘t. Hope they didn‘t listen to the radio either. I was a little frustrated. Gosh, it all worked out now. So stressful, so stressful. I don‘t think I‘ve had one that stressful before.”
What does it mean to get the 200th win for Toyota in this series?
“So cool. 200 wins for Toyota, I‘m so proud to be able to get that for them. You always want to be the guy that delivers for people and I‘m glad that I could be the delivery man. That‘s so cool. Toyota, they‘ve given so much support to us. I think that‘s a big reason why we‘ve been in victory lane both weeks.”
— Toyota Racing —
200 trips to victory lane! What a ride it’s been in the @NASCAR_Trucks Series. #TeamToyota pic.twitter.com/16anacdZ0E
— Toyota Racing (@ToyotaRacing) February 20, 2021
