THE MODERATOR: We are going to start our post-championship press conference, and we're joined by Ben Rhodes, the 2021 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion.
Q. My first question for you, I know it was challenging, but did you appreciate the opportunity to go out there and have the lead and play defense and then whatever happens happens?
BEN RHODES: Yeah, I liked the fact that my crew chief, Rich Lushes, gives me those opportunities. He's bold. He makes a lot of crazy pit calls like that, and sometimes they work. We were just on the cusp of making it work. I think if that last restart had come out, we could have held them off and be really happy right now.
But I'm not. So here I am. I tell you, I'm thankful for those calls, I just wish it could have worked out differently. That was just the story of two versus four. I couldn't get the jump I needed on the green. I just didn't have the grip with my two tires that the other guys had, and it was just extremely difficult to hold them off.
I even -- coming into the checkered flag there, I even tried to drive it in as deep as I could to get to him. And the TV didn't show it the best, but I just banged the truck off the wall because I wasn't going to make the corner. I just used the wall to turn me and kind of pulled shades of Ross Chastain, I guess. I didn't ride it, but I hit it and was able to barely stay in front of the 18.
Gave it all I had, and just didn't have any more. We needed more pace all day long.
Q. Was it kind of a no-win scenario in the sense that you can't block Zane on the bottom and Chandler up top so you have nowhere to go?
BEN RHODES: Yeah, if I could do it over again, I would've changed up my restart a little bit. I went with what I thought would have been best for me.
But again, not having the same level of grip that those guys had, I didn't expect them to get as big of a jump that they got. I expected them to be with me a little bit but not pretty much in front of me by Turn 1. Yeah, that was a little unexpected. If I could go back, I would change that for sure.
It's unexpected to be racing for the win like that when we were sixth through tenth the whole day. So that pit strategy was really very appreciated. That's what gave me the chance, and I think it was bold, and it could have paid off big. It definitely paid off to get second.
Q. Ben, you said it's a bold move, but when he puts you out front, what's going through your head?
BEN RHODES: I'm not going to be able to hold this. No, drive as hard as you can, use the clean air, block the dirty air. When I was in front of him, I just knew I had to drive in as deep as possible, get it turned as quick as possible and do everything I could, don't worry about saving the truck. If I destroy the truck here, so be it, because I was doing all I could to hold him off.
As soon as the caution came out, though, I knew we were in trouble. If the caution never came out, I think honest to goodness we could have won the thing. But that's hindsight. That's make-believe land.
I just wish I could have changed up my restart a little bit, and maybe things would be different for me right now.
Q. Obviously it's incredibly hard to repeat as champion in this series. Only Matt Crafton has done it. Obviously one spot short. Are there any solaces you can take from your team and your performance tonight?
BEN RHODES: Well, I think the team has the ability to dive deep and show up when it matters. We needed more consistency throughout the regular season and just in general. We've got to work on more raw speed and consistency.
But the fact that the team can have the foresight so make awesome calls and to put me in position when it matters for us to try to come in clutch, I think that's huge.
They don't quit, and I don't quit. We're just going to keep doing that and work on the other stuff in the meantime and hopefully have a little more consistency next year.
Q. Ben, three of the guys will be back in the series we assume next year. So just looking forward to next year, do you see Ty, Zane and probably some others who have been in the championship before as kind of the main contenders?
BEN RHODES: Ooh, well, I don't know. Early to say. Definitely good drivers, right? They definitely have the talent for it, so I don't see why not. Obviously the teams have a lot to do with that. They're all racing for good teams. Yeah, I don't see why not.
The Truck Series has just grown in depth, and the strength of the field has become incredible. Like, it is getting so incredibly hard to get top 10s now, where if I could take the skill set that I've developed now and the crew and the team that I've put together now and take that back years ago, I think we'd be doing some really special things.
Nothing to discredit the past, but this field has just grown so strong. I expect nothing less in the future. I think it's just going to get tougher and tougher.
THE MODERATOR: Ben, congratulations on a great 2022, thanks for the great show, and enjoy the off-season.
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