Ben Rhodes – No. 99 Kubota Tractor Corporation
Toyota Tundra TRD Pro
Phoenix Race Information
Started: 6th
Stage 1: 6th
Stage 2: 10th
Finished: 2nd
Laps: 154/154
Laps Led: 8
Status: Running
Driver Points: 2nd
Owner Points: 2nd
“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.” – Ben Rhodes
Daytona International Speedway
Friday, Feb. 17, 2023
FOX Sports 1 | Motor Racing Network Radio (MRN)