The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship race was a total sh*tshow.
Going into last night’s race at Phoenix, it was between Corey Heim, Grant Enfinger, Carson Hocevar and Ben Rhodes for the championship, with the highest finishing driver taking home the trophy.
But late in the race, Hocevar got into Heim and sent him into the wall, a move that Hocevar clearly felt bad about afterwards.
And then with just three laps to go, Heim got his revenge, running Hocevar into the wall and ending both of their championship hopes.
Enfinger had the race well in hand, but the caution allowed Rhodes to catch up and pass him on the ensuing restart, and Enfinger would later pull a hail mary by coming to pit road for fresh tires as he was falling back through the field, leaving Ben Rhodes as the last man standing for the championship with a fifth place finish.
It’s the second Truck Series championship for the 26-year old driver from Kentucky, along with his ThorSport Racing team.
And he celebrated this one hard.
After his first championship in 2021, Rhodes showed up absolutely HAMMERED to his post race press conference, giving one of the more memorable interviews in recent NASCAR history.
Well, he did it again after his second championship.
Rhodes, who was clearly already three sheets to wind by the time he got to the media center, made his entrance by pouring beer on his crew chief, Rich Lushes. And from there, he proceeded to give an all-time press conference – and it was hysterical.
While answering the first question, Rhodes let out a loud burp that he clearly wasn’t expecting:
“Sorry. Oh my gosh. I am very sorry. That was embarrassing. Should have pulled the mic away.”
He then proceeded to give an imitation of a jake brake as he described his hauler driving from Ohio to North Carolina, and even dropped a hilarious quote about dinosaurs from out of the blue:
“By the way everybody, dinosaurs aren’t real.”
Thanks Ben.
Later on in the press conference he professed his love for steak:
“I have a steak before every race…What’s the thing, beef for dinner? It’s great. I love some cows.”
And when discussing his crew chief, he tried – and failed – to dig into his knowledge of cinema:
“He’s got a beautiful mind. Isn’t that a movie, ‘Beautiful Mind?’ Is it a movie? Is that with John Travolta? Oh sorry, I’ve never watched it. I was thinking about the one with John Travolta where he can make things move with his hands. ‘The Phenomenon.’ That has nothing to do with right now.”
You can see some of the greatest hits from the press conference here:
But if you want to watch the full 16-minute press conference, it’s well worth it.
