Ben Rhodes, NASCAR champ and Bud Light fan, 'in a different world now'

PERKINS TWP. -- Ben Rhodes' life changed forever after he won the 2021 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship last month in Phoenix. For starters, Rhodes has more beer than he'll ever be able to drink. "I've had more Bud Light given to me than I've ever drank in my life," Rhodes said Wednesday before ThorSport Racing's open house at its Campbell Avenue headquarters. "I have a lifetime supply of Bud Light people have given me since the end of the race. Bud needs to go ahead and embrace me. We've had their name out there a lot." If you missed all the beer talk, do an internet search for Rhodes' post-race press conference at Phoenix. After Rhodes finished third in the race to clinch his playoff championship, he was taken to a party tent. There was a DJ and plenty to drink, and Rhodes was ready to celebrate. "It started with champagne. I didn't have one drop of water after the race," Rhodes said. "I took a few gulps and had four or five (Bud Lights) at the party tent in a matter of 15 or 20 minutes, then straight from there to the press conference. I was feeling it." Rhodes' session with the media was very entertaining. At one point, someone traded the Bud Light sitting in front of him for a bottle of water. "I've never drank like that after a race before," Rhodes said. "Usually it's right to water and some sort of sports drink." He said he felt "pretty close to normal" an hour after his memorable sit-down on November 5. "I guess the water got absorbed into my system really fast, just being so dehydrated," he said. "So did the alcohol." ThorSport Racing general manager David Pepper braced himself for criticism after Rhodes' interview. Didn't happen. In fact, Rhodes made a bunch of new fans. "I was worried about it, but I was wrong," Pepper said. "All the work we do to try to get Ben to relate to the public, he took care of that in 45 minutes all on his own. They got to see a guy who made fun of himself, laughed, was engaging. "What the world got to see at the end of that race and at the most legendary press conference in the world was a 24-year-old young man who drives race cars for a living and just loves life. He's just the common man. He's gonna drive race cars, have him a cold beer and celebrate when he does well." Rhodes did more celebrating Wednesday. A parade was held in Perkins Township to honor ThorSport Racing. The team added to Rhodes' title with an owners championship for Duke and Rhonda Thorson. Later Wednesday, big crowds descended on ThorSport for an open house, complete with a four-piece orchestra quarter, face-painting and food. All five ThorSport Truck Series drivers were on hand, but Rhodes was the main attraction, greeting fans who patiently waited in a long line. Rhodes said he's received an "incredible outpouring of support" since winning the championship. "I almost feel like in a different world now," he said. "Going into Phoenix, we just wanted to get to the final four. We didn't have the winning speed, but we did everything we needed to do in comparison to our competitors." Rhodes, who won a ARCA Menards Series East championship as a teenager in 2014, secured the title by passing fellow playoff qualifier Zane Smith near the end of the race. ThorSport teammate and three-time champion Matt Crafton finishing fourth in the playoff chase. "I really didn't want to finish second," Rhodes said. "You think about it, they had a huge Camping World bonus on the line. The difference between being the champion and second is not in the same ballpark. I knew exactly how that could change my life and my career. I knew what it meant to everyone around me. "How do you dig deep and try to find the speed to make the pass? We got lucky it was a long run (150-lap race). Our truck came to life at the end, but I was going as hard as I've ever driven. If you're not first, as Ricky Bobby says, then you're last in this case." Pepper credits Rhodes' maturation process with helping him reach the pinnacle of his profession. "We've always had expectations for Ben to be one of the best at this," Pepper said. "Sometimes you don't have to drive with your hair on fire every single lap. Sometimes when you have a fifth-place truck, you finish fifth. Don't finish 25th trying to get to fourth. When you have a winning truck you need to go win the race. "This was a year where we saw Ben Rhodes mature to the driver we always hoped he was going to be. It's being smart. Let the other guys burn up their equipment, then drive by them. Very similar to what he did at Phoenix. I think five years ago you would've seen Ben get very upset, burn the tires off his truck and fade at the end of that race." The consistent Rhodes had 16 top-10 finishes in 22 races this year and won the first two races on the schedule. Pairing him with crew chief Rich Lushes proved to be a winning move. "Rich has a calm demeanor, which I think is good for me," Rhodes said. "As I've gotten older and the more stuff I've dealt with on the racetrack, the more lack of patience I've had. I probably get fired up more than I should now. Rich is really good at keeping me calm. He's given me good, comfortable trucks to drive. "So many people in the sport think you need to hit a home run every time. You'll get me to home plate with doubles, singles and triples. It's OK not to have the best race, but don't let it be out of the top 10. Rich sees the big picture, which I think is why we won the championship. He's just calm, which leads to a lot of good habits." Rhodes has kept up his habit of embracing Bud Light. At the NASCAR Awards ceremony earlier this month in Nashville, wearing a black tuxedo, Rhodes placed a bottle of the beer on the dais before giving a four-minute speech. He thanked more than 30 people and concluded his remarks by toasting Rich Riley, who worked at ThorSport for 18 years and was the team's "go-to guy" when it came to suspensions. Riley died last month. Rhodes said he could see Riley's work station through the window in Lushes' office at ThorSport. "He was one of the most experienced guys in the whole shop," Rhodes said. "Any time we needed any expertise on our truck, we went to Rich. I'm gonna miss him for a lot of reasons. He saved our butts a lot of times by making sure everything was right."