Johnny Sauter on Ben Rhodes: “Guys like him are like little chiwawa’s.”
Johnny Sauter and Ben Rhodes have a bit of a history. It began at Kansas Speedway in 2016 when Ben Rhodes spun Sauter on the last lap in a battle for the win. It continues to this day. The two have found themselves in contact several times in previous weeks.
“After the race at Canada, when one of those young punks called me an old P.O.S., I was pretty motivated,” Sauter told motorsport.com of words from Ben Rhodes.
It appears things have started to reach a boiling point. This week, the two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series drivers have been exchanging words through the press.
Watch the video of the word exchange below.
“I’m at a point in my career where, you mess with the bull you get the horns,” Johnny Sauter stated in the press center after winning at Chicagoland Speedway.
“I’m at a different point. You know, if somebody wants to go, toe to toe. I don’t care, let’s go. That’s how I feel. If Ben Rhodes wants a piece of it, let’s go”
Ben Rhodes has responded.
Ben Rhodes
“I’m not trying to play the victim,” Ben Rhodes tells Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.
“I’m just simply that I try to race everybody as clean as I possibly can on the racetrack. I’ve made mistakes in the past.”
“I don’t feel like that’s the case coming from him [Johnny Sauter]. I know that he’s kinda been a bully to me this year, for the past couple races. I’m just standing up to it and I don’t think he likes the fact that I’m standing up to him. ”
“I’m having fun with the situation. I’ll just keep having fun and having a great laugh about the whole thing.”
“He’s thinking about me right now. That’s exactly what I want. I want the competitors to be thinking about me and not their race trucks. When that happens, that means I’m winning.”
“I’m winning the mental warfare game and we’re already winning on the racetrack, before we unload.”
Johnny Sauter
“Well at least he’s winning at something cause he’s not winning on the racetrack,” Johnny Sauter counterpointed to Dave Moody on Sirius XM Speedway.
“He’s got the talkin’ part down. It’s whatever. Honestly, I’m not even considering him [as] one of the guys we’re racing for the championship. So, I’m not going to get caught up in a war of words with a guy like that.”
“Having said that, we just need to keep focusing on the things that we need to do. It sounds to me like he’s a victim right there. He says he’s not playing the victim part. So, it’s all good. We’ll move forward.”
“Guys like him are like little chihuahua’s. You know what I’m sayin’? They’re just always nipping at your heels. That stuff kinda just gets old. I’m not gunna get caught up in garbage with that cat.”
Ben Rhodes vs Johnny Sauter
Ben Rhodes vs Johnny Sauter
Kansas Speedway – 2016