Championship crew chief Rich Lushes joins Davey Segal (7:10) to discuss his storied career in motorsports that culminated in NASCAR's ultimate prize last season with Ben Rhodes and ThorSport Racing. He chats about his early days at the track and father's ownership of a local Ohio short track, why and when he realized driving wasn't the path for him, the culture of racing in Ohio where ThorSport is based and why the team likes avoiding "the swamp" in North Carolina.
Lushes has helped multiple young drivers blossom into short track and NASCAR stars, including the likes of Landon Cassill and Erik Jones. He recalls stories of the then teenagers honing their craft in the shop and on track before moving onto bigger and better things in NASCAR.
While successful, including an ARCA championship with Frank Kimmel in 2013, Lushes had never been a crew chief at the NASCAR level until 2018. He got his chance with Myatt Snider, but was demoted the following year. He gets real about his feelings in the two years that followed and why not just getting the chance again, but winning the opening two races with Ben Rhodes in 2021 put some pep back in his step en route to winning the Camping World Truck Series championship.
Plus, why he thrives at ThorSport in Ohio rather than with a bigger team in North Carolina, his "shoey" at Phoenix following the No. 99 team's championship, when he realized his driver couldn't handle his alcohol, why their recent victory on Bristol Dirt has was the biggest of his career and reflecting on the road to get to the top of the mountain.
Papa Segal pays homage to a fourth-generation driver gone too soon, Davey discusses Ross Chastain's Talladega victory and briefly previews the Monster Mile.
