Well, Moses didn’t part the Red Sea until he was 80 years old.

For Dodge Hemi Shootout racer Anthony Rhodes, the vision of grabbing gears didn’t materialize until he became retirement age. At 67 years old, while racing in the famed Louisiana version of the Hemi Shootout, more commonly referred to as the Chootout, the Charleston, SC-based drag racing grabbed his first race win of any type.

“That’s my first win in my life in a Hemi or any other car,” said Rhodes, grinning ear to ear.

Rhodes stopped Steve Kent in the final round of the Hemi Chootout, scoring the win as his opponent rolled the beams and went red.

The emotions couldn’t even get the best of Rhodes, as he refused to neglect those who made the mission complete.

“I have to thank my crew, my family, and everybody,” he continued. “I couldn’t have done it without them. And also Mr. Charlie Westcott. And I want to thank Benny, Kimberly for putting this race on, and the No Problem Raceway. Thank y’all.”

Age be damned, Rhodes knew one day he would hoist a trophy; he just hoped it would be at a younger age than when Moses performed the miracle on God’s behalf.

“We’re always saying, ‘Not if we win. When we win,” Rhodes explained. “I told Hebert, ‘He had the orange toolbox tonight, and I had the black one.” I told him that before the race.”

The win means the world to Rhodes.

“It means so much,” Rhodes said. “I didn’t start driving till 65, and I didn’t start driving that four-speed until 66, and now I’m 67. And it’s just so exciting. I’ve been coming out here with watching other people drive.

“It’s just so exciting. All that hard work. Justin, my Crew Chief, and Tom, my IT man, they been on the game sending the stuff back and forth to Mr. Westcott and all that whatnot.

“And Justin says it best. “It’s about 45 hours of work and eight seconds the day I get them running. It’s almost like a helicopter.”