CALIFORNIA
PRE RACE AND POST RACE REPORTS

Johnny Benson – BDR Race Report
The No. 23 team, led by driver Johnny Benson, was excited about racing at the two-mile California Speedway.  Benson had a strong run there in 2004, and the team believed it brought a truck that could compete for the win if everything went according to plan.   

The team unloaded its Toyota Tundra and struggled with a loose handling condition during the practice session.  Benson told his team there was a vibration somewhere in the truck, and it was very loose entering both turns one and three.  The team worked feverishly to locate the vibration and help the truck’s handling entering the corners.  By the end of practice, the team had the third-fastest truck, and the changes it made to the truck really seemed to help Benson through the corners. 

Johnny Benson qualified his No. 23 Bill Davis Racing Toyota Tundra eighth. The team believed it had a strong truck and looked forward to taking the green flag Friday night under the lights at California. 

Benson was on a tear to the front of the field from the very start of the race.  On lap 12, Benson told his crew the truck was very loose.  The team conjured a plan to tighten the handling during the first pit stop.  By lap 30, Benson had moved his Tundra up to fourth. 

The caution flag waved on lap 42, and Benson headed to pit road on lap 45.  The crew gave the truck four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment.   

Benson restarted third on lap 48.  He reported that the truck handled better and the adjustments the crew made helped.  Benson moved to second and remained there for a number of laps. 

Another caution on lap 63 prompted crew chief Greg Ely to call Benson to pit road for four tires and fuel. The team had trouble with the left rear tire, which cost Benson track position.  

Benson restarted 16th and began charging to the front.  Benson was just outside the top 10 on lap 78 when David Starr lost control of his truck and clipped Benson’s No. 23 machine in the right rear.  

Benson pitted for repairs after the incident.  The team’s hard work paid off, as Benson continued to gain positions. When the checkered flag waved, Benson was in 12th.  

Benson Quote:
“We had a good night, but we ran into a little misfortune when David [Starr] got loose. David was underneath somebody, got the air taken off a little bit and got loose.  He was playing catch-up, and I think he was trying to save it from spinning into the infield.  Eventually it hooked on him, then went up and hit the wall.  I went low because I figured he was going to stay up there for a while, but he came shooting across and got us.  It tore up our truck a little bit. 

“These Tundras are tough though. We came in and made four quick pit stops in a row after that to fix the damage.  After we were all done, we came out 24th and worked our way up to 12th in about 15 laps.  We were fast all night. After the accident we were quick, and we were running third before that incident happened.  I felt we could have finished in the top three and really had a shot for the win.”

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Johnny Benson - Bill Davis Racing Event Preview
American Racing Wheels 200 - Feb 25, 2005
California Speedway - Fontana, CA

NOTES:

• This week’s race truck for California Speedway is Chassis No. 23-46.  The No. 23 Bill Davis Racing team used this truck at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2004.  The truck has two top-five finishes and two top-10 finishes to its credit.  Benson matched his best finish of the year (second) at Texas in this truck.

• Making a day of it…Benson will appear at Toyota Motorsports Day at the Toyota plant in Torrance, Calif., Wednesday, Feb. 23.  This event gives Toyota employees a chance to get up close and personal with the entire Toyota Tundra family.

• Autographs anyone? Benson will appear in the Toyota display at Ontario Mills Mall Thursday, Feb. 24 from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. Benson and other NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series drivers will sign autographs and take pictures with fans.

• Listen and watch … The American Racing Wheels 200 is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. PST (9 p.m. EST) Friday, Feb. 25. It will broadcast live on Speed (TV), MRN (radio) and XM Radio.

Bill Davis Racing Quotes:

Johnny Benson on racing at California Speedway:
“I am looking forward to going to California.  We had a solid run there in 2004, and my Toyota Tundra team has learned a lot since then.  My team is really coming together, and I am looking forward to getting out there and showing the rest of the field our strengths.

"Toyota has really shown me that they are dedicated to their truck program over the last nine months.  They are determined to make their trucks faster than the rest of the competition.  The horsepower is great, and they give us fabulous bodies each week.

“Every time we unload at the track, I know we are going to be a contender.  My team prides itself on being the best, and California really fits my driving style.  There are multiple grooves to choose from, so if my No. 23 truck is not good on the bottom, I can move up a groove and still be fast.”

Crew chief Greg Ely on racing at California Speedway:
“I feel like we are taking our best truck in the fleet.  Johnny feels comfortable in it, and I really like working on it.  Its record speaks for itself: we have two top-five finishes with it and led at Homestead-Miami Speedway until we faded late.

“I really like California Speedway.  We ended up with one of our best qualifying efforts of the year there and thought that we had a great race truck.  We basically missed the day-to-night transition, but we feel like we will be more ready for it this year.

“Working with Johnny is a dream.  He is such an intelligent racer and has the patience to take what the truck gives him until it is time to get aggressive.  I think that will help him out in California because of all the racing room.

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Toyota California Race Report
In the second NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) race of the 2005 season at California Speedway Friday evening, Robert Huffman was the first Toyota Tundra to the checkered flag when he crossed the finish line ninth.

Huffman, in just his second race with Darrell Waltrip Motorsports, had his No. 12 Tundra among the race leaders all evening before tire problems hampered him the final few laps. “We pitted early and didn’t take tires after lap 50 -- and we just ran out of tires at the end of the race,” said Huffman, who registered his seventh career top-10 finish. “That was the best truck I’ve ever had at a track like this. We were a little loose at the start of the race, but we tightened things up on my first stop. After that, my Tundra was a real rocket ship. It’s really fun when you have something that drives as good as our Tundra did tonight.”

Following Huffman to the finish line were Tundra drivers Johnny Benson (12th), David Reutimann (13th), Bill Lester (16th) and Mike Skinner (18th).

Benson, driver of the No. 5 Bill Davis Racing Tundra, was running third with less than 20 laps remaining when he got tagged by a spinning David Starr. “We had a good night but we ran into a little misfortune when David (Starr) got loose,” said Benson, following the race. “David was underneath somebody, got the air taken off a little bit and got loose. He was playing catch-up and I think he was trying to save it from spinning into the infield. Eventually it hooked on him -- then went up and hit the wall. I went low because I figured he was going to stay up there for a while, but he came shooting across and got us. It tore up our truck a little bit.”

“These Tundras are tough though,” added Benson. “We came in and made four quick pit stops in a row after that to fix the damage. After we were all done, we came out 24th and worked our way up to 12th in about 15 laps. We were fast all night -- after the accident we were quick and we were running third before that incident happened. I felt we could have finished in the top-three and really had a shot for the win.”

The beginning of the day featured a strong performance by several Tundras. In the Friday morning qualifying session Mike Skinner earned the pole position in his No. 5 Bill Davis Racing Tundra. It was his 18th career NCTS pole (2nd All-Time) and his third pole in a Tundra since the start of last season. Other Tundra drivers among the top-five in qualifying were David Reutimann (3rd), Robert Huffman (4th) and Brandon Whitt (5th), who had his best qualifying effort in his NCTS career.

In the NCTS championship point standings following the first two races of the 2005 campaign, four Toyota drivers are among the top-15. Benson is seventh with 271 points and Reutimann is eighth (256 points) in the standings. Behind those two Tundra drivers are Huffman in 11th-place (244 points) and Todd Bodine in 14th-place (230 points) in the standings.  (03-04-05)