Johnny Benson – Bill Davis Racing

Post Race Report

    

Johnny Benson was cautiously optimistic about Saturday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Gateway International Raceway.  Having only one start at Gateway, which has two distinctly different turns, and the NASCAR-mandated gear rule, Benson did not know what to expect out of his No. 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles (TCUV) Toyota Tundra.  The team was excited about the addition of Toyota Certified Used Vehicles and was looking to give its new teammate a strong first showing.  

During the first practice session, Benson struggled to find a line that would allow his truck to turn in the corners.  He said the truck handled tight going into the corner, but handled loose exiting the turns.  Crew chief Greg Ely and the No. 23 team made a number of changes that helped the truck tremendously.  At the end of the first practice session, Benson told his team the truck had a good balance, and he was looking forward to getting out on the track.  

Benson was the last driver to qualify for Saturday’s race. He had a lot less pressure this week because the team was locked into the event with NASCAR’s new qualifying rules.  Benson qualified the Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Toyota Tundra in the 24th spot for the event with a time of 33.923 seconds.  The team was confident it would move up through the field rapidly during the race because its Tundra was very good on old tires. 

When the green flag waved before the more than 30,000 fans in attendance, Benson’s flamed No. 23 Toyota Tundra was on a mission to the front.  After 10 laps in the event, Benson had picked up 10 spots.  He told his crew that the truck was loose through the middle and off the corner.  Ely told him they would make changes to help the condition during the first pit stop.   

The No. 23 team took advantage of second caution of the night on lap 35 by having Benson pit for four tires and fuel. The crew also adjusted the truck to help Benson with the loose condition.  

The race restarted on lap 40 with Benson in 18th.  By lap 63, Benson had moved into 14th, but the loose condition was not going away.  He told his crew that the truck was bad loose in the center of the corner.  On lap 106, he brought his Tundra to pit road for the final time.  The team made an air pressure adjustment, track bar adjustment and a wedge adjustment to help Benson’s loose condition.  It also changed four tires and added fuel to the truck.  

Benson landed in the top 10 because of the team’s work on pit road. He remained in the top 15 for the remainder of the night, and it appeared he was heading for his second top-10 finish of the season. But with less than 30 laps remaining in the event, Benson scraped the wall coming out of turn four.  Although the altercation hurt his lap times, Benson still drove the Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Toyota Tundra to an 11th-place finish.

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The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) visited Mansfield Motorsports Speedway Sunday afternoon for the sixth race of the 2006 season -- a 250-lap battle at the central Ohio half-mile short track.

Even though Todd Bodine was the first Toyota to the finish line, Brandon Whitt put on the most impressive performance, battling for the lead late in the race before bad luck blew away his chance at a win less than 30 laps remaining.

Whitt, driver of the No. 38 McMillin Homes/Cure Autism Now Tundra, started 15th and came into the pits twice just after the first 50 laps to make adjustments to his Tundra.  This strategy, as well as his superb driving, moved the 22-year-old racer into second-place on lap 200, behind defending series champion Bobby Hamilton.  With about 25 laps remaining, Whitt ran over some debris on the track while racing with the leaders, which cut his right front tire and sent him crashing into the wall.

“Despite the finish, it was a great race for us,” said Whitt, who finished 30th.  “We planned our pit strategy before and stuck to it -- pitting early and staying out so we could get track position -- and it worked out.  Once we got up there with the top-three or four we could stay there and run with those guys.  We were hoping to finish up front, but unfortunately we blew a right front tire and that ended our day.”

“It felt real good to be running up front and it was a big confidence booster for myself and the whole team,” added Whitt.  “When you can run up front with those guys for a lot of laps like we did its real good.  It shows that we can run up there and hopefully, we’ll run up there more often.”

Bobby Hamilton would win the race and Toyota pilots Todd Bodine and Bill Lester were the first two Tundra drivers to cross the finish line at Mansfield.  Bodine, driver of the No. 66 Fiddle Back Racing Tundra, finished 16th and Lester guided his No. 22 Combos Tundra to an 18th-place finish.

Following Bodine and Lester to the finish line were Tundra drivers David Reutimann (21st), Johnny Benson (23rd), Mike Skinner (28th) David Reutimann (21st), Robert Huffman (33rd) and Shige Hattori (36th)

In the NCTS championship point standings following the first six races of the 2005 campaign, three Toyota drivers are among the top-15 in the standings.  Todd Bodine is seventh with 793 points, 175 points behind leader Bobby Hamilton.  Following Bodine in the standings are Tundra racers Johnny Benson (737 points) in 10th-place and Chad Chaffin (700 points) in 12th-place.

The next race on the NCTS schedule is at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte on May 20.  

Toyota Finishing Positions @ Mansfield Motorsports Speedway

16th, TODD BODINE, No. 66 Fiddle Back Racing Tundra
18th, BILL LESTER, Bill Davis Racing, No. 22 Combos Tundra
21st , DAVID REUTIMANN, Darrell Waltrip Motorsports, No. 17 NTN Bearings Tundra
23rd, JOHNNY BENSON, Bill Davis Racing, No. 23 Xtreme Outdoor Camo Tundra
28th, MIKE SKINNER, Bill Davis Racing, No. 5 Toyota Tundra
30th, BRANDON WHITT, Clean Line Motorsports, No. 38 McMillin Homes/Cure Autism Now Tundra
32nd, CHAD CHAFFIN, Germain/Arnold Racing, No. 30 Germain Toyota/Arnold Development Tundra
33rd, ROBERT HUFFMAN, Darrell Waltrip Motorsports, No. 12 Toyota Tundra
36th, SHIGE HATTORI, Germain/Arnold Racing, No. 9 AISIN/AISIN AW Tundra

Toyota Drivers in the NCTS Point Standings – following Mansfield Motorsports Speedway **

7th, TODD BODINE, No. 66         793 points
10th, JOHNNY BENSON, No. 23        737 points
12th, CHAD CHAFFIN, No. 30        700 points
16th, MIKE SKINNER, No. 5        645 points
18th, DAVID REUTIMANN, No. 17        632 points
21st, BILL LESTER, No. 22        617 points
22nd, ROBERT HUFFMAN, No. 12         606 points
26th, BRANDON WHITT, No. 38        504 points
33rd, SHIGE HATTORI, No. 9        353 points

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THREE TUNDRAS TAKE HOME TOP-TENS AFTER TACKLING GATEWAY TRACK
Mike Skinner led a trio of Toyota Tundra drivers that registered top-10 finishes in Saturday night’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) race at Gateway International Raceway.  Skinner guided his No. 5 Bill Davis Racing Toyota Tundra to a fourth-place at the St. Louis-area track, finishing behind race-winner Ted Musgrave.

Tundra drivers Todd Bodine and Chad Chaffin, who each recorded their third top-10 result of the season at Gateway, followed Skinner to the checkered flag.  Bodine, driver of the No. 66 Fiddle Back Racing Tundra, finished seventh and Chaffin was ninth in his No. 30 Germain/Arnold Racing Tundra.

“Our Tundra ran good all night and our Toyota motor was just awesome,” said Skinner, after the race.  “I think we just missed our ‘set-up’ a little bit for the race and we had to make adjustments all night long.  We actually had a flat tire about halfway through the race -- we were going backwards and being passed two at a time -- before the caution flag came out.  That’s a good sign!  It shows our luck is changing because the caution came out when we needed it.  We were able to pit then, get four new tires and get back on track without losing a lap.”

There was one heart stopping moment for Skinner during the race, as he was battling veteran Ricky Craven for position among the leaders.  “At the end of the race, I got besides Ricky (Craven) coming off Turn 4 and the caution came out,” explained Skinner.  “I knew there was just one lap to go and I didn’t want to take a chance of wrecking either of us.  I had a good run on him and he drove hard on the outside of me.  My truck got really, really loose and I ended up knocking Ricky back some -- but that’s just racing.”  

Bodine, who moved into fifth-place in the championship standings, battled handling problems throughout the chilly St. Louis evening.  “We missed the ‘set-up’ tonight and it’s something that we couldn’t really overcome all night,” said Bodine, following the race.  “One other thing that hurt us was early on someone in front of us missed a shift -- and I ran into the back of them.  That messed up the right front and took the down-force out of my Tundra.  We tried to make adjustments -- and we just couldn’t get it right.  So, to finish seventh with the truck we had is pretty good.”

Chaffin, who had to start at the rear of the field after his team made an engine change, was able to work his way through the field.  “We had a really good ‘set-up,’ but we were a little loose at the beginning of the race -- and I had the guys ‘tighten’ it up,” said Chaffin, after the race.  “I think we ‘tightened’ it too much.  But, we took that last restart with 40 or 50 laps to go -- and we just worked and worked and made our way into the top-10.”  

Following Skinner, Bodine and Chaffin to the finish line were Tundra drivers Johnny Benson (11th),Bill Lester (12th), David Reutimann (24th), Shige Hattori (27th), Brandon Whitt (33rd) and Robert Huffman (35th).

In the NCTS championship point standings following the first five races of the 2005 campaign, four Toyota drivers are among the top-15 in the standings.  Todd Bodine is fifth with 678 points, just 108 points behind leader Ted Musgrave.  Tundra drivers following Bodine in the standings are Johnny
Benson (643 points) in eighth-place, Chad Chaffin (633 points) in ninth-place and Mike Skinner in 14th-place (566 points).

The next race on the NCTS schedule is at Mansfield Motorsports Speedway on May 15.  


Toyota Finishing Positions @ Gateway International Raceway

4th, MIKE SKINNER, Bill Davis Racing, No. 5 Toyota Tundra
7th, TODD BODINE, No. 66 Fiddle Back Racing Tundra
9th, CHAD CHAFFIN, Germain/Arnold Racing, No. 30 Germain Toyota/Arnold Development Tundra
11th, JOHNNY BENSON, Bill Davis Racing, No. 23 Newbold Toyota /Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra
12th, BILL LESTER, Bill Davis Racing, No. 22 Waste Management Tundra
24th , DAVID REUTIMANN, Darrell Waltrip Motorsports, No. 17 NTN Bearings Tundra
27th, SHIGE HATTORI, Germain/Arnold Racing, No. 9 AISIN/AISIN AW Tundra
33rd, BRANDON WHITT, Clean Line Motorsports, No. 38 McMillin Homes/Cure Autism Now Tundra
35th, ROBERT HUFFMAN, Darrell Waltrip Motorsports, No. 12 Toyota Tundra


Toyota Drivers in the NCTS Point Standings – following Gateway International Raceway **

5th, TODD BODINE, No. 66         678 points
8th, JOHNNY BENSON, No. 23        643 points
9th, CHAD CHAFFIN, No. 30        633 points
14th, MIKE SKINNER, No.  5        566 points
17th, ROBERT HUFFMAN, No. 12         542 points
18th, DAVID REUTIMANN, No. 17        532 points
20th, BILL LESTER, No. 22        508 points
25th, BRANDON WHITT, No. 38        431 points
32nd, SHIGE HATTORI, No. 9        298 points

 

Gateway Preview - Bill Davis Racing

• This week’s race truck for Gateway International Raceway is Chassis No. 23-24.  The truck has seen action at New Hampshire International Speedway, Phoenix International Raceway and Darlington Raceway. Its best finish is a third at New Hampshire in September 2004.
• Welcome aboard…Bill Davis Racing is proud to announce that Newbold Toyota will serve as the primary sponsor of No. 23 Toyota Tundra driven by Johnny Benson during the race weekend at Gateway International Raceway.
• Certified Leader…Bill Davis Racing is proud to announce that Toyota Certified Used Cars will be an associate sponsor on the No. 23 Toyota Tundra for the remainder of the 2005 season.
• Autographs anyone? Benson will sign autographs at Newbold Toyota in O’Fallon, Mo., Friday, April 29 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
• Staying Strong… Benson has held a top-10 spot in the 2005 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship standings through the first four races this season.
• Heading Home…Benson headed to his home state of Michigan two weeks ago to test his late model car at Berlin Raceway.  He also toured Michigan International Raceway Thursday and observed the track’s renovations to accommodate more fans.
• Listen and watch … The Ram Tough 200 is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. EST Friday, April 30. It will broadcast live on Speed (TV), MRN (radio) and XM Radio.

Johnny Benson on racing at Gateway:
“I am looking forward to going to Gateway.  It is a unique racetrack.  I have had the opportunity to run a Busch Series car there in 2004, which is the first time that I have run the track.  We are going out early to check out the Arch, do some other tourist stuff and then head to the racetrack and have a good run in the Bill Davis Racing Toyota Tundra. 

“I do not think that we are going to change the way we approach the races now that we are in the top-30 in points.  We are still going to prepare the trucks as well as we can for the race itself, and then throw a little package at it for qualifying.  Friday afternoons will be a more stress-free, which will add years to my crew chief, Greg Ely’s, life.”  

“I am really excited about Toyota Certified coming on board to help our race team.  I think that it is going to be a great partnership.  Toyota has such great products and to be affiliated with them is an honor.  I am looking for great things out of my team this year and I think that with a sponsor like Toyota Certified it will be a winning combination.”

Crew chief Greg Ely on racing at Gateway:
“I am optimistic about the weekend even though Johnny and I have only been there one time each.  We feel that we are taking a truck that has performed well at one-mile race tracks such as Darlington and Loudon, and I think that Gateway has some characteristics of both of these tracks.  I am looking forward to getting there and seeing what unfolds.” 

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Toyota Notes & Quotes - Gateway
This will be the eighth NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) race at Gateway International Raceway.  There will be nine Toyota Tundras in the field at the St. Louis-area track.

In the most recent NCTS race at Martinsville Speedway (April 9), Tundra drivers Todd Bodine, Chad Chaffin and Mike Skinner recorded top-10 finishes.  Bodine, driver of the No. 66 Fiddle Back Racing Tundra, started second and led 74 laps en route to a fourth-place finish.  Chaffin, who led the field for nine circuits, finished fifth in his No. 30 Germain/Arnold Racing Tundra and Skinner was ninth in the No. 5 Bill Davis Racing Tundra.

Even though he led the most laps at Martinsville, Todd Bodine settled for a fourth-place finish.  Bodine had to pit for tires with less than 30 laps remaining, after leading the field for 74 circuits (laps 138-211) at the half-mile Virginia track.  Following his pit stop, Bodine made a furious charge to the front, moving from 13th to his fourth-place finishing position.  “I had an old-time racer once tell me that if you can’t win the race, be spectacular -- I think we definitely did that at Martinsville,” said Bodine.

POINTS PACE:  After the first four races of the 2005 season, five Toyota drivers are among the top-15 in the NCTS championship point standings.  Todd Bodine is sixth with 532 points, just 101 behind points-leader Bobby Hamilton.  Tundra drivers following Bodine in the standings are Johnny Benson (513 points) in eighth-place and Chad Chaffin (495 points) in 11th-place.  Behind those three Tundra drivers are Darrell Waltrip Motorsports teammates Robert Huffman in 13th-place (484 points) and David Reutimann in 15th-place (441 points).

LAST YEAR AT ST. LOUIS:  Last year, Tundra drivers Hank Parker Jr. (fifth), Travis Kvapil (seventh), David Reutimann (ninth) and Bill Lester (10th) finished among the top-10 at Gateway.

GLAD TO GO TO GATEWAY:  “It’s hard to believe that our best finish in the first four races is 12th,” says David Reutimann, driver of the No. 17 NTN Bearings Tundra.  “It’s tough when you have a really good truck and then something unpredictable happens to hinder your efforts.  I’m looking forward to the race at Gateway.  Last year we were able to lead 15 laps there and come away with a ninth-place finish.  Hopefully, Gateway will be a good springboard for us for the rest of the season.”      

REUTIMANN’S REVIEW:  “The monkey that’s on our back has turned into a gorilla,” adds Reutimann, talking about the start of the 2005 season.  “If we can shake this run of bad luck we’ve had, we'll be unstoppable.  My Darrell Waltrip Motorsports team is the strongest it’s ever been.  It’s important for your guys to be behind you and you behind them -- and we’ve definitely got a lot of confidence in one another.  We just have to get rid of some of this bad racing luck.”

HAPPY CHAD:  This year, Chad Chaffin is in his first season with Germain/Arnold Racing and his first year driving a Toyota Tundra.  “This is going to be a really fun season,” says Chaffin.  “I really like working with the Hillmans (Mike and Mike Jr.) and this entire Germain/Arnold organization -- it’s just awesome.  My team has given me fast trucks the first four races, but we just had some bad luck in the first two (Daytona and Atlanta).  I think we’ll win a few of these races and make a solid run for the championship.”

BUILDING BLOCK:  Mike Skinner recorded his first top-10 finish of the year at Martinsville.  “We finally got a finish that we deserve,” says Skinner.  “The team has worked so hard and we’ve had such terrible luck this season -- we really needed a good finish to get our season turned around.  I’m looking forward to getting to St. Louis and building on what we did at Martinsville.”

NO MORE WORRYING:  Johnny Benson, who made just 13 starts in the No. 23 Bill Davis Racing Tundra last year, is excited to race at Gateway.  “I’m looking forward to going to St. Louis knowing that we don’t have to worry as much about making the race on our qualifying time,” says Benson.  “Now, when we go to the track we can focus our efforts more on race set-ups rather than qualifying.”

LESTER LIKES MISSOURI:  During his NCTS career, race tracks in the state of Missouri has been very good to Bill Lester.  He has recorded both of his top-10 NCTS finishes at tracks bordering Missouri.  Last year, Lester crossed the finish line 10th at Gateway International Raceway, just outside of St. Louis.  In 2003, Lester recorded his first career top-10 at Kansas Speedway, a few miles from Kansas City.

NEW CREW CHIEF:  “The majority of my No. 22 Bill Davis Racing team is intact from last year,” says Bill Lester.  “But, I do have a new crew chief this year -- Doug Wolcott -- who came to the team from Bill Davis’s R&D shop.  Doug has a lot of experience and he’s also very technically savvy, which I think plays to my personality because of my engineering background.”  

TEAMMATE TALK:  “When you have a teammate that you have a good relationship with and you can exchange information with -- that’s going to help both drivers,” says Robert Huffman.  “David (Reutimann) and I come from the same type of racing background and we both have worked on our own race cars.  That’s helped us communicate and it’s going to help both trucks to be competitive week in and week out.”

NEVER BEFORE:  Although Johnny Benson and Todd Bodine have started NASCAR races at Gateway, both drivers will be making their NCTS debut at the track April 30.  Benson’s only previous race at Gateway was a Busch Series start one year ago, while Todd Bodine has made six Busch starts at the track.  Shige Hattori will also be making his NCTS debut at Gateway