O'Reilly 200 - August 24, 2005
Bristol Motor Speedway - Bristol, TN
 

Johnny and car owner Gail Davis share a laugh before the start of the  O'Reilly 200 in Bristol Motor Speedway.	When it's time for the national anthem, the teams line up in  either their pit stall or along their Craftsman Truck.  Here is a picture of Chip Wile (PR Rep), Chip's mom, Chris Hall (Tire Specialist),  Johnny and Gail Davis (Owner)
The #23 Toyota Tundra  team gave Johnny  a fast truck to drive in the 200 lap event.	The short track of Bristol provides entertainment for the fans with close racing.   This photo shows just how close it is!

Johnny Finishes 4th in Bristol
Johnny Benson and the No. 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra team headed to Thunder Valley with high hopes of another strong finish.  Benson finished second in the 2000 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series event at the .533 concrete oval, and was hoping to pass one more competitor on Wednesday and get his truck to Victory Lane. 

In the first of two practice sessions, Benson told his crew chief the truck felt pretty good but was a little tight in the corners, which delayed him from getting back to the throttle.  The team made a slew of changes to try and help find the feel Benson was looking for.  

In the second practice Benson radioed his crew chief saying his Tundra was still tight, but it was tight from the center of the corner off.  The Toyota Certified Used Vehicles team made a number of spring shock combinations trying to get their truck ready for the race.  At the end of the second and final practice session Johnny Benson was 17^th on the speed chart, but felt he had a truck that was capable of running up front. 

Benson went out to qualify his Tundra and ran a time of 15.294 seconds, which was a considerable pickup from practice.  The team would line up eighth for the start of Wednesday night’s event. 

When the No. 23 Toyota Tundra took the green, Benson was on his way towards the front of the field.  After 20 circuits around the half-mile track, Johnny Benson had maneuvered his way into the top five.  He called into his crew saying the truck was tight in the corners.  Crew chief Rick Ren told his driver they would make the appropriate changes on the first stop. 

On lap 41, Benson called to his crew saying the truck had gone the opposite way and was now extremely loose.  He told his team he was sliding all four wheels going into the corner and was having a hard time keeping his truck on the bottom of the track. 

When the caution came out on lap 68 the No. 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles team decided to come to pit road to make a pit stop.  Benson brought his truck to the attention of his crew on lap 70.  The team changed four tires and filled the truck with Sonoco fuel.  They also made a track bar and air pressure adjustment to try and correct Benson’s loose condition. 

When the race was restarted on lap 74, Benson found himself in the fifth position.  Benson called to his crew on lap 123 saying the adjustments helped the truck, and it showed on the timing monitor.  Benson was running times as quick as the leader, but he told his crew that it was very hard to pass. 

In the closing laps Benson was battling for the third position.  It looked as if Bill Davis Racing was going to have a one, two finish, but Benson could not make the pass stick on the bottom but was still able to come home in the fourth position. 

The No. 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles team has a week off before returning to short track racing at Richmond International Raceway on Thursday, September 1.
 

Skinner Wins at Bristol
Mike Skinner earned his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) victory driving a Toyota Wednesday night at Bristol Motor Speedway when he guided his No. 5 Bill Davis Racing Tundra to Victory Lane after dominating the competition at the Tennessee short track.

The victory was Skinner’s 17th career NCTS win and the eighth win for Toyota since the beginning of the 2004 season.  Skinner, the inaugural NCTS champion in 1995, started on the outside of row one and led all but ten laps in the 200-lap event en route to the checkered flag.  The Daytona Beach, Fla.-driver was in front of the field at the Bristol half-mile oval for the first 70 laps of the race, as well as the final 120 circuits.

“This race team probably deserved five or six of these wins by now -- we’ve been so close,” said an ecstatic Skinner, following the race.  “With about 100 laps left, my crew chief Jeff Hensley told me: ‘We can make it all the way to the end of the race without stopping.’  And, I told somebody to slap Jeff.  I told Jeff that I’m not doing that again this year.  We did that last year here (at Bristol) and lost the race.  But, it was the right call and we made it to the winner’s circle this time.”

“My little Tundra was awfully strong tonight,” added Skinner, who registered the first NCTS win for Bill Davis Racing.  “We had a great motor in this Tundra.  That motor spun the tires up the straightaway -- it was just really strong.  I knew if it stayed green, Todd (Bodine) would have a real good chance to catch us.  Then, we got that caution flag with about 10 laps to go, and I knew we’d be hard to catch after the restart.  I want to thank Toyota -- they stood behind me all this time.  If I was them, I probably would have fired me by now.”

The win at Bristol culminated a terrific Tundra trek through the three NCTS races at tracks in Tennessee. Along with Skinner’s Bristol win, Toyota also triumphed in the NCTS events at Nashville (August 13) and Memphis (July 23).  David Reutimann captured the checkered flag at Nashville, and Brandon Whitt was the first to cross the finish line at Memphis.

Toyota drivers also captured the pole position at all three Tennessee tracks -- with Reutimann (Bristol), Skinner (Nashville), and Whitt (Memphis) starting first in the three races in the Volunteer State.  In addition, Toyota drivers led the field for all but 11 of 350 laps in the races at Bristol and Nashville.  

Two other Tundra racers finished among the top-five at Bristol.  Todd Bodine, driver of the No. 30 Allman Brothers Band Tundra, crossed the finish line 1.6-seconds behind Skinner in second-place.  Following Skinner and Bodine to the finish line was Johnny Benson, Skinner’s teammate at Bill Davis Racing, who guided his No. 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra to a fourth-place finish.  Also, Mike Wallace, driver of the No. 12 Toyota Tundra, earned his best finish in three NCTS starts this season when he crossed the finish line ninth.

Earlier Wednesday in Bristol qualifying, Reutimann’s pole position was Toyota’s 13th NCTS pole since the beginning of the 2004 season.  It was the first NCTS pole this season for the Zephyrhills, Fla.-native and the third pole of his NCTS career, as well as Toyota’s eighth pole of 2005.

In the NCTS championship point standings following the first 17 races of the 2005 campaign, four Toyota drivers are among the top-15 in the standings.  David Reutimann is sixth with 2,195 points, 320 points behind leader Dennis Setzer.  Following Reutimann in the standings are Tundra racers Mike Skinner (2,186 points) in seventh-place, Todd Bodine (2,131 points) in ninth-place, and Johnny Benson (2,054 points) in 13th-place.

 

NOTES:

• This week’s race truck for Bristol Motor Speedway is Chassis No. 23-35.  Johnny Benson last drove truck No. 35 at The Milwaukee Mile in June.

• Double Duty… Benson will attempt to qualify for his second NASCAR Nextel Cup Series event of 2005 at the .533-mile concrete oval.  Benson made his first Cup Series appearance of the season last weekend at Michigan International Speedway.  He will be behind the wheel of the No. 00 car owned by Michael and Buffy Waltrip.

• So Close… Benson finished second in a Cup Series event at Bristol in 2000.  He finished behind the all-time win leader at Bristol, Rusty Wallace.  Benson has accumulated two top-five finishes and four top-10 finishes at Thunder Valley during his career.

• Nice Finish… The No. 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra has finished in the top 10 in three out of the last four NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series events.  The team is currently 14th in the championship standings, only 82 points out of 10th position.

• Listen and Watch … The O’Reilly 200 is scheduled to start at 9 p.m. ET Wednesday, Aug. 24.  It will broadcast live on Speed (TV), MRN (radio) and XM Radio channel 144.

Bill Davis Racing Quotes:

Johnny Benson on racing at Bristol Motor Speedway:

“I love racing at Bristol.  I don’t like the practice or qualifying sessions because so many things can happen out of your control that can ruin your weekend, but the racing there is unbelievable.  It is the only place we go to where you can hear the crowd over the engines.  I think our Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra is going to be good.  Rick [Ren] had a good car there in the spring with Dale Jarrett before he wrecked toward the end of the event.  I think we can take his notes and come up with a setup that will really work well for the race.

“It is going to be a busy weekend for me.  On Wednesday night, we will race our Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra.  I will then turn around and try to qualify the State Fair Corn Dogs car for Saturday’s 500-lap event.  I am excited about the opportunity to dip back into the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series.”

Crew chief Rick Ren on racing at Bristol Motor Speedway:

“I really enjoy racing at Bristol.  The night race at Bristol in any division is the ultimate race.  You can have the best truck there and can have a good day or a real bad day, and it is usually not your fault.  There is a lot of beating and banging at Bristol.  There is not much room for error on the track because of how close the racing is.  You have to have a great day and stay out of trouble to win, which is hard to do.

“My first win in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series came at Bristol in 1996 with Rick Carrelli.  To win at Bristol is like winning at Martinsville or Daytona.  There is so much tradition there.  It is a place where all teams want to get to victory lane.”