SEPTEMBER 2005 NEWS

Salute to the "Expert Panel"
Once the checkered flag flew at Richmond International Speedway on Saturday, September 10th, the field was set for the "Chase to the Championship".  The result of the first 26 races saw two of the biggest names in NASCAR on the outside looking in - Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt. 

Best Wishes

Johnny's Night End Short in Las Vegas
The #23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Team watched Johnny take their Tundra to the front of the pack for the first half of the 146 lap event.  Luck was not on their side as the engine expired on lap 107 sending Johnny to the garage and ending his night.  Complete PR to follow.  (09-25-05)

MIS CUP Photos:  By Barb Benson

When I arrived at the track, the team  was hard at work getting the car ready for qualifying on Saturday	The team needs to wait in line to go through the tech area.  There are several stops throughout the process
The team made it through the tech  line without any problems and  now they have to push the car to the pit road.  They are lined up  by the number they drew for qualifying.	Johnny and his crew chief discuss their chance to qualify for the race.
A break in the action provided  me an opportunity to snap a photo of Johnny and the #00 Dodge.	Steve Spahr and Tom Hubert have something in common with  Johnny.  They all worked together when Johnny drove the #30 Pennzoil Pontiac.

Damaged Truck at New Hampshire
Johnny and the #23 Toyota Tundra team had high hopes for a top ten finish at New Hampshire Speedway.  Those hopes were dashed on lap 140 when Johnny hit the wall.  The #23 team repaired the Toyota Tundra allowing Johnny to make laps and cross the finish line when the checkered flag was displayed in the 32nd position.   Rick Crawford with the 200 lap event.  Complete PR to follow.  (09-17-05)

MIS BGN Photos:  By Barb Benson

Ryan Newman, Bobby Labonte and Johnny have a discussion after driver introductions.  Qualifying was rained out, so Bobby and  Johnny earned a spot in the race  based on a past champion's provisional.	Michael Waltrip stopped by to talk to Johnny.  Michael was  very happy that Johnny qualified for  the Nextel Cup race in his #00 Corn Dog car.
Another view of the discussion .....   Do you think they were talking about ordering a Dominos Pizza after the race after settling in to watch television on their Panasonic TV?	Johnny's day ended short after a tire failure sent him into the wall.  As you can see the entire right side did not escape damage.
	Johnny plans on competing  in the car in the future.  Look for Bryan Reffner to be driving this car at Dover next week. Check back here for more details ....
John Sr., Eddie Sharp and Johnny get a close hand view  of the damage.  Looks beyond repair.

Canada Photos:  By Richard Russell
of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

MIS BGN Photos:  By Barb Benson

Johnny drove the #67 Dodge in  the BGN race at MIS in August.  The BGN garage area does not  have garages so the teams work  in an open area.  The weather was threatening so the team was able to use their tent.	Johnny and crew chief Eddie Sharp review notes before the practice session.  The teams go through tech by the point standings.
Although it was raining, NASCAR  made the BGN teams roll their cars through the tech line.  The  #67 team battled raindrops through this long process.	Carl Hartman was the spotter for the #67 team.  He stopped  by to talk to Johnny during the line-up for the Nextel Cup qualifying.
Glenda Royster and Jan Hartman  hung out in Johnny's pit.	The #67 team was ready for action.  Qualifying was  rained out.  Johnny made the race by using a past champions provisional. Bobby Labonte used one too.

Johnny Finishes 13th in Richmond
The competition was strong at Richmond International Speedway.  There were 45 trucks who qualified for 36 spots.  One of the 9 trucks that did not qualify included Tony Stewart.  Johnny brought his #23 Toyota Tundra in the 13th position.  Congratulations to Mike Skinner who won the event.  (09-08-05)

Another Happy Fan in Canada

Johnny Meets the Fans in Canada

Anthony and Johnny	Tommy and Johnny

Dear Johnny,

I just wanted to take a minute to thank you for coming to race at NBIS on the Labor Day Weekend.  It was a thrill for all of us to watch you race on our track!  I especially appreciate the time you took to sign my two boys' t-shirts after the race.  They asked me repetitively all weekend when they would get to meet you, and I'm so glad they were not disappointed.  I've attached their pictures if you want to have a look.  They will definitely be rooting for you where-ever you race.

I hope you enjoyed our community and facilities, and come back for a visit sometime.  We'd love to have you back.

Sincerely - An appreciative mom and race fan,

Shelley Currier
Mom of Tommy and Anthony Currier

Another Photo Opportunity

Berlin Photos:  By:  Barb Benson
One good thing about the Labor Day holiday is that it gives me chance to catch up on posting the racing photos that I took in August. 

John Willenborg, commentator for NASCAR Nation, interviewed Johnny for an upcoming segment	Larry Figurski of Channel 8 Sports interviewed Johnny  during the day
The JBFC got a little extra advertising on the 17th.  Bobby Labonte painted the JBFC logo all over the helmet  he wore that night.  His PR rep  asked me when he could expect  the sponsorship check!	Bobby was nice enough to "pose" for a picture with the JBFC helmet.  It meant a lot since we always talk about fan club business.
Several of the GM Motorsports team drove over to watch Johnny and Bobby Labonte race. Here's a picture of Bobby and Alba Colon.  You can find Alba at most of the NASCAR CUP events tending to the needs of the Chevrolet teams.	Just before the race was to begin, Bobby's PR rep snapped this photo of Johnny, me and Bobby.  He still wanted to know where the $$ was!

NASCAR Nation - Monday 09/05/05
According to the Feature Producer of the "Nascar Nation" television show, the segment they taped at Berlin Raceway (the August 17th Wednesday night special race, "The Chet") on Johnny Benson, Bobby Labonte and Chris Bristol, will be aired on Monday, September 5, 2005 on Speed Channel at 7 PM.
 

Sad News
Charles J Mysliwiec, aged 83, of Grand Rapids, passed away Friday, September 2, 2005.  Mr. Mysliwiec was an owner of the Berlin Raceway, former employee of Spartan Stores for over 25 years and was also owner of Mysliwiec Super Market.  Surviving is his wife Mary 64 years.  The JBFC sends out their sympathy to the family.  (09-05-05)
 

Chubbock Dominates Irving Oil 250
Leads Record 193 laps; Takes Home $25,000 Payday

Fredericton , NB – In front of a capacity crowd of well over 7,000 people, Brunswick , Maine ’s Scott Chubbock won the Irving Oil 250, setting a new record for most laps led in the Irving Oil 250. Travis Benjamin finished second and the Scott Alexander from Dartmouth finished third in a race that saw the top three drivers lead the race at some point.  Benjamin started on the pole and led the first thirty-six laps before Chubbock finally got around the #17 Irving Oil Ford. Then Chubbock, Benjamin, and Enfield ’s Shawn Turple broke away from the pack and engaged in a tight three car battle with Chubbock’s #20 Cushman Competition Ford leading the way every lap. Turple pitted on lap 108 and it became a two car battle.

With Chubbock still in first, the leaders pitted during a caution on lap 159, giving Scott Alexander in the #15 Fraserway RV Ford the lead. Alexander led the next eight laps before Chubbock ran him down and passed him. On lap 208, Benjamin finally caught up to and passed the #20 car, appearing to take a lead that he might take all the way to the Capital City Roofing Victory Lane . Unfortunately, he ended up in the bank on lap 219, giving Chubbock the lead for good. Benjamin settled for second, Alexander third while Turple and Wayne Smith rounded out the top five. 
 

Chubbock led 193 laps, eclipsing the late Scott Fraser’s 2003 record of 188 laps led. At $50 a lap, he managed to raise $9,650 through lap money plus a $500 Halfway Challenge Award from Riverview Ford Lincoln. Add on the $15,000 payday for winning the Irving Oil 250 and Chubbock walked away with a total take of $25,150. Although he led more laps, Chubbock is still only second best in single event winnings – Scott Fraser took home $25,400 with less laps because there was a larger Halfway Challenge Award bounty. 

NASCAR’s Johnny Benson had a solid run and made several runs through the pack, but could not mount a serious challenge to the high flying leaders. However, he expertly maneuvered through several close calls, avoiding getting caught up in wrecks. He finished ninth in the 250 lap event.  (09-05-05)

Johnny arrives at track to participate in a practice session	Johnny in the  #21 Irving Oil ride

Last Truck Race at Richmond
Richmond International Raceway President Doug Fritz announced the track's race lineup for 2006.   The track will not host a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race in 2006, as the traditional Thursday night event will move to Saturday, October 7 at Talladega Superspeedway-also part of International Speedway Corporation's portfolio of tracks. The inaugural NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Talladega Superspeedway will be part of tripleheader weekend at that track, including NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series and ARCA races.  (09-05-05)

Berlin Raceway Raises $$ for the Red Cross
Berlin Raceway donated a portion of all tickets sold to the American Red Cross, which had volunteers on hand to collect donations from Berlin fans. Coors Light Late Model driver Johnny VanDoorn helped the cause with the promise from his sponsor, Magic Transportation, of a matching donation of what VanDoorn could collect from fans in 15 minutes. Fellow driver Dave D'Avignon, president of Wylie Electric Motor Service, stepped forward with a significant donation from his company, and when all the donations were tallied up, more than $7,550 was presented to the Red Cross for relief efforts for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.   (09-04-05)
 

General Mills to Sponsor Race
The JBFC is excited to learn that General Mills is signed on to sponsor the Richmond Craftsman Truck race on Thursday, September 8th.  It will be called the Cheerios Betty Crocker 200.  Wouldn't it be great if Johnny could win his first Craftsman Truck race with his old sponsor?  Sound awfully familiar.  I wonder if Cheerios will be flying in victory lane!  (09-01-05)

Bogus Tickets Sold at Bristol
The truckseries.com website is reporting that some race fans bought bogus Craftsman Truck Series tickets for the race at Bristol last week.  These tickets were sold from the ticket vendors on the side of the road as you approached the race track.  NASCAR encourages fans to buy tickets directly from the tracks, so beware if you do not buy tickets from people you know.  (09-01-05)
 

Congratulations
To Larry VanHall and Rick Anderson of Michigan who each won two tickets to  Chicagoland Speedway for the ARCA Re/Max Series scheduled for Saturday, September 10, 2005.  Your tickets are in the mail.  Special thanks to JB fan Howard Anderson for donating his 4 tickets to JB fans!    (09-01-05)
 

Bristol Photos:  By:  Chuck Haney
Chuck is a lucky fan club member who had Bristol plans before he knew Johnny would make an appearance for the CUP race.  He was nice enough to send the photos to the JBFC in order to share with other JB fans.  Chuck is sorry they are not clearer - he was sitting 60 rows up.  We appreciate the photos, Chuck! 

The cars were lined up in the infield after they took their qualifying run.	Johnny went over to Ken Schrader to congratulate him on his fine qualifying effort.  [They commented to each other how nice that the two  of them were on the “big board” at Bristol given all of the young drivers  in the hunt.]
The last shot was taken at “one to go”  with Johnny and his Cup owner, Michael Waltrip side by side.	I had to add one from my visit to Daytona USA last month.   I decided to dress appropriately for the occasion.   Nice first time  photography from my 7 year old  son Charlie

Davis Duo Join Select Group in NASCAR Series
Bill and Gail Davis' most recent win at Bristol Motor Speedway last Wednesday night put them in an elite group in the NASCAR Community.  Not only was it their 17th win in the top three series of NASCAR, but it also entered them into being part of only six other team owners who have been to Victory Lane in all three NASCAR touring series.

Bill and Gail Davis, along with Richard Childress, Dale and Teresa
Earnhardt, Rick Hendrick, Jack Roush, and Darrell Waltrip, have victories in
the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, NASCAR Busch Series, and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

It took only 41 starts for Bill and Gail Davis to win their first race in
the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and they are not strangers to success.
The husband and wife team won their first NASCAR Cup race at Rockingham
Speedway with Ward Burton in 1995.  Then, in 2002, the No. 22 Caterpillar
car won the Super bowl of racing-the Daytona 500.  That same year, Scott
Wimmer won four out of the last eight NASCAR Busch Series races on the
circuit.

"It is always nice to get to Victory Lane, but this one is a little more
special to us because we have become part of such an elite group in the
NASCAR community," said Gail Davis, team owner of Bill Davis Racing.  "We
have been so close to winning this year.  It is nice to carry a trophy back
to High Point because it's not only a victory for the truck team, but a
victory for every person who works back at the shop and is part of the Bill
Davis Racing family."