Johnny Benson and the No. 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra team headed back to the track after a four-week hiatus from racing.  The team’s goal at the start of the 2005 season was to finish in the top 10 in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series point standings and knew Martinsville would be a race they needed to survive in order to reach their goal.  There are so many unknowns in short track racing and the team knew it would have to keep its nose clean all day in order to make it through the last short track race of the year. 

Martinsville Photos:  By Barb Benson

Johnny and Ricky Craven talk while waiting in line for driver's introduction	Kenny Schrader and Johnny are deep in discussion before they have to line up for driver's introduction.
Johnny gives some pointers to rookie Joey Miller who is going to drive the #12 Tundra for the remainder of the year	Johnny and Drew Brown pose for the  100th time!  In past years, Drew has done PR work for Johnny during the Pennzoil and Valvoline years
Johnny and Dennis Setzer talk about what happened during the practice session	The #23 Toyota Tundra is lined up  and ready to race

 

Martinsville is a small track and there is no room for the Craftsman  Truck teams in the inside of the track.  They had to set up their pit boxes on pit road.  Quite close quarters!  Especially when a Nextel Cup car decided to use their lane during practice!	Practice was pretty exciting for Johnny and the #23 Toyota Tundra team.   While Johnny was making his mock  qualifying run, Todd Kluever zoomed out of the pits in Johnny's lane.  They crossed paths going into turns 3 and 4 and collided going down the fronstretch as Todd did not realize that Johnny was now on the inside of him.  Dennis Setzer made a few dents in the #23 too. The team goes to work on the right front fender.  Even Pat Wall, Toyota's Executive helped the  team with repairs!
The drivers door had marks and the right rear of the truck had damage.  They assured me that it could be fixed before the qualifying session.	After practice, Todd Kluever and his spotter  came over to talk to Johnny and apologize for the mistake.  They did not see Johnny  on the track.
Here is another view of the damaged Toyota!	Luckily, the weather cooperated during the Martinsville  weekend since the truck teams had to be out in the open.  I wish I would have taken a picture of the hill they had to climb to get to their transporter.  It had to be at least 1/2 mile away!

In the practice session on Friday, Benson and the TCUV team were happy with how the truck was handling.  Benson told his team he needed his Tundra to turn better though the center of the corner, but was really happy with entry and exit.  The team made a couple of small adjustments to the truck, which helped it turn and at the end of practice the team was optimistic about its chances. 

Benson went out early in the qualifying session, but with the cold weather cooling the .526-mile track all day. It was not a disadvantage.  Benson’s lap yielded a 15^th starting spot.  After the qualifying session, Benson commented on his run.   

“The truck felt really good.  It was a little bit loose out of turn four but I thought we laid down a fast lap.  I thought it would be a little faster than that.  It sure did feel good and I am excited about the race tomorrow.” 

The green flag dropped over the 36-truck field under perfect fall conditions. Benson was maneuvering his way to the front of the field.  By lap 25 he had his black flamed truck in the 11^th position and was knocking on the door of the top 10.  He told crew chief Rick Ren the truck was a little tight in the center. 

On lap 32, Benson radioed to his crew saying, “The truck needs grip everywhere.  It feels really good for a couple of laps, but then all the grip goes away and I get really loose.” 

The team came up with adjustments to make on the first pit stop.  When the caution came out on lap 53 the team called Benson into the pits for service.  The 23 TCUV Tundra hit pit road on lap 55 getting four fresh Goodyear tires and the team filled their Tundra with fuel.  They also took a rubber out of the left rear spring and made an air pressure adjustment, hoping to give Benson more grip on the track. 

When the field saw the green flag on lap 59, Benson was in the 22^nd position.  For the next 50 laps, Benson was cautiously moving his way back up through the field.  By lap 100, he found himself in the 17^th position.  He told his crew the truck was loose going into the corners but then went tight from the center off.  Benson told his crew it was so hard to pass and with his truck not handling well he was just trying to hold on. 

The team made their last pit stop of the day under the caution flag on lap 105.  The team changed four tires and filled the truck with racing fuel.  They also made a track bar adjustment to try and help fix the handling problems. 

By lap 140, the TCUV Tundra was in the 14^th position.  Benson said the changes helped but it was still loose in and tight off.  For the last 60 laps, Benson battled to stay in the top 15 and brought his Tundra home in the 15^th position beating Rick Crawford to the line. 

The next race is at the Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday, October 29.  The race starts at 3 p.m. ET and can be seen live on the Speed Channel.

NOTES:
· This week’s race truck for Martinsville Speedway is Chassis No. 23-24. Truck No. 23-24 was last raced at Indianapolis Raceway Park, where Johnny Benson brought it to the checkered flag in the 16th position.
· Welcome to the Family… Martinsville Speedway will be the first race in which Mark Chambers takes over as team manager of the Bill Davis Racing NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series entries. Chambers came to BDR from GM Racing, where he served as an engineer for the Corvette Racing program. Chambers has been in racing for more than 15 years and is a welcomed addition to the Bill Davis Racing family.
· Looking back… In 1995, Benson finished third in his first Craftsman Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway, right behind his current teammate Mike Skinner.
· Listen and watch … The Kroger 200 is scheduled to start at 1:15 p.m. ET Saturday, Oct. 22. It will broadcast live on Speed (TV), MRN (radio) and XM Radio.

Bill Davis Racing Quotes:

Johnny Benson on racing at Martinsville Speedway:
“Martinsville has a date that has been circled on my calendar since the spring. It is a track that I have had limited success on, but I think [crew chief] Rick Ren will give me a setup that will really help me with that. I remember in the spring race, we really struggled with our setup and used our teammates to help us get where we needed to be. I hope this time it is the other way around, and we can return the favor. We need to finish this season on a strong note, and I am hoping we can get out of Martinsville unscathed.”


Crew chief Rick Ren on racing at Martinsville Speedway
“I am looking forward to Martinsville. I really like the short tracks on the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule. Martinsville is tough on the driver and crew. The driver has to be up on the wheel all day, and the crew has to not have any mistakes on pit road in order to put together a strong run. Our goal on the No. 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicle team is to finish in the top 10 in points, and Martinsville will be a race that we must get through in order to make our goal.”