Congratulations
The JBFC would like
to congratulate Paulette and Klaus Price of Florida
who won Contest #1 on johnnybenson.com. Your 1:24
Racing Champions Diecast - #23 Toyota Tundra is on it's way.
Special thanks to Toyota Certified Used Vehicles for
supporting the JBFC!
(02-18-06)
Dale Earnhardt Tribute/Candle Ceremony:
Teresa Earnhardt,
President and CEO of Dale Earnhardt, Inc. is once again
asking fans to remember Dale Earnhardt on Saturday, February
18. Tribute plans are set for both Mooresville [NC] and
Daytona. A beautiful candle-light tribute will be held
outside DEI’s headquarters in Mooresville, NC from 6-8 pm on
Saturday, February 18. That evening, DEI’s building will be
closed and illuminated with candles. Commemorative decals
will be distributed to all in attendance. DEI’s gates will
remain open until midnight for those that cannot attend
between 6 and 8 pm, but still want to pay tribute to the
legendary Dale Earnhardt. Fans that cannot attend the
ceremony at DEI are encouraged to light a candle in
remembrance at home that evening. In Daytona, all NASCAR
Busch Series cars will carry a commemorative decal during
their race on Saturday. Additionally, on lap three of
Saturday’s Busch race, fans will be encouraged to stand and
proudly display three fingers. (DEI
Site)
(02-18-2006)
Johnny Finishes 15th in
Daytona
It was a long night for Johnny and the #23
Toyota Used Certified Vehicles team. Johnny never gave
up and he was able to salvage a 15th place finish. PR
to follow. (02-18-06)
JB to Start 10th
Qualifying is done ... Johnny and the
#23 Toyota Tundra Certified Used Vehicle Team qualified in
the 10th position with a time of 51.045 at a speed of
176.315. Mark Martin is on the pole.
Johnny's Comments: "The
#23 Toyota Tundra drives fine. We felt that we were
going to run .50 or .60, but we just didn't run what we
expected. Then the #22 went out and backed up their
time. We're a little confused with that.
But the truck drives good in the draft. I think we'll be
decent in the race. We have a real stable truck and
feel we will be okay in the race."
(02-16-06)
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Johnny at
the Craftsman Truck Autograph Session
Photo By: Truck Series.com |
Daytona Practice
The Craftsman Truck Series hit the
track this afternoon for their first practice session in
Daytona. Johnny and his Bill Davis Racing teammates
lined up together on the speed charts in the 7th, 8th and
9th position. Mike Skinner turned in a lap of 48.006,
Johnny's time was 48.058 and Bill Lester's lap was 48.077.
They reached speeds over 187 miles per hour!
The final practice session
will be held Thursday morning. Qualifying begins at
6:30 pm and will be shown on SPEED. Johnny will
qualify 4th (who drew that number?!)
out of 42 trucks and will be the first Toyota to qualify.
Daytona Photos
By: Truckseries.com
Check out
Truckseries.com for current race reports from
Daytona
Autograph Session
Johnny will participate in
Craftsman’s annual Daytona autograph session Thursday,
Feb.16 at Volusia Mall - 1700 W. International Speedway Blvd
in Daytona Beach. The event is slated to start at
12:45 p.m. Other drivers scheduled to join Johnny
include Ted Musgrave, Rick Crawford, Ron Hornaday, Bill
Lester, Joey Miller, Dennis Setzer and David Starr.
Congratulations!
The JBFC would like to congratulate Rocky
Ryan for being part of the team who won the pole for the
Daytona 500! Rocky spots for #31 Jeff Burton in the
Nextel Cup Series and then he spends his time high above the
track during the Craftsman Truck Series spotting for Johnny
and the #23 team. Congratulations, Rocky!
(02-12-06)
Radio Show in Daytona
Johnny will join his Bill Davis
Racing teammates on “MRN Live” Monday, Feb. 13 at 7:05 p.m.
Johnny will field questions about the 2006 season from
veteran analyst Eli Gold. The show will air live from
Daytona USA and will broadcast nationally via MRN radio.
(02-12-06)
Around the Busch and
Craftsman Truck Series
By: Cami Starr
With just a week left before the Busch Series
and Craftsman Truck Series kick off their seasons, there are
plenty of unanswered questions as the teams take to the
track at Daytona. One of the biggest stories, of course, is
the high number of Cup drivers planning on running full time
in the Busch Series this year. While I won’t rehash the
debate over the “Buschwhackers”, it does bring up the
question; can a full time Cup driver win the Busch Series
title? I’ll tackle that question and a few others in
this week’s edition of Second Fiddle.
Will a
“Buschwhacker” win the Busch Series title this year?
Without a
Busch Series regular as dominant as Martin Truex Jr. has
been in recent years, I think the point gap from the leader
down the Top-10 will shrink considerably in this series.
That leaves plenty of room for one of the six drivers
running full time in both Busch & Cup to have a valid shot
at winning the Busch title. Just look at last year’s final
standings. Carl Edwards finished third in the points despite
missing a race. Greg Biffle, running only 27 of the 35 races
on the schedule, finished tenth. If I had to wager who I
think will be the one to do it, I’d bet on Biffle or
Edwards. Clint Bowyer was tough in the Busch Series last
year, but I think running Cup as well may hurt his
performance in Busch.
Who will be the
next driver to join the triple win club?
Last year three drivers
(Steve Park, Tony Stewart & Ricky Craven), joined the
exclusive list of drivers who have won at least one race in
each of NASCAR’S top three series. Currently, there are 15
drivers who have completed the feat, with just four drivers
who have won in each series more than once.
This year, I think Johnny
Benson has the best shot to become the latest driver to
pull off this feat. With wins already in Busch & Cup,
Benson was stout in the Trucks at the end of 2005,
earning three third place finishes in the final four races
of the year in the Truck Series.
Who will be the
next emerging star in the Busch Series?
Each year, there seems to be
one driver in the Busch Series that has a breakout year,
with teams clamoring for his services in the Cup Series. So
who will it be this year? Todd Kluever is one name that
keeps popping up. He’s been strong in testing so far in the
offseason, but he doesn’t have to worry about his future Cup
plans. He’s already slated to take over for Mark Martin in
2007. If Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s crystal ball is as clear
as it was when he tapped Martin Truex Jr., then Mark
McFarland will be the next name you will be hearing for
years to come out of his stable. McFarland will drive for JR
Motorsports in 2006 and battle for Rookie of the Year honors
in the series.
What regular
Busch Series driver has the best shot at beating the Cup
drivers? With Martin
Truex Jr. gone to the Cup series now, which Busch Series
regular will step up and win a few races for the Busch guys
in 2006? Kenny Wallace, David Green and Jason Keller are all
Busch veterans that managed to earn Top 10 spots in the
standings last year. Green has championship experience and
was in the thick of the point’s battle in 2003 and solid in
the last two years. Wallace is starting his second season
with ppc Racing, and not making another team switch in the
offseason could pay off big for Herman in 2006. Keller
hasn’t won since 2003, but a new ride with James Finch this
year could pay dividends in the win column.
(02-11-06)
Meet Rick Ren - #23 Crew
Chief
Rick Ren bought his
first race car the same week he graduated from high school.
He drove his own dirt track late model cars up and down the
East Coast throughout the next 14 years. Ren spent his days
on the job, his nights in the garage and attended NASCAR
events when he wasn't racing himself. Fascinated by the
strategic decisions made on pit road, Ren decided he wanted
to become a crew chief. So he did.
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Rick makes
sure Johnny gets
buckled in for his qualifying lap |
Doug
Wolcott, Johnny, Rick Ren
and Gail Davis before the race |
The Danville,
Ill., native took a leap of faith in 1989 when he moved to
North Carolina to join the NASCAR ranks. He was at the
right place at the right time and landed a job as a NASCAR
Busch Series crew chief with Ward Burton and Morgan Shepherd
only days after arriving in the Carolinas.
Proving to be a
vocal and outspoken crew chief, Ren led such drivers as
Burton, Ricky Craven and Bobby Dotter to victory in the
Busch Series throughout the early 1990s. Ren followed
Craven into the NASCAR Cup Series in 1995 and helped Craven
win the Rookie of the Year title that season. Over the next
seven seasons, Ren earned respect throughout the NASCAR
garage while building both the Addington Racing team and
Bang Racing team in the Craftsman Truck Series. His
experience and solid leadership developed many young
drivers, including Travis Kvapil, whom Ren led to the
Craftsman Truck Series Rookie of the Year title in 2001.
At the start of
the 2005 campaign, Ren was named chief of Robert Yates
Racing's newest ride, the No. 90 CitiFinancial Ford Taurus
with veteran drivers Elliott Sadler and Dale Jarrett.
With 10 races
remaining in the 2005 Craftsman Truck Series season, Ren
took over crew chief duties for the Bill Davis Racing No. 23
Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra and driver Johnny
Benson. Since Ren helped manufacturing giant Toyota earn
its first win, owner Bill Davis thought Ren’s experience and
know-how would be a great addition to the Bill Davis Racing
organization. Ren and Benson yielded impressive results
right off the bat. The duo brought the Toyota Certified
Used Vehicles Tundra home in the top three in three of the
last four races, which returned the team to the top 10 in
championship points.
“I am really
excited about 2006,” Benson commented. “Rick and I really
seemed to connect right away, and it showed on the race
track. He knows how to make a truck go fast, and I am
excited about being back behind the wheel of a Bill Davis
Racing Tundra in 2006 with Rick calling the shots. I know
we are good enough to contend for the championship and am
looking forward to the challenge in 2006.”
(02-04-06)
New Logo for
2006
The NASCAR Craftsman
Truck Series will carry a new look into its 2006 season
following the successful completion of its 10 Years Tough
campaign celebrating highlights of the series’ first decade.
A redesigned series logo will be utilized in all series
advertising, marketing and promotional materials in print
and broadcast media. The design builds on and enhances the
logo carried by the series in 2004 and utilizes the same
Craftsman red color that has identified the NASCAR Craftsman
Truck Series since 1996 – the first year of Craftsman’s
title sponsorship of the series for American-manufactured
pickup trucks. Craftsman was the presenting sponsor in 1995,
the series’ first season. Craftsman earlier this year
announced extension of that sponsorship for another five
years through the 2010 season.
(02-04-06)
A Lesson from the
Trucks
By David Abraham - Racing Milestones
Here we are, just over two
weeks away from the beginning of the 2006 NASCAR season and
I cannot help but think that the Cup Series could take a
lesson from the Trucks. Now I know what some of you
are thinking. “How in the world could the Cup Series,
NASCAR’s highest division, learn anything from the trucks?”
Well, hear me out.
For the past two years the NASCAR Nextel Cup series has been
working with a scoring system that has introduced a 10-week
playoff for the final stretch of the season. I think this
system is flawed in a number of aspects.
First, the idea of playoffs in racing is completely
unnecessary. The concept of playoffs or a tournament is
designed around a situation where there are multiple
competitors or teams, yet only two individuals or teams can
compete against each other at one time. This is the case
with baseball, football, basketball and hockey. There are 30
teams in each league, 32 in the NFL, and it is impossible to
have more than two of those teams face each other at one
time.
In baseball, one team plays the field while the other one is
at bat. A football field only has two end zones, a
basketball court only two hoops, and no matter how exciting
it would be to have all 30 teams on the ice at once, hockey
only has two goals. For this reason, the playoff
concept was created. You let the teams play each other for a
determined period of time -- the regular season -- see which
teams have proven themselves, and they advance to the
playoffs -- the post season.
Complete Story
(02-04-06)
