Johnny Benson - Bill Davis Racing
Sam's Town 400 - June 9, 2006
Texas Motor Speedway - Justin, TX
Race: Sam’s Town 400 (Race 9
of 25)
Track: Texas Motor Speedway
Date: Friday, June 9, 2006
Started: 4th
Finished: 5th
Laps Completed: 168
Total Laps: 168
Drivers Points: 4th (No change in
position from last race)
Texas Photos
By: Bob Carle
Bob Carle of Texas had quite the view at
Texas Motor Speedway as he sat directly across from Johnny
and the #23 Toyota Tundra pit stall. Thank you for
sharing your photos!


Texas Motor Speedway is
a race the 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles crew marked
on the calendar at the beginning of the season as one
they felt like they could win. In the prior two spring
races at the 1.5-mile speedway, Johnny Benson has
finished in the runner-up position. The team was
looking to better its position by one and bring the
trophy back to High Point, North Carolina.
In the first practice
session, the team was on its way to completing its
goal. Benson was on top of the speed chart and the
veteran was extremely happy with how his Tundra was
handling. The team made very minor changes to the truck
to see how it would react under race conditions.
In the final practice
session the team ran through a number of shock
combinations, testing how the truck would react. Benson
told his crew the truck could work on either the bottom
or the top of the track and he could really get through
the middle of the corner which would help the team
during the race. At the end of the practice session,
Benson told his guys he was looking forward to the race
and felt like they had a truck which could compete for
the win.
The No. 23 Toyota
Certified Used Vehicles Tundra team had a draw in the
middle of the Bud pole qualifying session. Benson went
out on the track and ran a time of 29.678 seconds, which
was good enough to put the team fourth for the start of
Friday night’s 167-lap race. His teammate, Mike
Skinner, captured the pole with a time of 29.475
seconds.
When the green flag was
displayed to the field it only took one lap for Benson
to move forward. He and his teammate Mike Skinner were
running one, two on the racetrack and were pulling away
from the rest of the field. Benson called into his crew
on lap 10, saying the truck was loose and tight in the
corners. Crew chief Rick Ren said he would make a
slight chassis adjustment during the first pit stop.
When the caution flag
waved over the field on lap 21 the Toyota Certified Used
Vehicles team called its driver to pit road. The team
filled the truck with fuel and made a small trackbar
adjustment in hopes it would cure the handling
problems.
Benson restarted the
race on lap 25 in the third position. On lap 30, he
called into his crew saying the changes helped him
getting into the corners, and it showed on the scorning
monitor. Benson and his teammate Mike Skinner were
running the fastest times on the track.
The crew made their
second pit stop of the night on lap 51 under the caution
flag. The 23 team changed four tires and filled the
truck with racing fuel. They also made another slight
trackbar adjustment to try and correct the loose
condition Benson was feeling.
Benson restarted the
race on lap 54 in the ninth position, but was again on a
mission to get to the front. By lap 80, he had
overtaken the runner up position and was looking to pass
the leader. He told his crew the truck was getting
pretty loose, and the crew discussed what changes they
were going to make on their final pit stop of the
night.
When the caution flag
was displayed to the field on lap 99, the 23 team geared
up for its last stop. Benson rolled down the pit lane
on lap 101 for service. The team changed four tires and
filled the truck with enough fuel to get to the end of
the 167-lap event. The crew also made a trackbar and
wedge adjustment to the truck in hopes it would tighten
Benson up for the 60-lap run.
The race was restarted
on lap 104 and Benson found himself in the 6th
position. Benson did all he could for the final 60 laps
to pick up positions and when the checkered flag waved
Benson found himself in the fifth spot.
The
Craftsman Truck Series heads to Michigan International
Speedway. The race will commence on Saturday, June 17.
The race can be seen live on the Speed Channel at 3:15
p.m. ET.


NOTES:
-
This
week’s race truck for Texas Motor Speedway is Chassis
No. 23-73. This will be the second time Chassis No.
23-73 has been used in 2006. Its first outing was at
Atlanta Motor Speedway, where it came home in the
third position.
-
Certified
in Texas… For the fourth time this season, Toyota
Certified will serve as the primary sponsor of Benson
and the No. 23 Toyota Tundra this weekend.
-
Photo
Finish… Whenever Johnny Benson has been behind the
wheel of the No. 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles
Tundra at Texas Motor Speedway, the result has been
the same – he has finished second. Benson has an
average finish of 5.66 in his three NCTS starts at
Texas.
-
Now
that’s a stat… In 58 starts in the NASCAR Craftsman
Truck Series, Bill Davis Racing has accumulated two
wins, 26 top-five finishes and 48 top-10 finishes.
The organization has also captured 12 pole positions.
-
Coming on
Strong… In Benson’s last 12 Craftsman Truck Series
starts, he has compiled six top-five finishes and
eight top-10 finishes. The No. 23 Toyota Certified
Used Vehicles team has an average finish of 8.58 since
the race in Atlanta last October.
-
Listen
and Watch… The Sam’s Town 400 is scheduled to start at
9:15 p.m. EST Friday, June 9. It will broadcast live
on Speed (TV), MRN (radio) and XM Radio channel 144.
Johnny Benson on racing at Texas Motor
Speedway:
“I am looking forward to going
to Texas Motor Speedway. We have run second there the
last two years. If we can improve just by one position,
we will be happy. I am really excited to get back
behind the wheel of the Toyota Certified Used Vehicles
Tundra. Texas is a track that I really like to race.
[Crew chief] Rick Ren and the guys at Bill Davis Racing
have found a great setup there, so I am really looking
forward to it.
“You have
to be smooth and respect the racetrack. It is a fast
place, but you have to be disciplined to make sure you
can stay in the fast groove of the track, which is on
the bottom. In the last three races at Texas, our pit
strategy has been good and our Tundras have been great,
but our timing was off. We have to have perfect timing
in order to get our TCUV Tundra to victory lane.”