Johnny Benson - Event Preview
New Hampshire 200 - September 16, 2006
New Hampshire International Speedway - Loudon, NH

Domination at New Hampshire
“Domination” is the only word that could accurately describe the No. 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra team’s performance Saturday in the New Hampshire 200 at the “Magic Mile”.  The team led 145 of 200 laps en route to its fourth victory of the 2006 campaign.  With seven events remaining in the season, Johnny Benson sits only 124 points out of first place in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship standings.

Benson was happy with his No. 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra in both of Friday’s practice sessions.  Crew chief Rick Ren prescribed a couple of small adjustments to the truck, hoping it would help Benson turn better in the center of the corners.  The team also made a couple of small wedge and trackbar adjustments to the truck to see how it would react during the race.  At the end of the final practice session, the No. 23 team believed it was capable of winning Saturday afternoon.

Benson started the 200-lap event on the outside of the front row next to his Bill Davis Racing teammate Mike Skinner.  It only took three corners for Benson to take the lead and begin pulling away from the field.  On lap three, he reported to his crew that the handling of his truck was a little free, but he felt like it would improve as the race progressed.  Benson led the first 43 laps of the event, posting lap times that were consistently .2 seconds faster than that of the rest of the field.

When the caution flag was displayed to the field on lap 43, the team prepared for its first pit stop of the day.  Benson brought his Tundra down pit road on lap 45.  The team made a slight air pressure adjustment during the four-tire stop and returned Benson to the track in second place.

It only took one lap for Benson to reclaim the lead, which he held for the next 70 circuits.  He communicated to his crew on lap 113 that the handling was getting a little tight in the corners, and he would need a small adjustment during the final pit stop of the day.  Benson made that final stop under caution on lap 119.  After a four-tire stop, he restarted third on lap 123.

After the restart, Benson and points leader Todd Bodine spent 15 laps engaged in a dramatic side-by-side battle for the runner-up spot.  The No. 23 Tundra prevailed, and Benson set his sights on regaining the lead.

Benson took the lead for the final time on lap 166 and never looked back.  He took the checkered flag in front of Skinner, who finished in second.  It marked the first one-two finish in Bill Davis Racing history.

Benson and the No. 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra head to “Sin City” this weekend to compete at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Saturday, Sept. 23.  The race can be seen live on the Speed Channel.

Johnny B Takes on New Hampshire
By:  Charles Krall - TruckSeries.com

Johnny Benson gives a four fingered wave after winning
 his fourth Truck Series race of his career, and season.
(Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)

After starting the 2006 season looking for his first career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory, Johnny Benson has taken the series by storm throughout the summer months. After scoring his maiden series win at his home track in Michigan, Benson has been on a tear. He followed with wins at Milwaukee and Nashville, and picked up win number four of the season by taking the checkered flag in the New Hampshire 200 at New Hampshire International Raceway.

Starting alongside teammate Mike Skinner, who scored his fifth pole of the season earlier in the day during qualifying, Benson put the No. 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Toyota out front on the first lap and flexed his muscles throughout the rest of the day. Benson never ran lower than fourth, and even then patiently and methodically worked his way back towards the front. After dueling side by side with championship rival Todd Bodine for nearly a dozen laps for the second spot, Benson closed up on leader Kyle Busch during the tenth of a record twelve cautions on lap 160 and breezed by to take the lead for the final time on lap 166.

Benson withstood two final cautions once out front to beat Skinner to the line by a comfortable 0.691 seconds.  "All of those cautions really kept the guys loose," Benson said in victory lane. "In fact, we kept joking about all the horses outside the backstretch. This thing was just unbelievable. They guys wanted to make some adjustments and it was just running so good I couldn't tell them what adjustments to make. We just made a couple of air pressure adjustments and we were consistent on pit road. That got us to where we needed to be to take advantage of having such a fast Toyota Tundra."

Johnny Benson races side-by-side with Todd Bodine
at New Hampshire International Speedway.
Chris Trotman/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Benson's strong afternoon netted him 30 points in the race for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship as he closes the gap on leader Todd Bodine.  "The only way we can catch Todd is by doing what we did today," Benson said. "There is no other way. Todd and his team are consistent and they have been all season long. I don't think we've been bad by any means, but when they've had a bad race they end up 15th and 18th and we've ended up 22nd and 32nd. As long as we are in victory lane, then none of it matters. We're doing all we can do to catch him. If we get him, great. If not, well, we are going down swinging."  Benson's win combined with Skinner's runner-up finish gave Bill Davis Racing a sweep of the top two finishers.

Benson's Tundra Victorious at New Hampshire
By: Toyota Motorsports

Johnny Benson, driver of the No. 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra, dominated Saturday afternoon’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) race at New Hampshire International Speedway -- leading 145 of 200 laps in his Bill Davis Racing Toyota en route to ‘victory lane.’

    

It was Benson’s fourth victory this year -- he registered wins earlier this
season at Nashville, Milwaukee and Michigan -- and it was Toyota’s 22nd win since joining the Craftsman Truck Series at the beginning of the 2004
season.

Following Benson to the New Hampshire finish line -- and also registering
top-five finishes -- were Toyota drivers Mike Skinner (second), Todd Bodine (fourth) and David Starr (fifth).

“My Tundra was just awesome, especially in the middle of the race,” said
Benson, after the race.  “This Tundra was just unbelievable.  The guys in
the pits wanted to make some adjustments during the race, but it was
running so good -- I didn’t know what adjustments to tell them to make.  We had some good stops on pit road -- which got us where we needed to be to take advantage of having a fast Tundra.  I don’t really know what else to say -- my truck was just incredible.”

Benson now trails Todd Bodine by just 124 points in the Craftsman Truck
Series championship point standings.  “I think the only way we’re going to
catch Todd (Bodine) is by doing what we did today -- there’s no other way,” said Benson.  “Todd and the guys at Germain Racing are consistent, and they’ve been that way all year long.  I don’t think we’ve been bad by any means, but when they have a bad race they’re 15th or 18th, and when we have a bad race we’re 22nd or 32nd.  We’re doing everything we can to try and get him.  If we do get him great -- and if we don’t we’ll go down swinging.”

Although Bodine had another top-five finish, he was disappointed at losing
points in the race for the championship.  “Even though we qualified seventh and finished fourth -- we lost too many points (in the championship standings),” said Bodine, following the race.  “Johnny (Benson) and Rick (Crawford) are going to be tough the rest of the year -- we just can’t let them beat us.  If they finish third -- we have to finish second.  And if they finish 10th -- we have to finish ninth.  We have our work cut out for us because they’re awful good.  It’s going to be a dogfight the rest of the year.”

Johnny Earns WIX Filters Lap Leader Award
Johnny Benson led four times for 145 laps to earn WIX Filters Lap Leader of the Race honors in the New Hampshire 200. Benson takes the honor for the second time in 2006. Benson scored his fourth win of the season in today's New Hampshire 200, crossing the finish line .691 seconds ahead of Mike Skinner. All four of Benson's victories have been on superspeedways.

Benson is second in the Craftsman Truck Series championship standings, 124 behind leader Todd Bodine. He leads third-place David Reutimann by 139 points. Benson has led 11 times in six races for a total of 232 laps. Prior to today, the most recent race where Benson led a lap was at Nashville (race No. 16).

Johnny Benson: "All these awards, with WIX Filters and everybody involved, are such a great deal for everybody in the Craftsman Truck Series, Busch and NEXTEL Cup. I've got to thank all the companies involved, especially WIX. It's just a great honor to win a race and it's cool to get extra bonuses like the WIX Filters Lap Leader Award while you're doing it ."

"It was a great day. Everything went fairly smooth but not all the way smooth. The middle of the race was extremely good for us and the end of the race ended up good. We were slowing down a little bit at the end but Rick Ren and everybody on the Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra did a tremendous job. We're just happy to be here in victory lane at New Hampshire."

 

Skinner Earns Pole; Johnny Starts 2nd!
Good Job #23 Team!  Best Qualifying Start in 2006

Mike Skinner qualified on the pole for today's New Hampshire 200 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at the New Hampshire International Speedway. Skinner earned his fifth pole of the 2006 season and 29th of his career with a track record lap of 29.383 seconds/129.626 miles per hour around the 1.058-mile oval in his No. 5 Toyota Tundra Toyota. Skinner's effort was a tenth of a second quicker than championship contender Johnny Benson, who will start alongside after a lap of 29.491 seconds/129.151 miles per hour in the No. 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Toyota.

With his pole qualifying run, Skinner again breaks the tie for most career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series poles. Prior to today, Skinner was tied with three-time series champion Jack Sprague with 28.

Raybestos Rookie of the Year contender Bobby East earned the third position in qualifying with a 29.536 second/128.954 mile per hour lap in the No. 21 Edy's Dibs/State Fair Corn Dogs Ford. East will line up alongside Bobby Hamilton, Jr. in the second row after Hamilton ran a 29.539 second/128.941 mile per hour lap in the No. 18 Fastenal Dodge. NASCAR Nextel Cup Series interloper Clint Bowyer rounded out the top five in qualifying after turning a lap of 29.539 seconds/128.941 miles per hour.

Ted Musgrave was sixth in the No. 9 Team ASE Toyota, just ahead of his teammate and championship leader Todd Bodine in the No. 30 Lumber Liquidators Toyota. Brendan Gaughan qualified eighth in the No. 77 Georgetown Hoyas Dodge, Kyle "Rowdy" Busch was ninth in the No. 15 Freedom Grill Chevrolet, and Jack Sprague rounded out the top ten qualifiers in the No. 60 Con-way Freight Toyota.

Former New Hampshire winners Terry Cook (2002) and Rick Crawford (2005) will start eleventh and twelfth respectively. Mark Martin will start 16th, and last year's pole starter Matt Crafton will go from 17th.

Champ Car standout and Truck Series rookie A.J. Allmendinger spun off turn two on his qualifying lap, damaging the No. 24 Bill Davis Racing Toyota. Allmendinger's team was forced to a backup truck, meaning he will drop to the back of the field for the start, forfeiting his 32nd qualifying position. Allmendinger was seen and released from the track's infield care center and was cleared to compete in this afternoon's New Hampshire 200. Kerry Earnhardt also had trouble on his qualifying run, shutting the engine down and pulling to the garage before completing a lap. Earnhardt is locked into the field based on owner's points and will start from the 35th position.

The green flag is scheduled to drop on the 36-truck starting field for the New Hampshire 200 at 2:15 P.M. Eastern. TruckSeries.com will have continuing TrackSideLive! coverage from New Hampshire International Speedway leading up to, during, and after the event.

 

 

NOTES:

• This week’s race truck for New Hampshire International Speedway is Chassis No. 23-60.  Johnny Benson drove this truck to victory at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway in early August.

• Certified Leader… The No. 23 truck will carry the Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra colors again this weekend at New Hampshire International Speedway.  The leader in certified vehicles has sold more than 1.5 million used vehicles in just over 10 years, achieving an industry first.

• Championship Racing… The No.23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra has emerged as a contender for the 2006 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship.  Benson sits second in the points standings, only 154 points out of the lead.  The No. 23 team has registered three wins, nine top-five finishes and 12 top-10 finishes this season.

• Welcome Home… Truck Chief and rear tire changer Billy Hagerthey calls New Hampshire International Speedway his home track.  The Southampton, N.J., native grew up racing at Loudon and surrounding tracks in the Northeast.  Hagerthey has been with Bill Davis Racing for four years, working with drivers Kenny Wallace, Shelby Howard and Benson.

• Listen and Watch… The New Hampshire 200 is scheduled to start 2 p.m. ET Saturday, Sept. 16.  It will broadcast live on Speed (TV), MRN (radio) and XM Radio channel 144.

Johnny Benson on racing at New Hampshire International Speedway:
“New Hampshire is a track I really like.  It is a track you can race on, but you have to be good.  It is tough to pass, but if your truck is handling well, you can work the bottom pretty good and get by people.  I definitely enjoy the track; we have had some good runs there.

“A couple of years ago in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, we ran in the top five with a chance to win the race.  But Ryan Newman got by me late in the race, and we finished fourth.  I have run well at Loudon in all three series, so I am hoping my Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra will be in contention this weekend.”

Crew chief Rick Ren on racing at New Hampshire International Speedway:
“I am looking forward to Loudon.  I won the Craftsman Truck Series race there in 1998 with Andy Houston.  It was memorable day.  He moved Greg Biffle out of the way with his bumper and took the checkered flag.

“I know Johnny is really good at Loudon.  He has a feel for the track and knows where to pass.  I am confident that we are going to give him a truck that will be competitive, and I look forward to our chance for a strong finish.”