Johnny Benson
Smith's Las Vegas 350 - September 23, 2006
Las Vegas Motor Speedway - Las Vegas, NV

The No. 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra only had third and fourth gears in Saturday night’s race at the newly configured Las Vegas Motor Speedway.  Proving it is a championship-caliber team, the team turned problems with an ill-handling truck into a fourth-place finish.

The 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra team struggled in both practice sessions Saturday.  Benson told his crew the truck just did not want to turn in the corners, stating that it pushed up the track when he turned the wheel.  Crew chief Rick Ren and the No. 23 Bill Davis Racing Tundra team made a number of major changes to the truck in an attempt to find a balance for driver Johnny Benson.  Everything they tried seemed to make it worse, and the team was puzzled.  It knew its championship hopes were on the line.

Benson started the 146-lap event in the 15th spot, and within two laps, he declared the truck’s handling so loose that it was about to spin out in the corners.  The loose condition did not seem to affect his lap times, and Benson began gaining positions.  By lap 25, Benson had his Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra in the 11th spot.

After the caution flag was displayed to the field on lap 25, Benson reported to his pit box on lap 26.  The team made a four-tire stop with an air pressure adjustment.  Benson could not get his truck into first or second gear and lost a number of positions while attempting to leave the pit lane.

After a long discussion, Ren and Benson decided not to pit to fix the transmission since it did have third and fourth gear.  Ren reminded his driver to be cautious on the restarts.  When the race restarted on lap 29, Benson stood 24th.  He cautiously worked his way through the field, and by lap 70, he had made his way up to seventh.

When the caution flag waved on lap 73, Benson’s crew prepared for its final pit stop of the night on lap 76.  The second stop was quite similar to the first stop of the night.  Though the crew filled the truck with fuel, Ren reminded Benson to conserve fuel in order to make it to the finish.

His conservation tactics did not prevent Benson from charging through the field, and he broke into the top five at lap 100.  Benson gained one position in the final 46 laps and crossed the start/finish line in fourth.

The No. 23 team gained 33 points on NASACAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship points leader Todd Bodine.  The Bill Davis Racing Tundra team sits only 91 points out of the lead.

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series takes a week off before heading to Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.  The 94-lap event on the newly-repaved 2.66-mile superspeedway will begin at 2:30 p.m. ET Saturday, Oct. 7 and will be broadcast on Speed TV and MRN radio.

 

NOTES:

• This week’s race truck for Las Vegas Motor Speedway is Chassis No. 23-95.  23-95 is a brand new truck to the Bill Davis Racing fleet.

• Welcome Back… The Toyota Certified Used Vehicles logo will adorn the hood of the No. 23 Tundra this Saturday night at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.  TCUV is the first company to sell 1.5 million certified used vehicles, a mark it surpassed in the summer of 2005.

• Off to Phoenix… Benson had little time to enjoy his victory last weekend at New Hampshire International Speedway.  He and his Bill Davis Racing teammate Mike Skinner headed to Chandler, Ariz., to visit with Toyota employees at the Western Customer Service Center.  The Customer Service Center employs approximately 400 employees and handles all of the collections, lease terminations, administrative activities and customer service functions for the TFS Western region.

• Top Five Finishes… Benson has had a great year in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.  Not only is he second in the point standings, but he is also tied with points leader Todd Bodine for the most top-five finishes (10).

• Autographs anyone?  Benson will join other Craftsman Truck Series stars in an autograph session on Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas Thursday, Sept. 21 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

• Listen and Watch… The Las Vegas 350 is scheduled to start at 9:15 p.m. ET Saturday, Sept. 23.  It will broadcast live on Speed (TV), MRN (radio) and XM Radio channel 144.

Johnny Benson on racing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway:
“Las Vegas is always a fun place to go and race.  The track is one of the best on the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series circuit, and being in Las Vegas is always such an experience.  It is a totally different world out there.  There is so much to do.  I am not much of a gambler, but I love to people watch, and this is a great place to do that.

“We had a really good truck in 2004 and finished in the top five.  Last year, we were running in the top-five and had a mechanical failure.  I am hoping we can go back and finish what we started last year.”

Crew chief Rick Ren on racing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway:
“I am looking forward to going to Vegas.  I have a victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and had two good runs going, but we ran short on gas with a handful of laps and had to pit.  It is a track I like going to because I have had success there.  I know we are taking a truck that has a shot for the win, and I hope we can get it done this weekend.”