Atlanta Motor Speedway

Johnny Benson - NAPA Auto Parts Tundra

Johnny Benson and the No. 23 NAPA Auto Parts Tundra team were on a mission to take over the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series points lead Saturday afternoon at Atlanta Motor Speedway.  Things appeared to go as planned when points leader Todd Bodine had early trouble while Benson was leading the pack.  Unfortunately, the drive shaft on Benson’s machine snapped, sending him to the garage for repairs.  The team faces an uphill battle trying to get its Tundra back on top with only three events remaining on the 2006 schedule.

Johnny and AJ Allmendinger
Atlanta Motor Speedway

After rain forced the cancellation of Friday’s activities, Benson hit the track Saturday morning for the only practice session before the 130-lap event.  Benson told his crew early in the session that the truck would not turn in the corners.  He explained that the truck would dart up the track in the corners and was very unpredictable.  Crew chief Rick Ren and the No. 23 crew changed major front-end components in an attempt to get the feel Benson needed.  The team finally hit on a combination Benson liked, and the team believed the NAPA Tundra would be a front-runner in the race.

Benson started the event in the eighth spot, but it only took 12 laps for him to get to the front of the pack.  He reported to his crew on lap 29 that the truck was losing front-end grip, which was hurting his lap times.  Ren assured his driver that adjustments were on order for the first pit stop of the day.

That first pit stop occurred under caution on lap 42.  The four-tire stop also featured trackbar and air pressure adjustments, which were made in an effort to give the truck more grip in the corners.

The race was restarted on lap 47 with Benson in the second position.  Three laps later, Benson reclaimed the lead and began pulling away from the rest of the field.  He reported 10 laps later that the truck lost all front-end grip; it was now looser entering the turns, but better on exit.

Another pit stop under caution on lap 79 gave the team a chance to fix the handling of the truck.  Benson restarted eighth on lap 83.  Five laps later, the No. 23 truck spun in the middle of turns one and two.  Benson told the team he had lost the drive shaft.  The No. 23 team changed the drive shaft, and Benson returned to the race.  He finished 29th, seven laps behind race winner Mike Bliss.

The Craftsman Truck Series returns to action Friday, Nov. 3 at Texas Motor Speedway.  Live coverage of race, scheduled for a 9:05 p.m. ET start, will broadcast on Speed (television), MRN (radio) and XM Satellite Radio.

Benson and Bodine Battle Trouble at Atlanta
By:  Toyota Motorsports

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) championship contenders Todd Bodine and Johnny Benson both struggled in their Tundras during Saturday evening’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Bodine had an early tire problem in his No. 30 Germain Racing Tundra and
finished 25th.  Benson, driver of the No. 23 Bill Davis Racing Tundra, had
a drive train problem and crossed the finish line 29th.  With three races
remaining on the 2006 Craftsman Truck Series schedule, Bodine leads Benson by just 89 points in the championship point standings.

“My right front went flat early on,” said Bodine, following the race.
“These tires are real bad about ‘chunking’ the outside edge and coming
apart -- and that’s exactly what happened to us.  Unfortunately, there’s
nothing we can do about it.  We weren’t very good, but we probably would
have been a top-10 truck.  We got some work to do on figuring out this tire
because we have to go to Texas with the same stuff next week.”

“I saw Johnny (Benson) at the bottom of the track, so I knew something
happened,” added Bodine.  “At least we both had problems on the same day -- so it was pretty much a wash.  David (Reutimann) had a great day -- and he’s probably not that far behind us now.  Teddy (Musgrave) was also going to have a good day and he got a flat at the end.”

Benson, who had his Tundra among the leaders early in the race – and even led several laps -- missed a chance to close the gap in the championship points battle.

“We’ve had a couple of drive train issues this year and tonight the drive
shaft came apart,” said Benson, after the race.  “We’ve had a great year,
but Todd’s also having a great year.  We’re both having good years and when we have problems, we both seem to have them on the same day.  I don’t know what that’s about -- it’s just one of those deals.  We’ll just go to the next three and do the best we can do -- and that’s all we can do.”

Does Benson still think he has a chance at the title?  “It’s mathematically
possible,” said Benson.  “Realistically, I don’t think so.  It’s going to
take Todd having problems, and us running up front.  I thought we were
going to gain some (points) today and we had problems.  That’s what it’s
going to take.  We have to gain 22 points a race.  You just don’t gain
those -- that’s hard to do.”

David Reutimann was the top-finishing Tundra with a fifth-place finish.
Mike Skinner (eighth) and Jack Sprague (10th) also registered a top-10
results at Atlanta, in a race won by Mike Bliss.

Other Tundra drivers in the field were David Starr (11th), Bill Lester
(22nd), Ted Musgrave (24th), Chad Chaffin (32nd) and A.J. Allmendinger
(34th).  Mike Skinner captured the pole position in his No. 5 Bill Davis Racing Tundra, his series-high seventh pole of the 2006 season.  It was Toyota’s 12th pole position of the year and the manufacturer’s 30th pole since the beginning of the 2004 NCTS season.

 

• This week’s race truck for Atlanta Motor Speedway is Chassis No. 23-73.  Truck No. 73 has been victorious this season, having carried Johnny Benson to victory at Michigan International Speedway in June.
• Welcome Back…  For the second consecutive week, NAPA Auto Parts will serve as the primary sponsor of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship-contending No. 23 Toyota Tundra.  This race is in NAPA’s backyard, as the company is headquartered in Atlanta.  The leader in auto parts will continue to sponsor Michael Waltrip and the No. 55 car in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series.
• Points Battle…  Benson trails Craftsman Truck Series points leader Todd Bodine by 79 points with four races remaining in the 2006 season.  The team gained 34 points on the leader last weekend at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway by virtue of its fifth-place finish. 
• Liking Atlanta…  In his three Craftsman Truck Series starts at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Benson has only finished outside the top 10 once.  He has competed all 400 laps he has attempted at the 1.5-mile track.  Benson crossed the finish line in the grass last fall, but he still managed to come home in the third spot.
• Leading the League…  With their fifth-place finish last weekend, Benson and the No. 23 team lead the Craftsman Truck Series in both top-five finishes (12) and top-10 finishes (16). 
• Listen and Watch … The EasyCare Vehicle Service Contracts 200 is scheduled to start at 5:05 p.m. ET Saturday, Oct. 28.  It will broadcast live on Speed (TV), MRN (radio) and XM Radio.

Johnny Benson on racing at Atlanta Motor Speedway:
“I think the feeling I have of going to Atlanta is excitement.  We are still in this points battle, and I know this team is capable of winning.  We have had two third-place finishes in Atlanta but never a win.  [Crew chief] Rick Ren and all the guys on this team do a great job preparing trucks for the track, and I know this weekend will be no exception.  This has been a great year for everyone who works on this Bill Davis Racing Tundra, and we are going to give it our best effort to try and bring Bill and Gail Davis their first championship.

“Atlanta is cool because of the grooves.  There are three racing grooves, and you can run side by side.  If you are not happy with the car on the bottom, you can move to the top and vice versa.  The race has been won running the top groove, which is unusual for Atlanta.  There is a time where I am going to have to choose what groove I want to use during the race and try to adapt to it.  We will just have to wait and see.”