Texas Race

The No. 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra team knew a strong finish at Texas Motor Speedway would keep its championship hopes alive.  This was a challenge in itself, but the team was faced with the additional challenge of an absent crew chief.  Crew chief Rick Ren missed the Texas race due to back surgery.  Nevertheless, the team was poised to continue its battle for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship.

Johnny Benson and the Toyota Certified Used Vehicles crew were confident in their Tundra, and it showed in both practice sessions Thursday afternoon.  Benson said his truck was really good in both corners and had good speed down the straightaways.  The team made a couple of minor adjustments to the truck to see how it would react during the event.  At the end of the “happy hour” final practice session, the team believed its truck would contend for the victory.

The race started on a perfect fall night in Texas.  Benson had his red Tundra lined up in the 11th spot and knew what he had to do to get it to the front of the 36-truck field.  It only took two laps for Benson to break into the top 10.  Eighteen laps into the race, he explained to his crew that the truck wanted to pivot on the left front.  He requested that adjustments be made to help the truck turn.

Benson’s truck received an air pressure adjustment, along with four tires and fuel, under caution on lap 44.  The team did a great job on pit road and returned Benson to the track in the fourth position.

Benson and the rest of the front-runners began pulling away from the rest of the field.  Benson told his team his Tundra needed a small wedge adjustment, but he felt like they were going to be in good shape.

The team made its final pit stop of the night under caution on lap 94.  After quickly administering four tires, fuel, air pressure and wedge adjustment to the truck, the team returned Benson to the track in the top five.

It appeared Benson would finally pick up some ground in the championship hunt, but all hope was lost on lap 115 when Benson told his team the engine was going sour.  Benson began falling through the field and finally took his machine to the garage on lap 138.  After retiring 10 laps early, Benson was credited with a 31st-place finish.

Benson and the No. 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra team now sit 137 points behind points leader Todd Bodine.

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series heads to Phoenix International Raceway for the Phoenix 150 Nov. 10.  The 150-lap event will begin at 8:15 p.m. ET and will broadcast on Speed (TV) and MRN (radio).
 

Texas Race Notes
By:  Toyota Motorsports

Mike Skinner's third-place finish tonight clinched the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) manufacturer's championship for Toyota, Toyota's first manufacturer's NCTS title. This is Toyota's third season, and 73rd race, in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS). Toyota Tundras have won 24 NCTS races since the beginning of the 2004 Craftsman Truck Series season.

Johnny Benson, No. 23 NAPA Tundra, Bill Davis Racing
Are you out of the championship hunt? "Probably. Now, we have to fight for second. We had a great race truck. We did a little bit of tuning at the end, and we probably could have made it up to third. Something broke, not really sure what it was yet. We had a chance to capitalize, and we didn't."

"He (Todd Bodine) tried to give it to us, but we can't take it. Everyone at the team has done a tremendous job all year long. This is the first failure we've had all year. It's not meant to be I guess. We had a good truck, I think we really could have got a few more spots there, and we couldn't do it."

Texas Race Review
By:  Chip Wile

• This week’s race truck for Texas Motor Speedway is Chassis No. 23-73.  This is the same truck the team took to Atlanta Motor Speedway last week, where it finished 29th after suffering a broken drive shaft.

• Certified in Texas… Toyota Certified will serve as the primary sponsor of Johnny Benson and the No. 23 Toyota Tundra team this weekend in Texas.  It will mark the 10th time this season TCUV has partnered with Benson and his No. 23 team.

• I Like Texas… Benson has collected three top-five finishes in his four starts at the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway.  His worst finish (13th) came in last fall’s event.

• Seeing New Things… Benson will join some of his fellow Toyota Tundra drivers on a tour of the new Toyota Tundra plant in San Antonio, Texas, Wednesday, Nov. 1.  The state-of-the-art plant will open in November.  The drivers will see how the new generation Tundra will be built and meet the newest members of the Toyota family.

• Making New Friends… Benson will have a third teammate for the second consecutive week, as driver Justin Labonte will join the BDR fleet at Texas.  Benson teamed up with A.J. Allmendinger in last week’s event at Atlanta.  Allmendinger started on the outside of the front row but was caught in an early wreck that put him out of the event.

• Championship Battle… Benson sits second in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship standings with only three events remaining in the 2006 season.  The No. 23 team sits 86 points behind fellow Toyota Tundra driver Todd Bodine.

• Listen and Watch… The Silverado 350K is scheduled to start at 9:05 p.m. EST Friday, Nov. 3.  It will broadcast live on Speed (TV), MRN (radio) and XM Radio channel 144.

Johnny Benson on racing at Texas Motor Speedway:
“We are looking forward to Texas because we always seem to run well there in the trucks.  I would like to go there and win the race.  If we can run as competitive as we have in the past, we definitely have a shot.  If we can have a good qualifying run, we’ll be alright.  Texas is notorious for being a place where it is hard to pass, so starting up front will give us an advantage.

“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.”