Photo Gallery
By:  Barb Benson
Photos from Daytona

Skinner Wins in Wild Finish
Mark Martin lost another heartbreaker Friday night.  Five days after being passed on the last lap and losing to Kevin Harvick by the length of a hood in the Daytona 500, Martin was dominating the NASCAR Craftsman Truck race at California Speedway before Ron Hornaday Jr. bumped him out of the lead on a restart with five laps to go.

Former series champion Mike Skinner jumped past Hornaday into the lead before the caution flag came out and stayed out front, earning his 20th truck victory.  “We have to thank Ron Hornaday,” said Jeff Hensley, Skinner’s crew chief. “Mark Martin had us all covered. We lucked into one.”

Hornaday said Martin was slow on the restart. “I feel sorry for Mark, but he just kept getting slower and slower and slower and you can only hit the brakes so much in that situation,” Hornaday said. “We were all stacking up behind him. “Mark and I are the only ones who really know what happened and I know he tried to get the second-place truck to get out of the gas. If that happens, then maybe I’d be the guy who wound up spun out. But I did hit him and Mark is such a clean competitor I hated to see it happen.”

Martin, who pitted after spinning into the infield grass, wound up 23rd. “You know, the thing just kind of lifted up, starting spinning its wheels and I got behind on the steering,” he said. “But that’s OK. We had a good race. That truck was really fast and I had some fun.” It appeared Martin, driving his first race for the Wood Brothers/JTG Racing, would easily match his victory here a year ago after holding off a challenge from Skinner’s Toyota on a restart on lap 92 of the 100-lap event.

But David Starr brought out another caution, his second of the night, with a spin on lap 93, giving the challengers one more chance. “We were looking pretty good. But they have a caution for just about anything when we don’t need them and we don’t get them when we do,” said Martin, who might have won the 500 if NASCAR had thrown a caution when cars began crashing on the last lap.  “If we hadn’t had that yellow, I don’t think there would have been any question of Mark Martin losing it,” Hornaday said.

Jack Sprague, who came from third place on the last lap to win the truck opener last week in Daytona, finished third this time, followed by pole winner Carl Edwards, Ted Musgrave, Johnny Benson and 2006 series champion Todd Bodine.

Top Ten Finish in Fontana
Johnny crossed the finish line in 6th place giving the #23 Bill Davis Racing team their 2nd top 10 finish of 2007.  Congratulations to Mike Skinner for the win!  Complete PR to follow. 

Team Page
The #23 team page is now updated with new photos of our the newest members of the Bill Davis Racing team and updated photos for several of the existing team members.  Big thanks to the crew for being so patient for me to capture their photos! 

Seven Former Champions to Compete
An unprecedented seven former NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champions are expected to start Friday's Chevy Silverado HD 250.  The seven, which include inaugural 1995 champion Mike Skinner (No. 5 Toyota Tundra Toyota) and 2006 champion Todd Bodine (No. 30 Lumber Liquidators Toyota), count a combined 10 championships and 119 victories.

Ironically, none of the seven has won a series race at Daytona International Speedway. Bodine, Kvapil and Musgrave each have finished second; Bodine most recently a year ago. The only driver to win a championship and a Daytona race is Bobby Hamilton, who captured the 2005 season opener after winning the title the previous year.

Rookie Class Set
This year’s Raybestos Rookie of the Year class may be smaller than last year’s, but plenty of talent abounds among the 10 announced candidates.

Checkers/Rally's continuing Drive-Thru Challenge
2007 marks the third straight season for the Checkers/Rally's Double Drive-Thru Challenge. This year's Challenge kicked off at Daytona International Speedway, with the program extending to pit crew teams in all three of NASCAR's top series: the Nextel Cup, Busch and Craftsman Truck Series. Each week, Checkers/Rally's will award the winning Nextel Cup team with an $11,000 prize for spending the least amount of time on pit road. 

Exide Sponsorship for #23
Exide has renewed its status as the “Official Battery of Bill Davis Racing” for the 2007 season. Exide will be the primary sponsor of the #23 Bill Davis team racing truck driven by Johnny Benson for four Craftsman Truck Series races – Atlanta (March 16), Charlotte (May 18), Bristol (August 22), and Homestead (November 16). 

 

Benson Getting into Gear
By:  Steve Kaminski - GR Press

One could make an argument that last year was Johnny Benson Jr.'s best season since leaving Grand Rapids in 1993 for fame and fortune in the NASCAR ranks.  

Benson won the 1995 NASCAR Busch Grand National season championship, and he won in stock car racing's ultimate series in 2002 when he won the Winston Cup race at Rockingham.

But Benson won five NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races last year, and that was one more win than he enjoyed in his previous 12 seasons of competing in the three NASCAR ranks combined. As good as last year was, though, 2007 could be even better. Benson finished second in the standings last year to Todd Bodine by 127 points.

"The goal this year is to produce one more win and one more position in the standings," said Benson, 43. "We laughed at that, but you have to set your sights high and go out and achieve them."

Speed Week is quickly approaching, and all three of NASCAR's top circuits will be at Daytona International Speedway. The Budweiser Shootout for the Nextel Cup drivers is Saturday, followed by Cup's Gatorade Duels on Feb. 15.   Action continues with the Craftsman Truck's GM Flex Fuel 250 on Feb. 16, followed by the Hershey Kissables 300 Busch race on Feb. 17 and the Daytona 500 on Feb. 18.

West Michigan will once again have two drivers in Trucks. Benson will be joined by Jack Sprague of Spring Lake, who finished fifth in points a year ago. Benson has returned to race the No. 23 Toyota for Bill Davis Racing after winning at Michigan, Milwaukee, New Hampshire, Nashville and Phoenix last year. Only Mark Martin won more Truck races (six). Benson also had 17 top 10 finishes in 25 races, including 13 top-fives.

While Benson is considered a favorite, the new season will bring challenges. Crew chief Rick Ren has left to work for Kevin Harvick's team and has been replaced by veteran Trip Bruce.   "We are confident we can make a run at the championship, but there are some changes with the team," Benson said. "Rick Ren took a different job opportunity. We wish him well, but we have moved forward with our program."

Benson plans to race at his home track, the Berlin Raceway in Marne, this season, too, however, he has yet to firm up those dates.   "I'm building a new car for (Berlin) right now," Benson said. "We will probably race there twice."

Thanks to Steve Kaminski for the pre season coverage!                                    

Craftsman Truck Book - Now on Sale
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, From Desert Dust to Superspeedways - is the latest must-have book for any NASCAR fan.   Written by veteran NASCAR journalist John Close, the 160-page hardcover book features more than 225 color photos detailing the history of the division from its beginnings as the "SuperTruck Series" in 1995 to one of today's hottest racing scenes.

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series - Desert Dust To Superspeedways is slated to be in stores sometime in early February, but you can order it now at: http://www.motorbooks.com/Store/ProductDetails_36876.ncm.