Johnny Benson and the No. 23 team were looking to redeem themselves this weekend at Martinsville.  After a rough race a few weeks ago in Atlanta, Benson was determined to get a good finish.

Running the same 360 OTC logos as his BDR teammate Tyler Walker for the first time this season, Benson wanted nothing more than to just run well at Martinsville.  Starting off a little slow in practice on Friday afternoon the No. 23 team made numerous changes to the Team Green truck.  He ended up 17^th quickest in the final practice session before qualifying would undertake on Saturday.

Saturday morning Benson would attempt to qualify as the last truck out on the racetrack for the second race in a row.  Not running as well as he had hoped for, Benson ended up in the 17^th position going into the first Saturday afternoon race of the season.

When the green flag waved over the 36-truck field, Benson would start moving forward instantly.  Picking off positions one by one, Benson would soon radio over to the crew that he was loosing both ends.  As the fourth caution flag of the afternoon flew on lap 74, Benson was more than ready to come to pit road.  Taking four tires, fuel, an air pressure and a track bar adjustment Benson would restart 15^th on lap 81.

Getting better each lap, Benson’s 360 OTC truck would once again start its charge towards the front.  By the halfway point of the race, he would be among the top-10 on the track.  Having to fight his truck soon thereafter, Benson would drive hard into the turns hoping the No. 23 truck would get better.

With caution after caution after caution waving over the field, Benson was soon able to make his way back into the top-10.  With 30 laps remaining Benson was beginning to make his move, but due to being hit in the rear and spun out by another truck, Benson would have to settle for a 10^th place finish under a green-white checkered flag.

Johnny Benson will be sporting his green machine once again when the trucks come back to action in a few weeks at Kansas Speedway.  The race will be televised live Saturday, April 28th on SPEED.

• This week’s race truck for the Martinsville Speedway is Chassis No. 23-35.  This is the same truck Benson drove last year at Martinsville en route to his fifth place finish at the Speedway.

• Welcome… 360 OTC as the primary sponsor of Benson’s No. 23 Toyota Tundra for this weekend’s race at Martinsville Speedway.  Benson will join BDR teammate Tyler Walker in representing 360 OTC on the side of his truck.  This will be the first of 10 races this season with 360 OTC as the primary sponsor on Benson’s truck.

• Headed Home… Travis Sharpe, the front tire catch man for the No. 23 Toyota team was born and raised in Martinsville, Va.

• Looking back… Benson finished second in October of 2002 in Nelson Bowers Valvoline sponsored Pontiac in the NEXTEL Cup Series at Martinsville Speedway.

• Tested and Approved…  Benson and teammate Tyler Walker spent this past Monday testing their Martinsville trucks at Caraway Speedway, located in Asheboro, NC.

• Listen and watch … The Kroger 250 is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. ET Saturday, March 31.  It will broadcast live on Speed Channel (TV), MRN (radio) and Sirius Satellite Radio (Ch. 128).
   

Johnny Benson on racing at Martinsville Speedway:

“I am looking forward to Martinsville.  We had some bad luck a few weeks ago in Atlanta and I am looking to bounce back from that.  We need a real strong finish this weekend in Martinsville to get back up in the points.  Martinsville is a rough track to race on, not so much the track but it just seems like the drivers race a little rougher up there.  I’m just going to have to drive smart and hope nothing goes wrong.”

“Last time out we were at Martinsville we finished fifth.  I would love nothing more than to do that again especially for 360 OTC.  This is the first time I will be running their colors this year and we want to have a good outing for them, hopefully we will make them proud.”

Trucks Return to Network TV

A Full Field in Martinsville
The Craftsman Truck Series struggled to have a full field in the season-opening race at Daytona and then had short fields at California and Atlanta, but 43 drivers are entered in Saturday's Kroger 250 at Martinsville Speedway, seven over a full 36-truck field.