After posting their third top-10 finish of the season in
the most recent event, Johnny Benson and his 360 OTC
Toyota Tundra expected more at Kansas Speedway.
For the second time this season, Benson’s truck carried
the same 360 OTC logos as that of his BDR teammate Tyler
Walker. Benson’s team struggled early in Friday’s
practice session and finished the first session as the
10th-fastest team. After finding some crucial
information about what was slowing down their truck,
Benson and crew chief Trip Bruce were looking forward to
the final practice session. However, rain cancelled
that session, and the team had to test its new knowledge
on Saturday.
Benson qualified late in Saturday’s time trials. His
lap time of 32.351 seconds placed Benson in the 20th
position on the starting grid.
When the green flag waved for the start of the O’Reilly
Auto Parts 250, Benson and his crew were on a mission.
Benson picked off positions one by one and leapt into
the top 10 by lap 25. Despite the advance, Benson
reported to his crew that the truck’s handling needed to
be adjusted. Benson soon pitted under green flag
conditions for a round of wedge, four tires and fuel.
After some problems on pit road, Benson was forced to
fight his way forward once again.
Benson’s truck got loose and spun around on lap 70. He
took the 360 OTC Tundra to the pits to allow the crew to
assess the damage. The crew repaired the damage on the
right side fender, changed four tires and fueled the
truck. The team’s fast work placed Benson 15th for the
lap 79 restart. Benson did not remain there long and
re-entered the top 10 just 11 laps later. He held that
position until the caution flag waved on lap 111. The
team took advantage of the caution to pit for four
tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. Benson
restarted ninth on lap 115.
With no grip in his Tundra, Benson had his hands full
throughout the rest of the race. As a testament to his
driving ability, Benson finished fourth despite the
battle with his truck.
Benson’s truck will display the Exide colors the next
time the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series competes May 18
at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. The race will
be televised live on SPEED.
NOTES:
-
This week’s race truck
for the Kansas Speedway is
Chassis No. 23-73.
This is the same truck
that Benson ran at the California Speedway and the
Atlanta Motor Speedway earlier this year.
-
Career Stat… This will be Benson’s 80th
career start in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
His first start was at Phoenix International Raceway
on February 5, 1995 where he qualified fourth and
ended up with a 10th place finish.
-
Welcome Back 360 OTC as the primary sponsor of
Benson’s No. 23 Toyota Tundra for the second race in a
row this weekend in Kansas. Benson will join BDR
teammate Tyler Walker in representing 360 OTC on the
side of his truck. This will be the second of 10
races this season with 360 OTC as the primary sponsor
on Benson’s truck.
-
Autographs Anyone? Benson will be appearing
along with BDR teammate Tyler Walker as well as
numerous other NCTS drivers for pictures and
autographs at the Nebraska Furniture Market, which is
directly across from the Speedway on Friday, April 27
from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
-
Listen and watch … The O’Reilly Auto Parts 250
is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. ET Saturday, April
28. It will broadcast live on Speed Channel (TV), MRN
(radio) and Sirius Satellite Radio (Ch. 128).
Johnny Benson on racing at
Kansas Speedway:
“Kansas is one of the tracks I really like to race on
during the year. Kansas is a very smooth and fast
track. You carry a lot of speed into the corners and
have the ability to run on either the top or the bottom
of the racetrack and still be fast. I am really looking
forward to this weekend and I hope we have the finish
that this No. 23 team deserves. We have struggled a
little bit the first few races, but made great progress
in Martinsville, so hopefully we can run well in Kansas
this weekend.”
“Having three weeks off in between races is tough,
because all you can think about is getting back out
there and making improvements. My guys have been
working real hard the last few weeks in the shop and I
think it will show this weekend on the track. We also
have 360 OTC back on board this weekend so hopefully we
can give them a solid top-10 finish.”
