This momentous accomplishment came after Benson, who had not raced in Nextel Cup Series competition since 2005, laid down an impressive lap of 21.756 seconds at a speed of 124.104 miles per hour, guaranteeing him and the Wyler Racing team the 31st starting spot for Sunday’s rain-delayed race from the .75-mile short track. 

“I really think our lap was good,” explained Benson after qualifying.  “I would have liked to of had the opportunity to go out later instead of first because I think our lap could have been better.  But, that’s how the cards were dealt to us and we were able to get in the race.  I’m overwhelmed that going out first we were able to get in the race.  There are a lot of good cars that tried to get in and didn’t.  We out-qualified several top guys in general and I’m proud of these guys at Wyler Racing.  To put a car into the field on the first attempt is a pretty good deal.”

A good deal indeed and Team President David Wyler echoed those sentiments.  “We came up here a month ago to see where we would stack among the other Cup teams, Wyler said.  “That was going to be a determining factor of whether we were going to come up here and race.  To go out first of the field and to make the race is a testament to our team and TRD and it shows everybody that we earned a spot in the Nextel Cup field.”

After earning a spot in the show, Benson lined up inside row 16 for the start of the 400-lap race, but at the drop of the green flag Benson’s Camry became “tight” and was “snapping loose off” the corner.  Crew Chief Tony Furr, a veteran of the Nextel Cup Series garage, called Benson to pit road under NASCAR’s competition caution on lap 43 for four tires, fuel, and an air pressure adjustment returning Benson to the track in 39th. 

“It starts off really good,” said Benson from the cockpit of the No. 46 Camry.  “But it’s already losing grip again,” he said just six laps after pitting for adjustments.  When the next caution was displayed for debris on lap 57, Furr called Benson to pit road for four tires, fuel, and air pressure and track bar adjustments.  Benson returned to the track 36th but slid back to 39th on the ensuing green flag run. 

“It’s still tight in the center and I get loose late up off,” Benson said on lap 96.  “Hang in there buddy,” said Furr to his driver.  “Everybody is running about the same speeds.”

Benson hung in until the No. 19 spun on the frontstretch bringing out the caution on lap 104.  Benson hit pit road for four tires, fuel, and significant chassis adjustments returning to the track 36th. 

When the race returned to green flag competition on lap 110, Benson slid to 38th citing that his Camry was “unpredictable”.  The car remained erratic despite the team’s efforts to fix the handling problems throughout the race.  They made significant chassis adjustments and picked up speed on the scoring monitor, but fell three laps down to the leader while managing to avoid the last 50-lap short track wreck fest to finish 31st in their  NASCAR Nextel Cup Series debut.

“Our race wasn’t what we wanted,” said Benson following the race.  “We made the race and we ran, and we were able to get plenty of feedback for the next time, if we get to run.  That’s the first race for me in this car and the first race for the guys at Wyler Racing.  I think there’s a bunch to learn.  The stuff we learn today will make us better the next time we run.  We can’t be excited about the finish by any means.  But, after we started working on it and got it quicker, we were able to run decent times and we felt good about our adjustments during the race.”

“We are very proud of the entire Wyler Racing team and everyone at TRD for getting this car prepared in less than a week,” said Wyler.  “Our team ran the Truck Series race at Kansas last weekend (finishing 3rd) and came back, prepared this car, and brought it to Richmond to go racing.  To go out first in qualifying and make the show is a testament to the strength of our guys and everyone at TRD.  The odds were stacked against us but we managed to out-qualify some of the heavily funded teams that do this week in and week out, run a clean race, and get a respectable finish.”

The Wyler’s may give Cup racing another try, but for now; “Our main focus is to win Jack Sprague his fourth championship in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series,” explained Wyler.  “We are going to do everything in our power to do that this year.  What we are going to do on the Cup side is take it week by week, race by race, and if we feel we can go and contend and run competitively in the Cup car, we’ll do it.  But, we are not going to do it at the expense of the No. 60 Con-way Freight Toyota Tundra.”

On the name being used for the Car of Tomorrow:
"I'll call it the 'new car' now, we can't call it the 'Car of Tomorrow' because we are racing it right now. It's different to drive, but I think it's not as bad as everyone says. It will get better when we get the set-up, but it wasn't terrible.

Notes:
Jeremy Mayfield's 360 OTC crew pitted the No. 46 Toyota of Johnny Benson on Sunday, and, in turn, the Wyler Racing car carried the 360 OTC logo on its rear quarter panels. Mayfield failed to qualify for the race in his No. 36 Camry. …

Johnny Benson laughed Friday when asked when his last Nextel Cup start had come, as if it was part of pre-Civil War history.  "I don't know, man," he said. That event occurred in October 2005, a season in which Benson made three Cup starts in Dodges for his Craftsman Truck Series team owner, Bill Davis.

Benson, the 1995 Busch Series champion who began racing for Davis in trucks midway through 2004 and warmed up in 2005 before winning five races and becoming a championship contender last season, qualified 31st for Wyler Racing's Cup debut in Saturday night's Crown Royal 400.

The Wylers' crew chief Tony Furr, a fiercely proud man who's won in Cup racing and who now leads a championship contending Truck Series team for driver Jack Sprague and brothers Jeff and David Wyler, had no such problem.  Furr, who had pitted his No. 46 Toyota Camry Car of Tomorrow on Richmond International Raceway's pit road all day Friday because the Nextel Cup garage was full, had just been asked when his team was moving "into the big house next door?"

"I haven't been in the [Cup] garage in three years," Furr said. "But I have been truck racing, and I want to thank the Wylers and Toyota for giving me the opportunity to come back over here and prove what I could do.  And I've got to thank all the guys on the crew -- just a great bunch of guys. We have one of the premier Truck teams, so to me, that says that the Truck Series is a really strong series, too, to be able to come here and do what we just did."

A little Toyota Racing Development (TRD) sticker was on the car's quarter-panels -- the only sponsor signage on it -- and what the team accomplished wasn't lost on TRD senior vice president Lee White.  We were their partner in bringing it here and we got them an engine to come here because we saw how they tested," White said. "We were interested in that and we were interested in the technology that's in that car.  So we've made a deal with them to try and learn more. It's part of our learning process."

The Wyler brothers, in only their third year in NASCAR racing, Furr and Benson did virtually the unthinkable early Friday evening when, as the first car off pit road in Bud Pole Qualifying, they made the field.  "This means a bunch, not just to me, but for the Wylers," Benson said. "They've only been around a couple years. Tony and these guys deserve to be in the race.  The two tests I've done with them, they're due diligent, they do good work and they work and communicate very good together. They should be proud."

The Wylers last year thought, in their long-range plan in racing, that the Car of Tomorrow was something that could usher them toward, if not into the Nextel Cup Series.  "We wanted to get our feet wet," Furr said. "But the Wylers want to grow into a Cup team and keep the Truck team, too, so we have talked about it and probably will run anywhere from three to five more of these [Cup] races."

On Friday night, the brothers, whose primary business is auto dealerships, were "ecstatic" when their initial effort was successful, even as full-time, well-funded Nextel Cup Series regulars such as Michael Waltrip, Dale Jarrett, Brian Vickers and Ken Schrader went home.

"I'm overwhelmed that going out first we were able to get in the race -- there are a lot of good cars that tried to get in and didn't [and] we out-qualified several top guys," Benson said of beating former Richmond race winners Jarrett, Burton, Biffle, Petty and Mayfield, as well as the Busch brothers.  I'm proud of these guys at Wyler Racing. To put a car into the field on the first attempt is a pretty good deal."

David Wyler agreed.  "After [Friday], I think it goes to show how hard that the guys at TRD and Wyler Racing work, and the great job that Johnny Benson has done," Wyler said. "To go out first and to make the race is a testament to our team and TRD and it shows everybody that we earned a spot in the Nextel Cup field.  It's very difficult to do this, but the way I looked at [the Car of Tomorrow] was that everybody was starting on ground zero," Furr said. "So they've only got three or four races on me, and if I can keep them within seeing distance, I think we can race with 'em week in and week out.  "This is basically 1998, 1999 setups, with bump rubbers and stuff. As soon as I figured we were gonna do this, I pulled out my notes from then and it was the same thing."

Do you have any expectations for tomorrow night's race?
"Not right at the moment. I think that we can run okay. It's hard to say. We made it in and our test was good. I thought we were going to qualify better because our test was so good. We basically ended up where we were in the test. We tried some things and it wasn't as good. We threw it back to the way of the test and went out to qualify and that's where we ended up. I think we'll run okay. I'm not going to say we are going to run really good by any means."

DAVID WYLER, President, Wyler Racing:

What are your thoughts about the car you brought to compete this weekend?
"We came up here a month ago to see where we would stack among the other Cup teams. That was going to be a determining factor of whether we were going to come today and race. During the test I felt we were going to be fairly competitive in the field. After today, I think it goes to show the hard that the guys at TRD and Wyler Racing work, and the great job that Johnny Benson has done. To go out first of the field and to make the race is a testament to our team and TRD and it shows everybody that we earned a spot in the Nextel Cup field."

What are Wyler Racing's plans for Cup racing?
"Our main focus right now is to win Jack Sprague his fourth championship in the Craftsman Truck Series. We are going to do everything in our power to do that this year. What we are going to do on the Cup side is take it week by week, race by race, and if we feel we can go and contend and run competitively in the Cup car, we'll do it. But, we are not going to do it at the expense of the No. 60 truck and the Con-way Freight Tundra."

Do you have any expectations for tomorrow night's race?
"It's a long race. I think if we get through the first half of the race. I think definitely a top-20 finish is on our list. We accomplished our first goal, which was to get in the race and if we could get a top-10 or top-20, that would be great."

Johnny Benson on Racing at Richmond:
“I think as a whole Richmond has been a great track for me.  I love racing there.  I love the type of track it is.  I like how the racers approach that track knowing it’s a two groove race track.  You can race anywhere you want.  You don’t have to beat and bang your way past somebody.  It’s just a great race track.  And it’s a Saturday night race which is great for the fans and you know the whole atmosphere aspect of it is good.  It’s a type of track that I like.  It’s a challenging track but it’s also a finesse style race track.  I think that falls within my suit.  I’ve had a lot of great races there and some that we’ve run really well that don’t have the finishes to prove that based off being caught up in something.  But it’s a place that I really enjoy and love to race at.”

Johnny Benson on Short Track Racing:
“I like racing on all of the tracks that we go too.  They all have their own challenges.  But I think as most racers - because we grew up on short tracks - we always enjoy racing on them.  We do so many intermediate tracks now that the short tracks are a little more few and far between   Maybe not so much in the Truck Series, but in the Cup Series.  So I think we all enjoy going back and running the short track races.”

Johnny Benson on Testing at Richmond:
“I think the communication that I had with Tony Furr at the test in Richmond was excellent.  We unloaded for the test and were decent right off of the truck.  As the day went on, I was pretty impressed by Tony and all the guys that work at Wyler Racing.  I was impressed when I worked with them at the Homestead test last year and then, of course, at Richmond too.  They all work well together and communicate well.  Our speeds were good and we were happy with our qualifying efforts and our speeds in race trim.  It will be a different deal going back for the race, but I hope we can maintain the type of run that we had at the test.  But now that (the other teams) have run the ‘Car of Tomorrow’ in a couple of races, they’re going to have a little bit of an upper hand.  So I think we have our work cut out for us, but believe that we can go there and run good and hopefully be competitive and qualify for the race.  The opportunity sitting in front of us is a good opportunity to hopefully go there and run well.”

Johnny Benson on Qualifying for the Cup Show:
“It definitely puts some pressure on the whole organization when you have to qualify on time for the race.  Hopefully we’ll get in the field and post a good time and not be in that situation where you’re biting your nails trying to find out if you’re going to be in the race or not be in the race.  That’s no fun.”