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Race/Date:
New Hampshire 200 – September 15, 2007
Location:
New Hampshire International Speedway – Loudon, N.H.
New Hampshire Race Report
Johnny Benson and his Bill Davis Racing team were hoping
for big things this weekend at New Hampshire
International Speedway. In addition to winning the last
two NASCAR Craftsman Series events, Benson was also the
reigning champion of this event at the 1.058-mile
Loudon, N.H. area track, taking the checkered flag first
in last season’s race. Though the team would not go on
to victory again Saturday afternoon, Benson was able to
capture a solid top-10 finish in the event.
Benson was scheduled to be
the 19th of 37 competitors to take to the track for
qualifying Friday afternoon. Mother Nature, however,
had other plans. Persistent showers blanketed the Loudon
area forcing NASCAR officials to line the trucks up
based on the current point standings. Benson and the
TCUV Toyota Tundra were set to start the event in the
fifth spot.
The green flag flew for the start of the race and Benson
communicated to crew chief Trip Bruce that his Toyota
Certified Used Vehicles Tundra was tight off the
corners. A caution flag on lap 39 enabled Benson to
drive down pit road to the attention of his crew, who
added fuel and four fresh tires with air pressure
adjustments to the left rear to the truck before sending
Benson back to the track for the lap 43 restart.
Benson held down the fifth spot on lap 50 of the 200-lap
event and let his team know that while the changes made
had helped a bit; he had lost side bite in the process.
Benson fell back to the eighth spot while working to
find a line on the track that might make his truck
handle better. He held down the ninth position at the
halfway point of the race.
Bruce called for four tires and a track bar adjustment
during a green flag pit stop on lap 130, and for several
laps following the stop the truck handled well. Benson
moved into eighth place when the green flag flew for a
restart on lap 146 and remained there until the
checkered flag flew.
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series heads to Las Vegas
Motor Speedway next weekend for the running of the
Smith’s Las Vegas 350 Saturday,
September 22.
NOTES:
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This
week’s race truck
for New Hampshire International Speedway is
Chassis No. 23-60.
This is the same truck Benson won with at The
Milwaukee Mile earlier this year.
-
Winner Alert… Not only has
Benson and his No. 23 team been on an incredible roll
here lately, as they have won the last two races in a
row, but Benson won at Loudon last year en route to
his second place finish in the NCTS points.
-
Sponsor Alert... Benson and
the No. 23 team will once again be sporting the red
colors of TCUV this weekend at Gateway.
-
Point Standings… After two
wins in a row, Benson has climbed up the NCTS points
standings fast. He now stands in the fifth position,
only 157 points out of the fourth place.
-
Welcome Donny Lia… The Bill
Davis Racing stable will house a fourth truck this
weekend at Loudon with Donny Lia as the driver. Lia
is one of the Superstars in the NASCAR Whelen Modified
Tour and has not only won six times this year, but has
already won on the one mile Loudon track earlier this
year in his Modified car.
-
Welcome Home… Truck Chief
and rear tire changer Billy Hagerthey calls New
Hampshire International Speedway his home track. The
Southampton, N.J., native grew up racing at Loudon and
surrounding tracks in the Northeast. Hagerthey has
been with Bill Davis Racing for five years, working
with drivers Kenny Wallace, Shelby Howard and Benson.
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Listen and watch… The New
Hampshire 200 is scheduled to start at 2:30 p.m. ET
Saturday, September 15. It will broadcast on the
Speed Channel (TV), MRN (radio) and Sirius Satellite
Radio (Ch. 128).
Johnny Benson on racing at
New Hampshire International Speedway:
“I am very excited about Loudon. We have been on a roll
here lately and I see no reason to stop now. Trip and
the guys have been working hard and I am glad to see it
all finally paying off. We won here last year and I
would love nothing more than to do it again this year.
We have been striving for consistent finishes all year
and we finally got the ball rolling in the right court.
I hope to keep it up this weekend and for the rest of
the year.
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