Race/Date:
Las Vegas 350 – September 22, 2007
Location:
Las Vegas Motor Speedway – Las Vegas, N.V.
Johnny Benson and his No. 23 TCUV team headed to Las
Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend hoping for another
top-five finish at the 1.5 mile speedway. Benson had
already earned two top-five finishes in three starts at
Las Vegas. He also wanted to gain more ground in the
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship standings.
Rain cancelled part of Saturday’s scheduled practice
sessions, and the NCTS teams received a single two-hour
practice session. The No. 23 truck did not run as well
as its team would have liked, and the crew made many
changes to the machine.
Benson was the first driver to make his qualifying
attempt. His lap time of 31.549 seconds earned Benson
the 22nd starting position for Saturday night’s race.
Benson immediately began to work his way forward upon
the start of the race. He reached the 11th position by
lap 20. He reported to the crew that his truck was
hitting its nose on the ground and that its handling was
tight. Benson was relieved to see the caution flag wave
on lap 33. The caution enabled him to pit for four
tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment. The No. 23 crew
performed a great pit stop, and Benson restarted fifth
on lap 38.
Benson maintained his position throughout the next
several laps, but it didn’t take long before he made his
move. By lap 65, Benson was in the top-three, and by
lap 71, he was the race leader.
Benson came down pit road under caution on lap 87.
After a stop similar to the one earlier in the race,
Benson restarted second.
He drove hard into the corners and fought for position
within the top-three during a long green flag run.
Benson regained the lead with a few laps remaining, all
the while battling Travis Kvapil for every inch on the
track. Benson crossed the line in the second position
when the checkered flag waved.
The Craftsman Truck Series heads to Talladega (Ala.)
Superspeedway in two weeks. The race will be televised
live on SPEED on Saturday,
Oct. 6.
Kvapil Wins
Travis Kvapil found an outside
groove that hooked up with his Roush Fenway Ford late
and made two passes that carried him to victory Saturday
night in the Smith's Las Vegas 350 NASCAR Craftsman
Truck Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Kvapil, who started from
the pole, was running third behind Jon Wood and Johnny
Benson on a restart with 29 laps remaining.
"I didn't think I had much for them because we were all
running the same lap times," Kvapil said. "I knew I had to
try something different. I'd been running the outside in
(Turns) 1 and 2 and decided to test the waters in 3 and 4.
I had clean air out there, it stuck good for me, I had
momentum, and I was able to make the passes."
Kvapil went around Benson exiting Turn
4 to take second 11 laps later and made the same maneuver
on Wood four laps later to take the lead on Lap 133 of 146
on the 1.5-mile superspeedway.
Benson passed Wood for second following
the final restart on Lap 139 and challenged Kvapil, edging
him for the lead with four to go, but Kvapil was too
strong and won by .718 seconds. "Travis got that
outside groove working," Benson said. "He had a great
truck and we had a great truck and we finished one-two.
I'm pretty happy."
-
This
week’s race truck
for Las Vegas Motor Speedway is
Chassis No. 23-104.
This is the same truck Benson finished second with at
Indy and it is also the same truck Benson won with at
Gateway earlier this year.
-
Viva Las Vegas… Benson has
made three starts at the 1.5 mile Vegas track and has
finished in the top-five twice. Look for Benson to
try and capture another strong finish at Las Vegas
Motor Speedway this weekend.
-
Welcome JV… Jacques
Villeneuve, former F1 World Champion and Indy 500
Champion will make his NASCAR racing debut this week
in the No. 27 Bill Davis Racing Craftsman Truck. It
will be his first oval attempt in nearly 12 years.
-
Sponsor Alert... Benson and
the No. 23 team will once again be sporting the red
colors of TCUV this weekend at Las Vegas.
-
Point Standings… After two
wins out of the last three races, Benson has climbed
up the NCTS points standings fast. He now stands in
the fifth position in the Craftsman points.
-
Listen and watch… The Las
Vegas 350 is scheduled to start at 8:30 p.m. ET
Saturday, September 22. It will broadcast on the
Speed Channel (TV), MRN (radio) and Sirius Satellite
Radio (Ch. 128).
Johnny Benson on racing
at Las Vegas Motor Speedway:
“I love racing at Las Vegas. It is an exciting and
fun place to race and hang out. The track is on of
the best on tour and we normally have a pretty good
turnout. Trip and the guys have been doing a great
job with the truck this year and we normally run good
at Vegas, so I think this weekend we should be a
contender. I have raced at Vegas three times and have
finished in the top-five two of those times, so I am
pretty pumped to get things underway.”
“We also have Jacques (Villeneuve) coming on board
with BDR this weekend, so it will be neat to see what
he can do. With Jacques debuting this weekend as well
as the way we have been running here lately and with
Skinner fighting for the points lead, things should be
real interesting for the BDR stable this weekend in
Vegas.”
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