Johnny
Benson
Bill Davis Racing Event Preview
Race/Date:
Kroger 250 – October 20, 2007
Location:
Martinsville Speedway – Martinsville, V.A.

Johnny Benson headed to Martinsville (Va.) Speedway
looking for another top-10 finish. The No. 23 TCUV
Tundra finished 10th at the half-mile short track in the
spring and fifth there last fall. The TCUV team’s
expectations were high once again this weekend.
Rain set in throughout most of the day Friday, forcing
the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series to a single 80-minute
practice session. The No. 23 truck performed well in
practice, and Benson and his team were pleased with
their results. They finished the session as the 17th-
quickest team on the speed charts.
Benson was the fourth-to-last driver to make his
qualifying attempt Saturday morning. The truck ran
well, but not as good as expected, and Benson qualified
17th for that afternoon’s race.
Once the 200-lap race got underway, Benson immediately
began to move forward. However, the handling of the
truck became loose instantly, and it needed a little
side bite as soon as possible. Despite this, Benson
kept his focus and ran well.
After the caution flag waved on lap 25, Benson and the
rest of the field drove down pit road. The No. 23 team
made trackbar and wedge adjustments during the fuel-only
stop, and Benson restarted 15th on lap 30.
As the drivers became more aggressive on the Virginia
short track, it became hard to avoid any type of
contact. Benson’s truck was no exception. On lap 43,
the No. 23 Tundra was sandwiched between other trucks
and received slight damage to the left-rear fender.
Benson’s truck soon acquired more damage after contact
with another truck resulted in major damage to the
left-front fender. Benson reported to pit road so the
crew could repair the damage, and he lost one lap to the
leader in the process.
Benson fought hard on the track despite battling a
loose-handling vehicle. When the caution flag waved on
lap 108, Benson became the “Lucky Dog” and returned to
the lead lap.
Benson used the multitude of cautions throughout the
second half of the race to pit for more adjustments.
Attrition took its toll on other competitors, but Benson
kept his cool and finished ninth.
The Craftsman Truck Series heads to Atlanta Motor
Speedway again this weekend. The race will be televised
live on SPEED Saturday, Oct.
27.
Skinner Wins; JB Finishes 9th
Mike Skinner made it a clean sweep at Martinsville
Speedway in 2007 by winning the Kroger 200 on Saturday
afternoon, capturing his second NASCAR Craftsman
Truck Series
victory in as many visits to the half-mile paperclip
oval in Martinsville, Virginia. Skinner started fourth
and eventually worked his way around early race leader
and polesitter Jack Sprague by Lap 140 of the 200 lap
event. Skinner's fifth win of the 2007 season moved him
ahead of Ron Hornaday, Jr. for the NCTS championship by
eleven points. Skinner is now the first three-time
winner at Martinsville with 24 career truck series wins.
"I thought Jimmy Hensley was the
undisputed king of Martinsville -- see Jimmy when you
quit racing they all forget about you. For us to sweep
both races at Martinsville with Jeff (Hensley) living
just a couple miles through the woods over here --
that's pretty good. It's great that Bill Davis Racing
was a part of Toyota winning their second consecutive
manufacturer championship and I think they clinched that
today. If we wouldn't have won then I think the No. 60
(Jack Sprague) would have and he did an awesome job
running us clean -- I owe a lot to him." said Skinner.
Martinsville Photos
By VPS Motorimages
NOTES:
-
This
week’s race truck
for Martinsville Speedway is
Chassis No. 23-60.
This is the same truck Benson ran at a few races
earlier in the year, including Milwaukee, where Benson
was the race winner for the second year in a row.
-
Close Finishes… Two of the
top-10 closest finishes in history are from the 2007
season and Benson has been involved in both. Benson
finished second in Daytona earlier in the year by a
slim .031 margin and last weekend in Talladega Benson
finished third in a three wide photo finish. Margin
of victory last weekend was .014 seconds.
-
Sponsor Alert... Benson and
the No. 23 team will once again be sporting the red
colors of TCUV this weekend at Talladega.
-
Point Standings… Benson has
climbed up the NCTS points standings fast. He stands
in the fifth position in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck
Series points.
-
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
along with teammate Jacques Villeneuve spent some time
last week preparing for Martinsville during a test
session at Caraway Speedway. Benson ran well and is
ready to get things going this weekend.
-
Listen and watch… The Kroger
250 is scheduled to start at 3:00 p.m. ET Saturday,
October 20. It will broadcast on the Speed Channel
(TV), MRN (radio) and Sirius Satellite Radio (Ch.
128).
Johnny Benson on racing at Martinsville Speedway:
“We have been running real great here lately. Trip
(Bruce) and the guys have been working hard in and out
of the shop, and it’s paying off. We tested at Caraway
last week and ran well; hopefully we can take that info
and apply it this weekend in Martinsville. Martinsville
is a rough track to race on. It seems like all the
drivers are a little anxious up here, but if you drive
smart you should be okay and hopefully this TCUV 23 team
can come out with a strong finish.”