Johnny Benson – Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra   

Post Race Report

Race:                          Camping World 200 (Race 17 of 25)

Track:                         Gateway International Raceway

Date:                           Saturday, Sept. 6, 2008

Started:                       14th

Finish:             Third

Laps Completed:        160     

Total Laps:                 160

NCTS Points:             First

The No. 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra team went to St. Louis this weekend in defense of its title at Gateway International Raceway.  In 2007, Johnny Benson led 32 laps en route to his third victory of the season.  The No. 23 team was looking for a repeat Saturday afternoon at the 1.25 mile oval. 

Benson struggled with the handling of his Toyota Tundra during both practice sessions Friday.  He told his team the truck handled a little loose on entry to the corners, and he could not get back to the gas as early as his competitors.  The team worked on the front end geometry, trying to come up with a combination that was both fast and comfortable to the NASCAR veteran.  By the end of practice, Benson said the truck was solid and the team had fixed the loose handling condition.  The team was confident it had a truck capable of running up front in Saturday afternoon’s show. 

Benson took the green flag in the 14th position Saturday afternoon on a perfect day.  It only took him nine laps to break into the top 10.  He reported to crew chief Trip Bruce that the truck was a loose on entry, but he believed the longer he ran, the tighter it would become.   

The caution flag waved on lap 20, and Benson brought his truck to pit road two laps later.  The team made a trackbar adjustment and with filled the Tundra with fuel.  Benson restarted seventh on lap 25. 

Benson again told the crew that at the start of the run the truck was so loose it was hard to keep a consistent pace.  Bruce said as the tire pressure started to rise, the truck would come in.  True to Bruce’s prediction, Benson later said the truck was starting to come in, and he could really get through the center of the corners. 

The field was again slowed by caution on lap 59.  Benson visited pit road on lap 61 for four tires, fuel and wedge and air pressure adjustments.  The adjustments were intended to tighten the truck for the next run.  Benson again restarted seventh on lap 64.

Thirty laps later, Benson explained that the truck was just starting to come in, and it showed on the stop watch.  Benson was running times as good as those of the leader.   

When the caution flag waved again on lap 101, the No. 22 team prepared for its final stop of the day.  The team knew it would have to use strategy to get its truck to the front of the field.  When Benson stopped in his pit stall three laps later, the crew changed both right side tires, fueled the truck enough to get to the end of the race and made a chassis adjustment.  The team’s fast work and strategy earned Benson the lead for the lap 108 restart.  

The NASCAR Champion spent the final 50 laps battling for the win with veteran drivers Ron Hornaday Jr. and Dennis Setzer before bringing the No. 23 Toyota Tundra home in the third spot. 

Benson retains the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship points lead.  He has a 94-point advantage over Hornaday, who sits second. 

The No. 23 Bill Davis Racing team returns to action Saturday at [Loudon] New Hampshire Motor Speedway.  The race can be seen live on the Speed Channel.  Check local listings for start times.
 

Toyota Race Review
By:  Toyota Motorsports

Tundra drivers Johnny Benson (third) and Todd Bodine (fourth) scored top-five finishes Saturday afternoon in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) race at Gateway International Raceway.

Mike Skinner (seventh) and Ted Musgrave (10th) also posted top-10 results for Toyota.  - Toyota drivers Shane Sieg (13th), Terry Cook (17th), Chrissy Wallace (19th), Michael Annett (24th), Marc Mitchell (26th), Justin Marks (27th) and David Starr (28th) were also in the field.

With the finish, Benson maintained his lead in the unofficial NCTS point standings, now 94 points ahead of Ron Hornaday after 17 of 25 races.JOHNNY BENSON, No. 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Toyota Tundra, Bill Davis Racing Finished: 3rd Can you talk about how your pit strategy played out to give you a top-three finish? “It didn’t play out that good. We ended up all right, but you could see out there that we were getting passed, and that’s going to make it tough for the rest of the season. Trip Bruce (crew chief) and the guys did a great job. This thing was as good as anybody through the corners. We’re pretty happy with what we have to work with, and we’ll just deal with it.”

Where do you think the other trucks had the advantage over yours? “They kicked our (butts) down the straightaway. There isn’t any doubt about it. Before, we were always equal to them, and now, we’re nowhere near equal to them. We have to deal with it. Not sure why we fall within different rules as everybody else, but we’ll do the best we can. That’s all we can do.”

Do you think you had a truck capable of winning the race? “The last 30 laps of the race, we posted some of the best laps. I think we had a third-place truck. Unfortunately, with the new rules, we have to do things that no one else can do. That’s what we’ll have to do for the rest of the season, and that’s a shame.”

What was the thinking behind the two-tire stop at the end? “It’s the only way we could get in the top-10, with the new rules package. It was a tough program today. Our Tundra was decent -- we could roll through the corner good, we just got hurt on the straightaway. Pit strategy is what got us up there. We got passed by about six trucks today, and that’s how our day went.”

TODD BODINE, No. 30 Lumber Liquidators Toyota Tundra, Germain Racing  Finished: 4th Did you feel at a disadvantage today with the new engine rules? “This new engine deal is ridiculous. If you don’t beat them back to the throttle, you can’t run with them on the straightaway. There were several times where I beat people off the corner, and they would draft up and almost pull out and pass me on the front straightaway. If I was behind them, I could barely run with them drafting. It’s just totally ridiculous.”

Johnny Benson

Bill Davis Racing Event Preview

Race/Date: Camping World 200 – Sept. 6, 2008

Location:    Gateway International Raceway – Madison, Ill.

NOTES:

·         This Week’s Race Truck for Gateway International Raceway is Chassis No. 23-104.  Chassis No. 23-104 has been run on two occasions during the 2008 campaign (The Milwaukee Mile, O’Reilly Raceway Park) and both times has found victory lane.

·         Certified Leader… Toyota Certified Used Vehicles will be the primary sponsor for the Camping World 200.  The used car leader is the first in the automotive industry to surpass two million certified used vehicles sold.

·         NCTS Powerhouse… Bill Davis Racing won its first race in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series 61 races ago at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in the summer of 2005.  Since capturing its first victory, the High Point, North Carolina-based team has gone on to win 22 races, which gives the Toyota Tundra camp a winning percentage of 36%.  This leads all teams in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series garage.

·         Starting Up Front… Bill Davis Racing is the only team in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series garage to have seven or more poles in four consecutive seasons.  This season, all three Bill Davis Racing entries have at least one pole position under their belt.

·         Defending Winner… The No. 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra team is the defending winner of the Camping World 200.  In 2007, Benson started in the fourth spot and led 32 laps in route to his third victory of the season.

• ·         Listen and Watch … The Camping World 200 is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. ET Saturday, Sept. 6.  It will broadcast on SPEED (TV), MRN (radio) and Sirius Satellite Radio (Ch. 128).  
  
   

• Johnny Benson on Racing at Gateway International Raceway:

• “Gateway is a track that really suits my driving style.  It reminds me a lot of Milwaukee.  It is flat and long.  You have to be really consistent getting into the corners to be fast.  We had a great truck there last year and won the race.  I am confident Trip Bruce and all the guys on this Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra team are bringing a truck that will be super competitive. 

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• “We come to the racetrack every week to win the race.  The guys on this team are doing a tremendous job preparing the trucks and the power that Jon Dysinger gives us at TRD [Triad Racing Development] is phenomenal.  We know we have to be a consistently top-five team and right now the team is doing its job.”