Johnny Benson Fan Club News/PR's

Johnny Benson headed to [Loudon] New Hampshire Motor Speedway as the current NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship point leader. His No. 23 team knew it needed a solid weekend to retain the lead, but was confident as the team won at Loudon two years ago. “The Magic Mile” has always been one of Benson’s favorite stops on the Craftsman Truck Series circuit, and he and his team were hoping for another victory Saturday afternoon.

The No. 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra was solid right off the hauler. Crew Chief Trip Bruce and the team made minor adjustments during both practice sessions in an attempt to dial their Tundra in for Saturday’s 200-mile event. Benson told his team the truck handled a little loose coming off the corners, but it still felt very stable. By the end of the final practice session, the No. 23 Bill Davis Racing team believed it had a truck which that battle for the win Saturday afternoon.

Benson started Saturday’s 200-lap event from the pole after qualifying was cancelled due to inclement weather. The No. 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra team took its turn at the helm leading laps, but a tight handling condition coming off the corner relegated Benson to the runner up spot. Benson reported to his team that the truck was chattering the front tires at both ends of the speedway, which was hurting his exit. Bruce and the No. 23 Toyota Tundra team discussed changes to be made during the first pit stop of the day, which came under caution on lap 50.

The pre-discussed changes included adjustments to the chassis and air pressure. After the adjustments were made, four tires changed and the fuel cell filled, Benson returned to the track in third for the lap 59 restart.

After the restart, Benson was running within .2 seconds of the leaders, but his truck remained tight in the corners. The current points leader explained to the No. 23 team that the truck was starting to get loose. The team knew it only had one more shot to adjust the truck during a rare green flag pit stop on lap 125. Along with another four-tire stop, the team made significant air pressure adjustments to both right side tires. The team’s fast work gained Benson valuable time on the track.

Benson battled for the final 75 laps and brought his Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra home in the runner-up spot. Benson still leads the Championship standings and is now 74 points ahead of second place Ron Hornaday.

The No. 23 Bill Davis Racing Toyota Tundra heads to Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The race can be seen live on Speed Channel at 9:30 EST, Saturday, Sept. 20.

JOHNNY BENSON, No. 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Toyota Tundra, Bill Davis Racing - Finished: 2nd

How was your race truck today?
"I'm just glad we could stay on the same straight-away as everybody today. This is a pretty tough program. I am real proud of the guys and they were able to run second. The guys have been doing a great job."

How challenging was it to get back to the front?
"It was pretty tough -- we could run fast for about 10 laps and we were just wearing our stuff out in the corners trying to stay with everybody. The short runs were a definite benefit to us at the end. Trip Bruce (crew chief) and the guys did great pit stops. On that green flag deal it at least helped us catch a couple of seconds back up under green there. Then of course the yellows at the end definitely benefited us and helped us out."

Was the track going away as the race progressed?
"No, it wasn't. The track stayed pretty consistent all day and we were consistent with that aspect. We did make some changes to our truck on the first stop and I think the truck was about as good as you were going to get it. It was just not good enough tonight."

What were your thoughts when Ron Hornaday was running three-wide in front of you?
"I was never hanging back all day long -- that was as fast as that thing would go all day. We drove it as hard as we could and just did the best we could. Second was all we had today -- probably had a fifth place truck, but those cautions at the end were beneficial to us. We could run 10 laps fast and then just heated up the tires too bad through the centers."

Hornaday Wins, JB Second
For the second week in a row, Ron Hornaday made a small slice in the Craftsman Truck Series points lead held by Johnny Benson with a dominating performance.

Hornaday took the lead from pole-sitter Benson on the first lap and barely looked back in running away with the Camping World RV Rental 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

But he wasn't able to close on the points leader as much as he would've liked. Benson passed Travis Kvapil with eight laps to go in the scheduled 200-lap race and set his sights on Hornaday.

David Starr made contact with Todd Bodine with seven laps to go, bringing out the yellow. On the restart with five to go, Hornaday got a good jump and pulled away for the victory. Benson now unofficially leads Hornaday by 74 points. Kvapil settled for third place. Erik Darnell and Rick Crawford rounded out the top five.

On pit road following the race, a scuffle broke out between Star and Bodine's crew. NASCAR officials had to break up the group twice. Members from both teams, including Star and the owner of Bodine's team, were called to the NASCAR hauler following the fight.

NOTES:

This Week’s Race Truck for New Hampshire Motor Speedway is Chassis No. 23-121. Chassis No. 23-121 sat on the pole at Memphis Motorsports Park in June.
Certified Leader… Toyota Certified Used Vehicles will serve as the primary sponsor of the No. 23 Toyota Tundra team during the Camping World RV Rental 200. The used car leader is the first in the automotive industry to surpass two million certified used vehicles sold.
Mr. Consistency… Johnny Benson has brought his No. 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra home in the top-10 three times in four starts at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The 45-year-old Grand Rapids, Mich., native has captured a top-five finish in all three of NASCAR’s top touring series at the 1.058 mile oval.
Nice Finish… Since the event at Texas Motor Speedway in early June, the No. 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles team has earned an average finish of 5.44. The team has four wins since Texas and only one finish outside the top-five (33rd at Memphis Motorsports Park).
Former Winner… The No. 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra team is a former winner of the Camping World RV Rental 200. In 2006, Benson started in the second spot and led 145 of 200 laps en route to his fourth victory of that season.
Listen and Watch… The Camping World RV Rental 200 is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. ET Saturday, Sept. 13. It will broadcast on SPEED (TV), MRN (radio) and Sirius Satellite Radio (Ch. 128).

NOTES:

Johnny Benson on Racing at New Hampshire Motor Speedway: