Johnny Benson – Toyota Certified
Used Vehicles Tundra
Post Race Report
Johnny Benson and the No. 23 Toyota Certified Used
Vehicles Tundra team headed to Atlanta Motor Speedway to
continue their quest for Bill Davis Racing’s first
NASCAR Championship. The team knew it needed another
strong showing in order to retain the Craftsman Truck
Series points lead, and it was up to the challenge.
For
the second consecutive week, all of Friday’s on-track
activities were cancelled due to inclement weather. The
first time the No. 23 TCUV Tundra hit the track was
during Saturday morning’s one hour practice session.
The team was not happy with the truck’s handling early
in practice, so it made significant changes to the truck
in preparation for that afternoon’s race. The team’s
decision paid off, and by the end of practice, it was
very optimistic about its chances for a second
consecutive win.
Benson took the green flag from the pole position, but
he immediately knew there was something wrong with his
truck. On lap nine, he explained to Crew Chief Trip
Bruce that the truck had no side bite and handled
extremely loose through the corners. After the caution
flag waved on lap 15, Benson rolled down the pit lane
for major adjustments to his truck. The team changed
everything but the driver during the four-tire stop and
sent Benson back on the track in 20th position for the
lap 19 restart.
Two
laps after the restart, Benson said he might have a
loose wheel, as the truck had a pretty significant
vibration. Bruce advised him to just hang on until the
mandatory caution on lap 25. By the time the yellow
flag waved, Benson explained that the truck was still a
bit loose, but the earlier adjustments had made a
significant improvement. Additional adjustments were
still needed, and Benson reported to his pit stall on
lap 28 for four tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment.
The
race restarted on lap 29 with Benson in the 13th spot.
The truck’s vibration problem soon subsided and the
handling improved, enabling Benson to break into the top
10 by lap 50 of the 130-lap event. However, the truck
would need a bit more work to get Benson up with the
lead trucks. The team received its final opportunity to
adjust on the TCUV Tundra during a yellow-flag pit stop
on lap 91. Another four-tire stop yielded further
chassis adjustments, and Benson restarted 15th.
With
a long road in front of him, Benson set his sights on
the front of the field. By lap 110, he was in the top
10 and running lap times as good as those of the
leader. He told his team the truck was as good as it
had been all day, and it was showing on the stopwatch.
Benson took the checkered flag in the seventh spot, his
16th top-10 finish of the season. Benson retains the
Craftsman Truck Series points lead by 31 points over
second-place Ron Hornaday.
Benson and the No. 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles
Tundra team will head to the “Lone Star” state for the
Craftsman Truck Series race Friday, Oct. 31 at Texas
Motor Speedway. The race is scheduled to start at 8
p.m. CST. Live television coverage begins at 7:30 p.m.
CST on Speed Channel.
Johnny's
Comments After Atlanta Race
By: Toyota Motorsports
How was your race today?
"We definitely didn't have the week that we thought we
were going to have. We always run really, really good
here. We've had some mechanical issues that have taken
us out of some great finishes. We just didn't run good
today -- that was the bottom line. I don't understand.
We were good and decent in practice -- and we thought
we were going to be in the race. We started the race
and we struggled with something. We had something that
was amiss and we just have to try to find it."
What was the problem with your truck?
"We were trying all kinds of things because it wasn't
going away. We had a huge vibration somewhere and we
just kept making different adjustments trying to
accomplish the same thing -- the one spot that was
really ill. It was really making the thing drive not
very good at all. You know, we just kept working on
it. Trip (Bruce, crew chief) and those guys did a
great job to get it to the end. To run seventh, that
was better than we ran all race, for sure. We got a
little bit better in the end. We had one tire that
felt like it was loose -- they weren't sure -- then we
ended up putting those used tires on and we almost got
a lap down. Then when we got back on equal tires, we
weren't that good, but good enough to make seventh."
With all your problems -- is it
satisfying coming home with a seventh-place result?
We'll take that. It was on the edge of breaking -- it
was right on the edge. Something was going to break
before the end. With 25 laps, the vibration was
getting worse and with five laps it was really, really
bad. Then with three laps it kept getting worse and
worse. I kept having to back pedal -- I needed to make
it to the checkered flag."
Atlanta Preview
-
This Week’s Race Truck for Atlanta Motor Speedway
is Chassis No. 23-73. Chassis No. 23-73 was last
raced at the famed half-mile Bristol (Tenn.) Motor
Speedway, where Johnny Benson brought it home in
the fourth spot.
-
Certified Leader… Toyota Certified Used Vehicles
will serve as the primary sponsor of the No. 23
Toyota Tundra team at Atlanta. The used car
leader is the first in the automotive industry to
surpass two million certified used vehicles sold.
-
Visiting Friends… Benson will visit Exide
Technologies’ corporate headquarters Thursday,
Oct. 23. Exide Technologies is an industry leader
in consumer batteries. It has been a partner of
Bill Davis Racing for three NASCAR Craftsman Truck
Series seasons.
-
Point Leader… With his fifth win of the season
last weekend at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway,
Benson regained the Craftsman Truck Series
Championship lead. The NASACR veteran sits 65
point ahead of second place Ron Hornaday.
-
Last Season… When the Craftsman Truck Series
visited Atlanta last fall, Benson battled with the
leaders all day. He never fell out of the top 10
and brought his Toyota Certified Used Vehicles
machine home in the fourth spot.
-
Listen and Watch… The E-Z-Go 200 is scheduled to
start at 1:30 p.m. ET Saturday, Oct. 25. It will
broadcast on SPEED (TV), MRN (radio) and Sirius
Satellite Radio (Ch. 128).
Johnny Benson on
Racing at Atlanta Motor Speedway:
“I think the feeling
I have of going to Atlanta is excitement. We have
had two third-place finishes in Atlanta, but never a
win. [Crew Chief] Trip Bruce and all the guys on
this team do a great job preparing trucks for the
track, and I know this weekend will be no
exception. This has been a great year for everyone
who works on this Bill Davis Racing Tundra, and we
are going to give it our best effort to try and
bring [Team Owners] Bill and Gail Davis their first
championship.
“Atlanta is cool because of the grooves. There are
three racing grooves, and you can run side by side.
If you are not happy with the truck on the bottom,
you can move to the top and vice versa. The race
has been won running the top groove, which is
unusual for Atlanta. There is a time where I am
going to have to choose what groove I want to use
during the race and try to adapt to it. We will
just have to wait and see.”
