Trip Bruce Knew Benson Had Makings of a Champion
By:  Lee Montgomery


(Photo Credit: Marc Serota/Getty Images for NASCAR)

The first time crew chief Trip Bruce met eventual NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Johnny Benson, he knew their relationship would be special.
 
Bruce had just been hired to lead Bill Davis Racing’s No. 23 Craftsman Truck Series team, so he went to Benson’s personal shop to meet his driver. When he walked in, Bruce noticed there were a lot of race cars around.
 
There was a car on a surface plate, ready to be worked on. There was a car ready to be loaded on a trailer to be raced somewhere. And there was an old Cup series car up on a lift, sporting confetti from victory lane.
 
Topping it all off was an old car that had been crushed and made into a table.  Bruce clearly liked what he saw.  “I knew right then I had met a true car guy,” Bruce said. “I’m a mechanic and a car guy, and I knew this would work. I’ve got a lot of respect for all the drivers in this series and every series, but [Benson’s] got my heart and soul. He’s got my passion.”
 
And now, they’ve got a championship, collecting the 2008 title after a battle with Ron Hornaday that wasn’t decided until the season’s final race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

 In their two years together, Benson won nine races and this year’s Truck series title. He’s parting company with his BDR team, something that was a topic of some heated words from team owner Bill Davis following the series awards ceremony, but both he and Bruce seem to have a solid relationship.
 
Benson, too, recalls their first meeting with fondness.  “To have you come over, talk to you and see your passion for our sport, see the desire to win races and the desire to win championships – you cannot ask for a better person to ride this ride with,” Benson said. “It’s been awesome to be able to do that. Thank you so much for your dedication, your wit, gambles on races and giving us as a team the confidence to go out and do the things we like to do best, and that’s go race.”
 
With his title this season, Benson became the second driver after Greg Biffle to win championships in the Truck series and what is now known as the Nationwide Series in 1995.  Benson went Cup racing full time in 1996 and raced in NASCAR’s top division for eight years, scoring his only Cup win at Rockingham in 2002.
 
He joined BDR’s Truck team in 2004 and has raced there ever since. Benson is 45 years old, and earlier this year he says he pondered his future in NASCAR. He told Davis earlier this year that he planned to either scale back his driving schedule or retire and would leave the team. He says he wanted to give the team time to prepare for 2009, but now the fact that he could drive full time once more is straining the pair’s relationship.

Still, Benson says he has not decided on a specific 2009 plan just yet.  “Well, there's all kinds of things to think about,” Benson said. “A few months back when I decided not to come back to Bill Davis's [team] was the fact that I was considering either retiring or doing a part-time schedule and going and playing with my Late Model and going and playing with my super modified, messing around, running a limited Truck schedule. … I didn't have a plan.
 
“It was just a deal where the schedules and the travels and everything is getting to the point where … I’ve really got to think about what I'm going to do in the future. I can't race forever. It's very hard to feel and think about when that time will be.”

Deepest Sympathy
We would like to extend our deepest sympathy to Mark Gregory who lost his father on Tuesday.  Mark is one Johnny's spotter in the Craftsman Truck Series.  Our thoughts are with you at this time .... 
 

Johnny Benson 2008 Championship
Johnny Benson won the 2008 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship - his first series championship. ...Benson is the 10th different driver to win the series championship. ...Benson finished the 2008 season seven points ahead of Ron Hornaday Jr. It is the second closest championship points margin in series history. ...Benson finished the 2008 season with five wins, 14 top-five finishes and 18 top-10s. He had just three DNFs. ...This is the first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship for Bill Davis Racing. ...Trip Bruce won his first series championship as a crew chief.


Benson, BDR Celebrate 2008 titles;  Benson named Most Popular Driver
In a season of firsts - and the final one for longtime series sponsor Craftsman - Johnny Benson and his Bill Davis Racing team celebrated the 2008 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship Monday night during the series' awards banquet at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. Benson, 45, became the series' 10th different champion by finishing seventh in Sunday night's Ford 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He also became only the second competitor to win the truck series title and the NASCAR Nationwide title, having captured the latter in 1995. Greg Biffle is the other driver to have won both championships. During 2008, Benson and the team collected awards of $1,181,997 - most in series history. Benson was also named the series' Most Popular Driver for the third consecutive season. It marked the first time that fans could vote for the award.

Truck Series Finale Gets Rating Boost
The dramatic NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series finale on SPEED peaked at more than one million households and put an exclamation point on the most-watched season since the series moved to the network in 2003.

The race at Homestead-Miami Speedway scored a Nielsen Household Rating of .96, up 146 percent from last year’s .39. The broadcast peaked at a 1.39 and marked the highest year-to-year average rating increase of the season.  “What a way to finish,” said SPEED President Hunter Nickell. “The last lap of the last event and we still weren't sure who the champion was going to be. Johnny Benson and Ron Hornaday put on an awesome show for the fans."

The 2008 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season on SPEED was the highest rated ever, averaging a .80 rating. On the year, 19 of the 22 races on SPEED saw year-to-year Nielsen Ratings increases, 15 in double digits.  SPEED will air highlights from the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship Banquet on Dec. 8 at 8 p.m. ET.

Bodine Wins Race; Johnny Wins Championship!
Todd Bodine won the final truck race of the season on Friday night in the Ford 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, but the night was about crowning a 2008 champion.



Johnny Benson came into the race with a three-point lead over Ron Hornaday. After two-tire stop on lap 92 and a late decision to stay on track during a caution a flag was enough to get Benson in front of Hornaday and give him the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship title by seven points.

“Tonight was about Trip Bruce and making the calls he did. Trip said early on we might not be the fastest, but it was going to be the smartest one that won it. And that’s what it came down to Trip’s calls.” Benson said of his crew chief.

The race changed on lap 125 after the caution flag for Mike Skinner’s shredded tire. Hornaday’s crew chief Rick Ren decided to pit for a four-tire stop, while Benson stayed on the track. Benson restarted the race in 6th while Hornaday was in 13th.

On lap 132 the caution flag came out for the final time and Hornaday ran out of laps.   “I was frustrated. My radio wouldn’t work. I didn’t want to stop. My truck was good enough to stay out, but they kept telling me to come in and I had no choice. Then it hurt me that a lot of those guys only took two tires.” Hornaday said.

Benson also won the 1995 Busch Series championship, now known as the Nationwide Series. Both drivers led during the race, so whoever finished ahead of the other driver would win the series title.

By winning titles 13 years apart, Benson breaks a NASCAR record for the most years between national series championships which was held by Terry Labonte, 1984 and 1996 Cup series titles.

“Words can't describe this. I was kind of crying down the backstretch, it's fairly emotional, obviously.” Benson said.   “I’m just so happy for Bill and Gail Davis. It took them a long time for them to tell me who actually won it, but I’m pretty happy now. This means a lot.” Benson said.

“We are extremely proud of Johnny Benson and everyone at Bill Davis Racing for what they accomplished this year.” said Lee White, president and general manager of TRD, U.S.A. (Toyota Racing Development).

A Salute to the #23 Team
By:  Barb Benson

As we head in to the last race of the 2008 Craftsman Truck race in Miami, I would like to salute the #23 team.  I had to the privilege of hanging out with the team during practice, qualifying and the race this past weekend in Phoenix.   To say they worked hard is an understatement.

This assembled group of crewman means a lot to me.  They have built and maintained a fleet of Toyota Tundras that have been fast, competitive and best of all - safe!  This is their time to shine and grace the spotlight on them.

Weekend Crew ...

Billy	Pickle	Matt	Brandon	Richard
Woody	Mark	Chip	Eric	Rocky
Curtis	Richie	Bryan	Chris	Frank
Mark	Johnny and Trip

A look back at last year's race  ....


Bill, Gail, Debbie and Johnny         


The #23 Crew

And in the words of Dale Earnhardt  .....  "Looking back, knowing that you gave it your all ....  win or lose you finish a champion."
 

Fans Cheer JB On to Miami
The yard signs have been made and are ready for display in Johnny's neighborhood for Friday! 

    

    

Thank You for Voting!


Thank you to all the JB fans who voted for Johnny in the Most Popular Driver - Craftsman Truck poll this year!  We appreciate all your time, effort and dedication.  We look forward to the announcement of the winner at the Craftsman Truck banquet on Monday, November 17, 2008. 
 

Hot Seat - Johnny Benson
By:  Toyota Pit Pass

You'd think that Johnny Benson would have the weight of the world on his shoulders, being neck and neck in a super tight NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series points race with Ron Hornaday Jr., a battle that seems like it's raged all season long.

Benson is also in the final year of his contract with Bill Davis Racing and will vacate the No. 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra next season, his new location yet to be determined, or at least yet to be announced.

Despite those uncertainties, Benson is cool as a cucumber these days, making the most out of the title race and enjoying the ride in his Toyota Tundra.  Pitpass caught up with Benson after his qualifying lap for Friday night's Casino Arizona 150 NCTS race at Phoenix International Raceway, where Benson was caught up in a mid-race incident and will head to the final race of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway with a three point lead over Hornaday. Here's what he had to say before the race:

What's the championship going to come down to in these final two races? It's going to come down to the last lap at Homestead is what it's going to come down to (laughs). I don't know. I've been in these situations before, but it's a little closer and a little tougher than it's been in the past. Before we were so far back and caught up -- had a good run coming out. We had the momentum on our side.  Right now, it looks like Ron has the momentum on his side. So, two races to go, it's going to be exciting.

How much pressure have you had on you each week?
None at all. I made my mind up going into this season that pressure was not going to be an issue. I wasn't going to let it bother me. Two years ago, it was stress on everybody it seemed like. And this year, we're just having fun.

I'm sure some of the guys feel some pressure, but if they are, they're hiding it pretty good. But I'm feeling none. Myself, Trip (Bruce, crew chief) and everybody on this team are just doing their jobs the best they can with the rules that they're given just recently. We can't get upset about anything. We just have to go do our jobs.

How much have the Toyotas been hurt by NASCAR's smaller tapered spacer rule?
It's definitely hurt. Last weekend (at Texas Motor Speedway) it was extremely obvious how bad it was for is. But it is what it is. They (Chevrolet) get that (restrictor) plate next year. I don't know why we didn't both get it at the same time, but it's just something we've got to deal with.

Our team has done a great job all season. The guys can hold their heads high, no matter what all happens this year. Ron Hornaday and their group have done a tremendous job all season, too. Both teams have got a lot of pride.

Are you worried about where you'll land next year?
Nope. I'm only worrying about this year.

Toyota Phoenix Race Review
By:  Toyota Motorsports

Truck Series Point Battle Near Even
By Dave Rodman - Nascar.com
In his 30th NASCAR national series start at Phoenix International Raceway, Ron Hornaday on Friday night made a critical mistake on the first lap of the Lucas Oil 150 that looked like it would cost him a shot at his record fourth Craftsman Truck Series title.  But when points leader Johnny Benson was involved in a tornado of wrecks and cautions, in an event that mixed equal parts bizarre, benevolence and bravado, it ensured that the Truck Series' championship battle would be the tightest ever going to next weekend's finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

While Hornaday's team owner, Kevin Harvick, and Kyle Busch and Todd Bodine had a classic race for the win, Hornaday finishing 25th and Benson 26th was the most unlikely outcome imaginable, and it created a three-point edge for Benson over defending series champion Hornaday.  It certainly got people's attention, and if there was an imaginary 1-10 scale for weirdness, Friday night's 150-lapper on the Phoenix mile might take the cake. "It definitely ranks up there pretty high -- probably an eight," third-place finisher and former series champion Bodine said. "You wouldn't figure one of the points guys [Hornaday] to be sitting on the pole and spin out on the first lap.

"Then it goes up to probably an 11 or 12 because you wouldn't figure the other guy would get in a wreck and they come out of here three points apart. That usually doesn't happen [in one race]. Three points separating them is going to be one hell of a race [at Homestead] to watch." The fact that Harvick won the race, his third Truck score at Phoenix, was the proverbial icing on this racing confection. "I saw [Benson's points lead] was like 40 points up on the [Sprint Vision video] monitor," Harvick said. "The cautions were a killer [because] I had time to watch the monitors and think about what was going on. This deal is just never over until it's over. It's racing and just glad that Ron drives as hard as he does. "I know he'll be flustered that it turned out that way but that's what makes Ron Hornaday fun to watch."

So heading to Homestead, Hornaday, at least, has a great perspective on comebacks. Only three times in the Truck Series' first 13 years has the points leader been overtaken in the finale and Hornaday did it last year at Homestead when he erased Mike Skinner's 29-point advantage. Harvick, whose trucks have won the past three series races with Ryan Newman at Atlanta, Hornaday at Texas and now himself at Phoenix, had already planned to enter trucks for he, Newman and Hornaday at Homestead. "I feel good about their chances," Harvick said of Hornaday's team. "I'm just glad they both pulled a bonehead on the same night -- that's pretty much what it boils down to. They both could have had opportunities to put daggers in each other -- so luckily [Friday] they synchronized their bad nights.  I told them there's got to be a lot easier way to shave three points off the lead than that, because from the driver's seat watching your truck wreck that's racing for a championship on Lap 1 and the other truck still running around the racetrack is not good. Luckily, it worked out the way that it did."

Hornaday came to Phoenix trailing Benson by six points. PIR has been the penultimate event in all three of Hornaday's championship seasons and a place where, in more than 40 career starts he's won four times: two in the Truck Series and two in the former NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, the Southwest Tour for Late Model cars.

But after starting from the pole, in an act of misplaced bravado, he overdrove Turn 3 on the first lap, pushed up and nudged leader Busch and then spun into the outside wall between Turns 3 and 4 and down the racetrack in front of the other 33 trucks in the field. That opened this production of "theater of the bizarre.   The driver was a complete idiot," Hornaday said after the race. "I thought I was going to get fired [because] that was the stupidest thing I've ever done in my life. Knowing Busch was on the outside and me driving in there as hard as he is, that was total stupidity on my part. Kyle's got nothing to lose out there but to win that race.

"I really thought I had a half-truck on him getting in and I knew I got in really good and he got in that much better. I needed just another couple of inches. I got loose and I just tagged the back of him and spun the rest of the way around. I had a truck that could win the race and I blew it. "I hate to see that because when the guys in the front part of the race take half the other people out on the racetrack we don't need to do that. I lucked up there and Johnny wrecks and it's like, 'man, nobody wants to win this championship if we're giving it back and forth to each other.' It's unbelievable."

The seven-truck melee left Hornaday's No. 33 Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet shredded on all four corners and Benson with body damage down the right side of his No. 23 Bill Davis Racing Toyota. Hornaday's truck staggered to the end of pit road and then turned behind the wall. And then something miraculous to anyone but Truck Series regulars occurred. Crewmen from no less than six teams -- including three with no ties whatsoever to KHI -- leaped in to help get the 33 back on track. They did massive bodywork and replaced the rear track bar, with former chassis builder Hornaday right in the midst of them, and returned to the race on leader Busch's 31st lap, 30 laps down.

Hornaday was 29th and Benson 18th when the race restarted at Lap 69, after Craig Wood crashed his Ford in Turn 2. But only 10 laps later, Benson had moved to 14th while Hornaday was still in 29th and only looking to gain one spot when he passed Wood, whose part-time team had parked its truck.

Act II of this theatrical production was about to begin. "After our first deal [on Lap 1] it bent the rear a little bit and we got it working and felt like we could probably run in the top six or 10," Benson said. "I was really trying to be patient. We ended up being in the right place at the wrong time or something, I don't know. We're just making it exciting. I don't know what else to say." At one point in the race Benson had an unofficial lead of more than 60 points over Hornaday. But on Lap 79 rookie Colin Braun crashed on the frontstretch when he got loose under Benson coming off Turn 4.

Before 20 more laps were logged, Benson's night, which he called "horrible for both of us," was complete. The race's fifth caution flew at Lap 88 when Benson and T.J. Bell made contact going into Turn 1. "I felt like I was underneath him and felt like he came down," Benson said before seeing a replay. "All of a sudden we bumped and both spun and wrecked and it pretty much ended our day. It took the right-front and pretty much destroyed everything up in the right-front." Benson's crew did even more work than Hornaday's conglomerate, as they had to replace a lot of brake and suspension pieces, as well as a track bar.

Despite that Benson, who's already said he's leaving Davis' team at the end of the year and who's been in the top three in the Truck standings the past three seasons since finishing 10th in his debut year with BDR in 2005, was almost beside himself after the race. "It's just weird and amazing how this points deal has been going on. It definitely makes for a long day, I can tell you that," Benson said. The accident with Bell doomed Benson, who was ahead of Hornaday on the racetrack when he returned from behind the wall, but within a couple laps cut down a right-front tire and smacked the wall, bringing out the sixth of seven cautions at Lap 130. After having two more tire problems, Benson parked his truck for only his third DNF in 24 races this season.

"At the end we kept blowing tires -- something was rubbing on there and we couldn't figure out what it was -- so we just started disconnecting a lot of stuff and I spun out and I thought I just better get off the racetrack," Benson said. "It was miserable -- a bad day."  Benson said the one good thing he carried away from Phoenix was a lack of pressure. "We decided at the beginning of the year, running for the championship we weren't going to worry about anything and we weren't going to put any pressure on -- we're just going to go have some fun and go do it," Benson said. "So we're making it fun for the fans -- I can guarantee you that."

In the last gasp of weirdness, Hornaday seems to be enjoying it, too. "Johnny and I said we're going to go fishing and whoever catches a fish first is going to win the championship -- because we definitely don't want to win this thing on the racetrack because we are both wrecking," Hornaday said. "All you got to do is laugh, because here is Johnny wrecked and I'm wrecked.

"When you think you have an opportunity to maybe make some gains," Benson said before hesitating, "it felt like every truck I got near, not running into you but [they'd] start making a lot of contact with a lot of different people. I was trying to be as patient as I could around there, but you can't drive other trucks. It ended up being what it's going to be.

"We're doing everything we can to hold them off," Benson said. "It felt like [coming into Phoenix] these next two races we have to get through them with no problems and unfortunately we both had problems [Friday]. Really, leaving here is no different than when we came in."

"Nobody has got the advantage anymore -- whoever is going to win this is going to have the least amount of luck," Hornaday said. "No advantage, no nothing. This is so cool to come down [to this]. I was just talking to the guys and just laughing. That's all we can do, just laugh at a night like this.  "Man, [my truck] is tore up. I was going to take that thing to Homestead. I'm not taking it now. Darn Homestead. Man, it's going to be tough down there. It's going to be nerve-wrecking. We're going to be biting fingernails and turn gray."

Benson and Hornaday Pledge to Race Clean
By:  Bob Pockrass -Scene Daily
Johnny Benson and Ron Hornaday are known as hard-nosed competitors.
The big question is will they be willing to use their noses – of their trucks – to determine the 2008 Craftsman Truck Series champion.
 
With Benson clinging to a six-point lead with two races remaining, both him and Hornaday likely will be tempted to nudge each other in the Lucas Oil 150 on Friday night at Phoenix International Raceway.  
You can’t have any [contact] – not to do it right,” Benson said Thursday in the garage. “You’ve got to go race hard and we both do that. I think that’s what’s going to be the exciting aspect of it for the fans because we both race really hard and put on a good show. That’s Ron’s background and that’s my background. You have to go out and race hard for it.”
 
Hornaday also said he doesn’t plan to use his front bumper. “If it was between me and Jack [Sprague], [Mike] Skinner and I, guys that I have raced together with where the ‘tough trucks’ [slogan] came from [I could], but Johnny and I have never had an incident on the track,” Hornaday said. “I have got loose under him, he has got loose under me, but we have never physically run into each other’s bumpers.  I want to race him as clean as I can. If I can’t get around him, I will get around him on the outside or make sure I back my corner up or do whatever I got to do to pass him. To go out there and win this thing by taking him out, or moving him or roughing him up, it wouldn’t be practical. If he makes the first move, game’s on. But, I am sure he feels the same way.”
 
Making a pass on the 1-mile track without contact is possible, Hornaday said.  “If your truck is better than him, the corners are good enough where you can turn underneath of him and pass him,” Hornaday said. “It depends on where he is running; you can pass on the outside. This track has a lot of character to it. There are three or four different styles of driving here so it depends on how you set your truck up.”
 
Both drivers feel good at the final two tracks, and both have won championships on NASCAR’s national level. Hornaday won Truck championships in 1996, 1998 and 2007. Benson won the 1995 Busch Series title as well as the 1993 American Speed Association crown. Two years ago when I was in the middle of this deal there I was probably a little bit nervous but this year I told myself that wasn’t going to happen,” Benson said.  “It’s been a lot of fun. … If you look at the next two tracks, we both run really well there. It’s going to be exciting for the fans and for our teams as myself and Ron as drivers and all the sponsors. That’s probably one of the most exciting ones we’ve seen in the last couple years so it’s been pretty cool.”
 
Hornaday said that team owner Kevin Harvick brought the team together about a month ago to remind them to relax. “We are running up front showing that this is a championship caliber team, probably getting a little edgy when there was five or six races to go [and] Kevin pulled us all in a meeting and said we were supposed to be having fun doing this,” Hornaday said. “If we aren’t having fun doing it, it is not worth doing it.  We started looking at it different probably five or six races ago. We went out there to win races, try to lead the most laps and have fun doing it. If we don’t pull it off, it is going to come down to one of us having a problem.”
 
For both teams and crews, they will focus on not beating themselves. Benson said, though, there’s only so many times parts and pieces can be checked. He hopes it doesn’t come down to horsepower as Toyota engineers are still attempting to replace the lost 15-20 horsepower from a rule NASCAR implemented in September for competitive balance reasons.
“Obviously the last couple of weeks with the engine rule change has been very difficult for us,” Benson said. “We’ve been trying to overcome that and it’s been difficult at certain tracks, not so much at others.
 
“We’re working hard on that so if there is a change that’s a change. As far as anything else, we’re not doing anything different than what we’ve done all season and trying not to beat yourself. That will happen if you start to change the things you’re doing because everything we’re doing now we know what’s going to happen.”

Harvick wins at Phoenix
Following a wild night for the two point leaders, it was Kevin Harvick who took the checkered flag to win the Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix Int'l Raceway. It was Harvick's third win in the trucks, all of them coming at Phoenix.

It started off looking to be a very disappointing night for Ron Hornaday Jr. following a wreck on the first lap of the race. Running side by side with Kyle Busch going in to turn three, Hornaday got loose, chased the truck up the hill, but was unable to keep it off the wall. Hornaday sustained significant damage, the team made major repairs; when Hornaday returned to the track, he was 29 laps down.

On lap 87 Johnny Benson got together with T.J. Bell resulting in major damage to Benson's truck where he also had to go behind the wall to make repairs. The evening was salvaged for Hornaday…only 3 points separate him from Benson…the points race will go down to the wire at Homestead.

Rounding out the top ten were; Kyle Busch, Todd Bodine, Brian Scott [career best finish], Mike Skinner, Brian Keselowski, Erik Darnell,Matt Crafton, Rick Crawford, Brendan Gaughan. There were 4 lead changes among 2 drivers, with 7 caution flags for 41 laps.

 

Benson To Leave BDR
By:  Dave Rodman - Nascar.com

Faced with compelling decisions about his racing and personal future, Craftsman Truck Series championship leader Johnny Benson will leave Bill Davis Racing at the end of the season, whether or not he wins the crown.

Team owner Davis confirmed Benson's decision in a statement. A BDR spokesman said, with this week's announcement that teenage Sprint Car racer Tayler Malsam had signed a deal to race a BDR Toyota full-time next season, that Davis still hoped to run four trucks in 2009.

"About three or four weeks ago I had a conversation with Bill [Davis] and of course, the folks up at Bill Davis [Racing]," Benson said on Wednesday's Tradin' Paint on Sirius NASCAR Radio. "I'm opting to try and do something different."

"Johnny Benson has been a huge part of our success in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series," Davis' statement said. "Johnny, as well as our other veteran driver, Mike Skinner, have helped us get our NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series program where it is today, and I hate to see him go.  It has been one of the best driver/owner relationships in the garage, winning 14 races and battling for the championship year in and year out. We have enjoyed the last four years together and we want to cap it off by winning the 2008 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship."

Benson, 45, who's amassed his 14 career Truck Series wins in the past three seasons driving BDR's No. 23 Toyota, has a six-point edge over defending and three-time Truck Series champ Ron Hornaday with two races left this season, including Friday night's Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix.

Benson took the lead from Hornaday three races ago, by 65 points, but has seen it steadily shrink since, as Hornaday was second at Atlanta and won at Texas. Benson finished third in the Truck Series a year ago, behind Hornaday and Skinner, but won the Homestead season finale to move from fifth to third in the final points.

Benson, who has five Truck wins this season, won 2006's Phoenix Truck race from the pole position, when he finished second in the championship to Todd Bodine. That season, Benson was 79 points behind Bodine with four races to go, but ultimately lost the title by 127 points.

Benson was 10th in the championship in his first full Truck Series season, 2005. Benson, who said on Tradin' Paint that retirement at the end of 2008 had been one of his options, added that when he "floated" that idea [shortly after he suffered a hard crash on Sept. 20 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway], he got a surprise.  When I said [I might retire], a bunch of opportunities came up," said Benson, the 1995 Busch Series champion. "It was like, you know what, am I going to retire? Am I going to try to do a part-time deal, go have some fun and spend time with the family and go do just some off-races and things of this nature?

"The Truck Series is such a great series but you can go run 10 Cup races and make more money than to run the whole [Truck] season. But I don't necessarily know if I want to do that, either. Some of it is up in the air but I think in the last two or three weeks there have been some opportunities for me to do something that I may like."

Since he had his first conversation with Davis and his team managers, Benson has been unsure of what he really wants to do, insiders say; and he was equally unclear Wednesday about his reasons for leaving BDR. "Now, it seems kind of odd to do that -- to be in a situation to run for a championship and then want to leave," Benson said. "But there's a couple of other little issues."

But Benson said he was comfortable with his decision, no matter what happened in his race with Hornaday. They are the only two men with a shot at the title, as Bodine is third, 223 points behind Benson. "The thing I like about this business, whether we win this championship or not, when I came over to Bill's they were about 25th in points -- 25th to 28th or something like that," Benson said. "We were able to build a team and move it up to a championship contender scenario.  I like doing those things, but I want to win a championship. I want to finish that off. But it's very cool to do those types of things and I enjoyed that aspect of it."

Benson said winning the title might make his next decision easier."Obviously, I'd really like to get a [Truck] championship so if we can get that done this year that'd be great," Benson said. "What I'm going to do next year, I really don't know. There's a couple things that some people had laid out in front of me that are tempting.  "So, that's where I stand. It basically stands that I won't be at Bill's -- but Bill and Gail gave me a great opportunity, along with Toyota, to come and have some fun and help build a team to make it a championship contender and I think all of us, as a group, are very proud of that and we'd like to finish this off for Bill, for sure."

"I'm happy and I think that's the main thing. It was very hard to say I'm not going to come back and do that with them -- that was the hardest part, especially with the guys because they've done a tremendous job.  It's a very cool sport. We get to do what we love to do. We go out there and we get to race and then if we win some races and have the opportunity for a championship you can't ask for anything more than that."

Toyota Wins Manufacturer's Championship
Toyota clinched its third consecutive NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) manufacturer's championship Friday at Texas Motor Speedway when Kyle Busch crossed the finish line second in his No. 51 Tundra -- enabling Toyota to take home another title with two races remaining in the 2008 season.

It marks the fourth manufacturer's title for Toyota since becoming a participant in NASCAR's upper levels of competition in 2004. Toyota captured its first NCTS title in 2006 -- when Tundra driver Todd Bodine also won the driver's championship -- and won the manufacturer's title again in 2007. Earlier this year, Toyota clinched the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) manufacturer's championship at Kansas Speedway in September.

Seven teams have campaigned Toyota Tundras in 2008 -- Bill Davis Racing, Billy Ballew Motorsports, Germain Racing, HT Motorsports, Red Horse Racing, Wyler Racing and Xpress Motorsports -- combining for 12 wins, 54 top-five finishes and 105 top-10 results in 23 races. In addition, Tundra drivers captured 10 poles and led 1,756 laps in NCTS competition this season.

"When we entered the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2004, we knew that our success would be a product of the teams and people we aligned ourselves with to carry the Toyota banner," said Lee White, president and general manager of TRD, U.S.A. (Toyota Racing Development). "To win a third straight manufacturer's championship in this highly-competitive series is a testament to the hard work and dedication of all our race teams and everyone at TRD and Triad. We came into this sport with a desire to compete for race wins and championships, and our talented Tundra drivers and teams have allowed us to accomplish those goals."

Bill Davis Racing (BDR) and Billy Ballew Motorsports (BBM) led the Tundra contingent in 2008, winning 10 of 12 races for Toyota. BDR drivers have combined for seven of the 12 victories, with Johnny Benson winning five times (Milwaukee, Kentucky, Indianapolis, Nashville and Martinsville), and Mike Skinner (Las Vegas) and Scott Speed (Dover) each recording one win. Busch won three races (California, Atlanta and Bristol) for BBM, and Bodine -- driving for Germain Racing -- won the superspeedway events at Daytona and Talladega.

"Toyota is not immune to the challenges currently being faced by the automobile industry," says Ed Laukes, corporate manager of motorsports marketing at Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc. "The market this year has been much more challenging than expected, and no automaker has been unaffected during these times. We are aware that the current economic situation is also having an impact on all our race teams, and we appreciate all their efforts to help us achieve this championship, as well as all the NASCAR race fans that support the series."

Benson has enjoyed the most success among Tundra drivers in 2008. The 45-year-old Grand Rapids, Mich.-native has won five races, scored 14 top-five finishes, and also captured three poles -- at Mansfield, Milwaukee and Memphis. In addition, Benson has led 23 times for 508 laps in BDR's No. 23 Tundra, and currently sits atop the NCTS championship point standings.

Since joining the NCTS in 2004, Toyota has won 50 races and captured 59 poles in 123 races.

Trucks Quietly Takes Lead
By:  Dave Rodman - NASCAR.com
It's no secret the Craftsman Truck Series has some of the best racing in NASCAR, so it's not surprising that year after year, NASCAR's youngest national series has the best championship battle.

You can't write it off to the length of the schedule, because the last few years in Cup, different people have dominated through August, and of course with the Chase for the Cup format, that creates a whole different scenario. And the point system doesn't make the difference, because that's the same as we've always had in the other two series.

Even in the face of the onslaught of young talent hitting all three national tours, it's in the trucks where the veterans' skill and guile projects them to the top year after year, despite the best the youngsters can throw at 'em.    If that's just the way it is, oh well -- but it's great to see guys the caliber of Todd Bodine, Ted Musgrave and the late, great Bobby Hamilton achieve the ultimate in trucks -- after laboring long and hard for relatively little reward in other series.

That's part of the reason why this year's championship landscape, actually across all three series, is so fascinating -- particularly heading to Phoenix this weekend.  This year's Truck battle is no different than it's ever been, as the prototype wily veteran, defending and three-time Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday sits just six points behind another veteran, Johnny Benson, with two races remaining.

You've got to think Hornaday's the favorite, just because he's been there and done that more often than Benson. And crew chief Rick Ren is a pretty potent ace up the ol' sleeve.  But there's just no way you can short sell Benson, who's been a distinct force in the Truck Series since getting together with owners Bill and Gail Davis and crew chief Trip Bruce.

Just when you thought it couldn't get any better than the wondrous display of emotion from Hornaday and his team owner, Kevin Harvick, last year, after Mike Skinner's Bill Davis Racing team wilted at Homestead and Hornaday's KHI bunch prevailed, it looks like a repeat of the table setting, with Phoenix being a track where Hornaday has thousands of laps, but where Benson's also excelled. And given how both men performed last weekend at Texas, Homestead could be anybody's ballpark

It may come down to the supporting casts, and it's there where the fascination and intrigue only magnifies. Team owner Harvick is set to drive one of his Chevy Silverado pickups both this weekend -- a track where he's had a lot of success -- and at Homestead, where KHI will further complicate matters by entering Atlanta winner Ryan Newman, who won in his Truck Series debut.

Maybe the most interesting aspect of the Truck races will be what happens near the end if Hornaday's almost winning and one of his teammates is. That scenario has already cost Hornaday 15 points, when he led the most laps but couldn't beat Newman at Atlanta and finished second.

My bet is those scenarios will be settled behind closed doors well before the green flag. But it'll be interesting at the end of the season if those Atlanta points mean the difference between a championship and second place, and if Harvick still feels the honor of racing to win counts for more than the championship.

And for the bottom line on Phoenix, vis-a-vis the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series championship races -- well, it'll be a darned sight clearer after this weekend than it is right now. How's that for not going out on a limb?

Texas Notes
By:  Toyota Motorsports

• Kyle Busch (second) was the top-finishing Tundra driver Friday night, enabling Toyota to clinch its third consecutive NCTS manufacturer's championship (2006-2008).

• In addition to Busch, Johnny Benson (third), Todd Bodine (fourth), Terry Cook (sixth), Mike Skinner (eighth), Brian Scott (ninth) and Scott Speed (10th) scored top-10 finishes for Toyota at Texas Motor Speedway.

• Other Toyota drivers in the field included Texas-resident David Starr (12th), Jack Sprague (15th), Paul Tracy (20th), Texas-native Ryan Lawler (22nd) and Max Papis (29th).

• With today's finish, Benson leads Ron Hornaday, Jr. by six points in the unofficial NCTS point standings with two races remaining.