Happy Holiday from the Benson's!

Johnny and Debbie
Mikayla, Katelyn and Barb
John Sr. and Judy
 

A Blast From the Past
Model Builders put in lots of time and hours building that special model.   One fan aka Mr. NASCAR from Canada just finished a replica of John Sr.'s 1964 Chevelle sponsored by Berger Chevrolet.  To check out this website - click below:   Thanks to Steve Greene for the link! 

Spotlight On ...
Matt Weber, Dave, Mark Gregory, Heath Loveland and Brandon Barr look great in their tuxedos for the Craftsman Truck Banquet in Miami, FL  .....    
(Photos By:  Barb Benson - 12-20-08)

         


Sad News
Ron Hornaday Sr. passed away on December 21, 2008 at the age of 77. Ron Sr., was a two-time champion in the NASCAR Camping World Series West, when it was known as the NASCAR Winston West Series – winning back-to-back titles in 1963 and 1964. He made 17 NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup (now Sprint Cup) starts between 1955 and 1973, mainly on the West Coast. Ron was inducted in the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame in its first class in 2002.  The JBFC sends their sympathy to the Ron Hornaday family.  (12-22-08)

SPEED Signs Dave Despain thru 2010
SPEED signed veteran motor sports broadcaster Dave Despain to a new two-year deal, keeping the popular host of the Sunday night program Wind Tunnel on the team through 2010. Closing in on 450 episodes of his popular fan-participation show Wind Tunnel, Despain has interviewed everyone who is anyone in the world of racing. |

Three-time NASCAR champ Darrell Waltrip has made the most guest appearances (9), followed by Jeff Gordon (7), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (7), Funny Car king John Force (6) and open-wheel veteran Paul Tracy (6). Longtime motor sports writer Robin Miller has enjoyed the most co-hosting appearances at 13. "I love the fact that the voices on Wind Tunnel cover the entire racing spectrum; from the fans in the stands, to the folks watching on TV, to the big time stars putting on the show to the movers and shakers who make it all happen,” Despain said. “We stick our noses into every nook and cranny of racing and always seem to find something interesting." Wind Tunnel opens its 2009 season Feb. 15 at 9pm/et.

Note:  Johnny made an guest appearance on Wind Tunnel this year.  Let's hope he returns to the show in 2009 as the 2008 Craftsman Truck Champion!    (12-20-08)

Most Popular Driver
NASCAR released their figures on the Most Popular Driver Award this weekend.  In the Craftsman Truck Series, Johnny received 19,749 of 6,3466 votes.  That represents 31% of the votes.  Thank you to all of the JB Fans who voted.  The award is appreciated!   (12-15-08)

Johnny To Compete in Bobsled Challenge
Johnny Benson & Todd Bodine will compete in the fourth annual Whelen Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge on Jan. 2-4, 2009, at the Olympic Sports Complex. Benson, who competed in his first Challenge last year, won his first Truck Series championship after finishing third in 2007 and runner-up to Todd Bodine in 2006. Todd Bodine has participated in every Challenge and has started a similar support program for the U.S. Skeleton Federation.  (12-08-08)

December Newsletter
Attention Fan Club Members ...   Finally - The newsletter is done!  It will be mailed from Grand Rapids on Wednesday.  Your renewal form for the 2009 JBFC will be enclosed.  The cost remains the same.  If you renew your membership  by January 17th, you will be eligible to win a 1:24 TCUV diecast - autographed by Johnny.  By the way, did you hear that my brother is the 2008 Craftsman Truck Series Champion?  A nice photo of Johnny with his trophy is enclosed with the newsletter!  Thanks so much for being patient with me!   (12-16-08)

Spotlight On ...
Frank Starr and Ryan London along with their wives get all dressed up to enjoy the Craftsman Truck Banquet in Miami, FL  .....    
(Photos By:  Barb Benson - 12-14-08)

    

Speed Sport News - Gift Giving Just Got Easier
By one, get one for half price - save 76% off the news stand price!   Surprise the motor sports lover in your life (every week) with a Gift Subscription to National Speed Sport News.  All subscriptions include an exclusive online version.  For faster service or questions, please call 866-455-2531.  Cost:  $47.  Speed Sport News - PO Box 1210, Harrisburg, NC  28075.  Note:  JB received front page coverage for his Championship win in Miami along with several photos in the main issue.

Grand Rapids Popcorn offers a variety of gift baskets filled with popcorn and other sweets that will satisfy any race fan.  They are located at 4675 West River Drive in Comstock Park, MI  1-800-968-4027 or you can order online at www.grpopcorn.com. 

Spotlight On ...
Curtis Martin and his lovely wife along with Richie and Regina Snyder join the rest of the #23 team at the banquet in Miami  .....    
(Photos By:  Barb Benson - 12-09-08)

    
 

Red Horse Names Johnny Benson as Driver for 2009
By:  Bob Pockcrass

The 2008 Craftsman Truck Series champion has a new home.
 
Johnny Benson, who had previously announced he would leave Bill Davis Racing at the end of the 2008 season, will drive the No. 1 truck as a teammate with David Starr for Red Horse Racing, team co-owner Tom DeLoach confirmed Monday.
 
Trip Bruce, Benson’s crew chief, also has joined the team.
 
“It’s fantastic,” DeLoach said in responding to reports that Benson might not return fulltime to the series next season. “I’m looking forward to it. I think Johnny and David will work together really well and I expect good things out of both of them. We have one team and we’ve got two drivers. … Johnny is such a fantastic guy to work with – very analytical, very thoughtful.
 
“I’m just looking forward to working with him. It will be sweet for Red Horse. I’ve wanted to run two trucks for a couple of years and couldn’t get pieces put together and finally got it done.”
 
As far as sponsorship, DeLoach said that sponsors are still being courted. Benson has won titles in the Nationwide and Truck and has 274 career Cup starts.
 
“Johnny will be especially strong, and we’d like to do what no one has ever done before,” DeLoach said. “Johnny would see it as a tremendous accomplishment to repeat with different owners. That would be quite a statement.”

Johnny to Make Appearance in GR
During the holiday season, Johnny will be making an appearance at Kool Toyota in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  The plans are being finalized at the moment.  As more information develops, I will post on this site.   Johnny will be signing autographs from 1:00 - 4:00 pm on Saturday, December 27th.  The JBFC will also be there selling souvenirs.  Hope to see you there!  (12-06-08)
 

The 10 finalists are:

*	Justin Allgaier, ARCA RE/MAX
*	Johnny Benson, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
*	Jerry Coons, Jr., USAC Silver Crown, 
*	Billy Decker, Advance Auto Super DIRT Series
*	Scott Dixon, IndyCar Series
*	Jason Johnson, American Sprint Cars on Tour
*	Jimmie Johnson, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
*	Scott Pruett/Memo Rojas, Grand-Am Rolex Series
*	Donny Schatz, World of Outlaws sprint cars
*	Tony Schumacher, NHRA Top Fuel

Spotlight On ...
Johnny and Trip began the banquet festivities with a photo shoot in the Courtyard of the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.  There were 2 trucks on display - one Exide and one Toyota Certified Used Vehicles paint scheme. 
(Photo By:  Barb Benson - 12-06-08)

Contest Winners
The 2008 season has come to an end and it's time to announce our JBFC contest winners.  Congratulations to: 

                              Karen Weiss - Top 5 Finishes
                              Dick Wierenga  - Top 10 Finishes
                              Mike Russell - Points Position
                              Pete Hansen - # of Wins

Your Exide diecast is on it's way to your home! Thank you to all the fan club members who participated in the annual contests.   Special thanks to Toyota Certified Used Vehicles and EXIDE for their donations!

Champion Plotting His Next Move
By:  Don Coble
Johnny Benson won the Craftsman Truck Series championship for Bill Davis Racing earlier this month, and almost immediately he started working toward a future with a new race team.

Benson's title proved to be one of the most-epic moments in NASCAR history because he finished one spot ahead of Ron Hornaday Jr. to clinch. If Hornaday had finished one spot ahead of Benson, he would have won the title.

Benson talked about his move from BDR, the championship and the future of the truck series after the championship awards banquet. Here are excerpts of that interview:

What has it been like since you won the championship?
The last couple of races we knew it was going to come down to a great battle at Homestead (Fla.). I said in the last couple of years, you're not going to know the champion until the checkered flag is thrown and everybody gets across the line.

Why are you leaving Bill Davis Racing?
We made that decision a while back. If we finished fifth in the points it would be a non-issue. It's a very difficult time for (Davis), I'm sure. I'm sure he didn't want me to leave, and it's visible. I can tell that he's not real happy over the situation. But I just hope he appreciates the hard work, and I'm sure he does, of everything that we were able to establish the four years I've been there.

You've been a NASCAR weekly racing series champion, as well as a Busch and truck series champion. How does your latest championship rate?
All of our championships are way cool and rewarding in their own different ways. I think when you win your first championship which is what I did on the late model racing deal when I first started out is, you know, is very cool. It's your first one. It's the first time you've done it. Those are very, very neat.

But you don't get a whole lot of the press aspect. You know, you get yourself gratification of doing it. You know, of course, I went into Cup racing, won rookie of the year deal and I never got the opportunity to run for a championship. But we were close. Only won one race, but I was really close to the top 10 in points on four different occasions. I think we ran 11th and 12th twice and 13th - we were always there knocking on the door, but never had gotten a Top 10.

Can you repeat with a new team?
I think the challenges would all be the same. You have to be consistent week in and week out. You have to win races. You have to not have problems, and if you do have problems, you've got to battle and rebound from the problems.

Do you want to get back to the Nationwide or Cup series?
I thoroughly enjoyed running with the truck series. Got to really thank Craftsman for promoting the series and helping it be where it's at today. That's a difficult task. I would like that to be the home for a couple more years anyways, whether it be part-time or full-time. So I enjoy doing it. It's a lot of fun. It's like Saturday night racing. The races are obviously shorter. We get a little bumping and banging. When it's all said and done we're all in the garage area having fun, and talking about the race that just happened.

Will your new job be full-time or part-time?
Time will tell what the full plans will be, whether it be part-time or full or whatever.

What's the future for the truck series?
The direction I would see all racing going, not just truck series going. If somebody's got money, they will have a ride. I think that's bad for the sport, but what is the owner to do when the economy is the way it's at today? They have to make that decision to either put somebody in that has the driving talent, the ability to assemble good people around them.

Was the awards ceremony awkward since everyone was going in a different direction afterwards? 
It's not weird. I mean, this isn't new news. This is something we've known for a long time that I wasn't going to be there. So the newness aspect of that news is gone for us. I'm proud of what Bill and Gail has done, and it's pure pleasure to be able to get this done for that organization.