Kansas Race
Review
After finishing fourth at the 1.5-mile Kansas
Speedway last year, Johnny Benson and his No. 23 Toyota
Certified Used Vehicles team expected to have a strong
finish this year. They matched their 2007 performance with
another fourth-place run in the fifth race of the season.
Benson and his TCUV team took little time to get running
up to par in practice Friday morning. Crew chief Trip
Bruce and team made many changes to their Toyota Tundra
in order to get it running strong. Benson was 10th on
the speed chart by the end of the first practice
session. During the final practice session, Benson and
crew ended up 12th on the speed chart. They were poised
and ready for the race Saturday.
Benson made his qualifying attempt near the end of the
qualifying order and mustered all he could out of his
Tundra. He qualified in the 25th position for the start
of the race.
After the 167-lap race began Saturday night, Benson
immediately reported to his TCUV team that the handling
of his Tundra was very tight. However, Benson was able
to pass other trucks and soon advanced to the 17th
position. The first caution of the race began on
lap 25, and
Benson and his team took advantage of the caution to
make a pit stop. The crew made trackbar and air
pressure adjustments during the four-tire stop. Benson
restarted 14th on lap 31.
Driving hard and running strong, Benson soon broke into
the top-10, where he remained until the next caution on
lap 51. He pitted for four tires, fuel and a rubber in
the right rear.
Within a few laps, Benson told his crew that he thought
the rubber hurt the truck’s handling, because his TCUV
Tundra was pushing. Again, Benson did not let the
handling issues hinder his progress, and he soon was
engaged in a battle for the lead. Benson took the lead
under caution on lap 74, but he soon dived down pit road
for fuel and a trackbar adjustment. He restarted in
22nd position on lap 78.
Benson soon re-entered the top 10 and remained there for
the next few laps before the eighth caution of the race.
He visited pit road for more track bar and air pressure
adjustments in addition to four tires and fuel. The
TCUV crew’s fast work propelled Benson to the eighth
position for the lap 112 restart.
Benson’s truck finally handled to his liking, and the
veteran driver fought through a tough field to get to
the front of the pack. Benson finished fourth and
vaulted himself to the fifth position in the NASCAR
Craftsman Truck Series Championship point standings.
With Benson's great
finish, all three Bill Davis Racing's Toyota Tundra's
finished in the top-10 for just the second time in
history.
Benson and the rest of the Craftsman Truck Series will
head to Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., in a few
weeks. The race will be televised live Friday, May 16
on the Speed Channel.
Hornaday Wins In Kansas
Johnny
Finishes 4th
Defending series champion Ron Hornaday Jr. scored an utterly
dominating victory from the pole in Saturday night's
O'Reilly Auto Parts 250 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race
at Kansas Speedway.
Hornaday's
Camping World No. 33 Chevrolet Silverado survived a record
number of cautions to best his KHI teammate Jack Sprague,
who finished second in his No. 2 American Commercial Lines
Chevy, ahead of the No. 6 Con-way Freight Ford F-150 of
rookie Colin Braun, who finished a career-best third. Johnny
Benson was fourth in his Toyota.
Johnny Benson
Bill Davis Racing Event Preview
Race/Date:
O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 – April 26, 2008
Location:
Kansas Speedway – Kansas City, Kan.
NOTES:
-
This
week’s race truck
for the event at the Kansas Speedway is
Chassis No. 23-73.
This is the same truck Benson ran at Atlanta Speedway
earlier this year.
-
On Board… TCUV will once
again sponsor Benson’s truck during Saturday’s race.
-
Autographs Anyone… Benson,
along with numerous other Craftsman Truck Series
drivers, will participate in an autograph session at
the Legends Mall (across from the speedway) on April
24th starting at 5:30 p.m. CST.
-
New Teammate… Scott Speed
will join the ever-so-popular BDR truck-trio starting
this weekend at the Kansas Speedway. Speed will
remain in the truck throughout the year at a select
number of events.
-
Off-time… During the last
three weeks, Benson spent some time at his hometown
racetrack in Berlin, Mich. testing his Late Model car
and spending time with his family.
-
Listen and watch … The
O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 is scheduled to start at 5
p.m. CST Saturday, April 26. It will broadcast live
on SPEED (TV), MRN (radio) and Sirius Satellite Radio
(Ch. 128).