"So that's a fair amount of points we lost," Benson said in a phone interview this week. "That said, our performance has always been there all year. We feel very confident how the season is going at this point. We're happy with our performance, but probably not happy with only one win."

Benson, who drives the No. 23 Toyota Tundra for Bill Davis Racing, got that lone victory at a track where he feels extremely comfortable and confident. He started from the pole and led three times for a race-high 130 laps in the 200-lap Milwaukee race. The team combated weather and tire problems en route to the victory.

In what has been an ultra-competitive Craftsman Truck season, with nine different winners in 11 races, Benson feels fortunate to be atop the standings. He has a 50-point lead over second-place Todd Bodine.   "I think its a huge plus to be leading the points right now, for sure," Benson said. "That's what our goal is -- to win the championship.  We've been consistently fast, and that's really what you have to ask for -- to be fast. And then just make sure things play out the way you want them to play out as the race goes."

Still, Benson said he does not feel overly confident. While he feels good about the team's progress, he is not ready to say he's the driver to beat.   "We need to improve, but we don't have to improve much. We are way ahead of where we were last year, when we had to fight our way back," said Benson, who finished third in the points race last year and second in 2006.

Benson has competed in all three of NASCAR's top national series, including Cup and Nationwide. He won the then-Busch series title in 1995. He enjoys the Craftsman Truck series competition and the luxury it provides in terms of time. It's a significantly shorter schedule than the Cup series, and the races are typically on Friday or Saturday.

"It's a cool series," Benson said. "NASCAR has done a tremendous job with it, and I hope it continues to grow. One thing, though: As the television ratings continue to go up, the purses need to go up. I hope that's a consideration -- to get the teams more money."

Although Benson no longer lives in Michigan, he does own Berlin Raceway in Marne, where he used to race. He currently is building a super modified that he intends to race at the track in August.   "Right now, building the super modified is taking up all my time," Benson said. "I'm looking forward to racing up there later in the season."

Truck points race bunched at top
By:  Craig Wack - Memphis Appeal
With his win in Milwaukee last week, Johnny Benson accomplished a rare feat for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series this season -- he stayed on top of the series points for consecutive weeks.

Only Benson, Kyle Busch and Ron Hornaday have managed to hold on to the points lead for consecutive weeks this season, as the top spot (and most of the rest of the top 10) has been shaken and stirred on an almost weekly basis

"The points battle has always been pretty crazy and always will be until the end of the season at Homestead," Benson said. "I don't foresee anything changing between now and then. The big thing for us is that we're in better shape this year than the last two years, when we've had to play a little bit of catch-up through this part of the season in trying to make the bid for the championship.  The big thing is going to be to maintain what we've got to make a challenge at the end of the season."

Last year at this point in the season, two drivers, Mike Skinner and eventual series champion Ron Hornaday, were within 200 points of the lead. Heading into Saturday's O'Reilly 200 at Memphis Motorsports Park, nine drivers are within that 200-point envelope.

"We've got to make sure we get through there with no problems because at a track like Memphis, anything can happen," Benson said. "We've run good there in the past, but have never been a threat to win the race. Our goal is to run consistent and try to get that top five (finish)."

Such a tight points battle decreases the margin for error significantly. Just ask Rick Crawford, who is fifth in points and had a good run going in Milwaukee until one little slip-up cost him dearly.  "We had a chance to win at Milwaukee, and I said before the race that the winner would be the one who makes no mistakes," he said. "We coulda, woulda and shoulda won the race, but we got penalized on pit road because I was caught speeding on pit road. And I feel like that cost us the race. In this series in order to win, you must have a perfect race, and that carries through, week in and week out."

The pressure extends to the teams and crew chiefs. The average truck series race is about half as long as a Sprint Cup race, which means fewer chances to make adjustments. Being good off the hauler is crucial.  "Races are really won and lost at the shop. The preparation that goes into the trucks so that they are pretty much close to what you need when you unload them," Crawford said. "You've got two hours of practice to fine-tune and hope you have a good race piece for a 200-lap race."

Even then, to contend for the title, the margin for what is considered a good day is narrow as well.  "Top 10s aren't going to cut it. You aren't going to win the championship if you run in the top 10. You'd better focus on top fives and wins. The finish in Michigan and the win in Milwaukee were huge for us in two different ways. One, to get in victory lane and, two, to maintain some points. It's going to be a difficult challenge, but I think we're up to the task."

Hornaday, who has won three series championships, agrees.  "It's been coming down to hard racing, and it's always come down to tough trucks and tough drivers," said Hornaday, who's currently fourth in points. "For us right now a tough day is a top 10 and a good day is a top five or a win. If you don't keep getting those top fives you might as well throw your championship (hopes) away. We've just got to keep doing our job. Look out for the guys who are gunning for us and keep our nose clean.  I don't know what's going on this year, but I've never been taken out so many times in one season. We've got half the year to go and we'll keep going."

Benson said a big reason why the teams are so packed together in the standings is that no one has been immune from a rough patch or two, which could make for an exciting stretch run.  "We've already had our fair share of problems this year, so I'm hoping it's over, but I know it's not gonna be. The last two seasons, the points champion had almost zero problems the whole season. This year all of us who've been at the front have all had problems," he said. "Based on what happened to us at Martinsville, Atlanta and Charlotte, we're just glad we're near the front, because I was as far back as ninth or 10. As long as we keep everyone in sight, it doesn't matter if you're first, second or third -- as long as at the end of the season you've got the opportunity to win it."

So far this season, Benson’s most has been more than enough in the Craftsman Truck Series.  And unimposing as his method might be, his results speak volumes

With one win, two poles, six top-fives and eight top-10 finishes in 11 races, Benson has been the series’ most consistent driver in his Bill Davis Racing Toyota.

Coming off a dominant victory in last Friday’s race at The Milwaukee Mile and a second-place finish at Michigan six days earlier, Benson boasts a 50-point lead in the truck standings over second-place Todd Bodine.

That may be particularly bad news for the competition, considering that all 10 of Benson’s career truck wins since joining the series in 2004 have come after June 16.  “It always just seems that the hotter it gets, the better our race team is,” Benson says.  Hot or cold. Superspeedway or short track. Good starting spot or bad starting spot. Such particulars have impeded Benson’s progress little on race days in 2008.

He’s been stout at just about every stop on the truck tour, beginning with a third-place finish in the season-opener at Daytona. Were it not for being spun by Kyle Busch while running second going into the final turn at Martinsville in March and being penalized by NASCAR for jumping a late restart while running second at Charlotte in May, Benson might be far enough ahead in the standings to almost coast to his first series crown.

But that’s not the case. That the circumstances that kept Benson from finishing better at Martinsville and Charlotte were seemingly out of his control is of little consolation to him.  “I think you get heartburn no matter how you look at it,” Benson says. “If some of the stuff’s within your control and something happens, it’s going to give you a little heartburn. If it’s in somebody else’s hands and a situation like that, it’s still going to give you heartburn. It doesn’t matter. We need to just move past it.”

Tight championship battles are nothing new to Benson.  The Grand Rapids, Mich., native lost the truck title by 127 points to Bodine in 2006 and finished third last season behind Ron Hornaday and Bill Davis Racing teammate Mike Skinner.  Benson won a combined nine races over the two seasons but lacked the consistency to win the title.

“The main thing that we’ve got to do this year is not beat ourselves,” says Davis, noting that Benson experienced two or three mechanical failures the season he placed second in points. “We can’t have mechanical failures, we can’t have issues that are not out of our control. If Kyle Busch runs over you in the fourth turn, you can’t control that, but you can’t beat yourself with mechanical issues or bad pit stops. That’s going to be the key, I think.”

History has taught Benson – the truck series’ most popular driver the past two seasons - that there is little room for error when it comes to running for a championship.  “It’s been pretty known that the guys that end up winning this deal basically have no problems the whole season,” he says. “So for us to be in the position that we’re in right now is pretty spectacular."

For Benson, a truck title would be a nice addition to his racing resume. A former full-time competitor in what are now the Nationwide and Sprint Cup series, the 44-year-old has tasted success on all three of NASCAR’s national touring circuits.

He won a title in what is now the Nationwide Series in 1995 and earned Cup rookie-of-the year honors the following season. Benson claimed his first and only Cup victory at the old Rockingham, N.C., track in 2002.

He is also one of a small group of drivers to win at least one race and one pole in each of NASCAR’s top three divisions.  But a truck championship has eluded him.  “I think it would be another big notch in his belt so to speak,” says Davis, who hired Benson in the middle of the 2004 season after Benson was released from his ride with Phoenix Racing in what is now the Nationwide Series.

“Certainly, he’s a championship-level driver. He’s proven that, and he’s knocked on the door in the truck series, so hopefully he’s going to drive that truck for several more years. But it would be nice to have that championship and to have won two of the three major series. That would be obviously something to be real proud of.”

Benson can also take pride in the fact that his success this season has come against arguably some of the fiercest competition in the truck series’ 14-year history.

In the first 11 races of the 2008 campaign, nine different drivers have gone to victory lane, including three first-time winners.  “It’s gotten tougher and tougher every year that I’ve been here,” Benson says. “We keep trying to make our program better and better, but a lot of other people are taking as big of leaps and bounds as we have, and some of the teams have even gotten better and better. It’s definitely competitive, but that’s what I like about it.”

Benson says he plans to return to BDR next season in a truck but would consider running Cup or Nationwide races for the team, or another team, should the right opportunity arise.  Benson tried and failed to qualify for the Cup race at Atlanta in a second BDR car in March. He has tested cars for Joe Gibbs Racing’s Nationwide Series program this season as well.

But for the time being his focus remains on the truck series – and snaring the title that has previously slipped through his grasp.  “We’ve run second, we’ve run third, so we’ve been close,” he said. “We feel as a race team we’re capable of doing it, but by the same token everything’s got to go the right way, things have got to go your way, and we’ve just got to be there at the end of the season when it counts.”

Johnny Benson, driver of the No. 23 Toyota Toyota Tundra for Bill Davis Racing has teamed up with the International Brangus Breeders Association (IBBA) for this weekend’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Ohio 250 at Mansfield (Ohio) Motorsports Park and the Sam’s Town 400 at Texas Motor Speedway in two weeks.

“We are excited about IBBA joining Johnny’s team this weekend,” said Team Owner Bill Davis.  “The IBBA is the best breeding association in the country, and we couldn’t be more pleased that they are teaming up with us to promote their new OptimaxX Program.”

Brangus, the No. 1 American cattle breed, has an unsurpassed combination of Angus quality and Brahman hardiness, which sets it apart for the rest.  The blend of selected cattle from the two parent breeds results in a breed that better combines efficiency of production and excellence of end product than any other breed, new or old.

“The International Brangus Breeders Association is obviously excited about the opportunity to highlight the OptimaxX program through Bill Davis Racing and the number 23 truck driven by Johnny Benson in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series,” said Jeff Diles, IBBA Director of Commercial Marketing Programs. “This kind of exposure is certainly a first for Brangus, but it fits very well with our goal of moving quickly to the forefront of the beef industry with innovative programs and services for the US commercial beef producer.”

The OptimaxX program, recently launched by the International Brangus Breeders Association, represents a new source of quality feeder cattle that can help beef processors and retailers meet consumer demands in the US and abroad for safe, wholesome, and traceable beef products.

An OptimaxX calf is USDA Process Verified for ranch of origin, age, and Brangus breeding. These calves are easily identified by the bright yellow OptimaxX tag bearing the USDA Process Verified shield.

“Obviously the IBBA does not normally see this type of extreme exposure,” said Dr. Joe Massey.  “We are normally not exposed to this type of crowd, so you can imagine how excited we are about this opportunity.  Brangus has had extreme resurgence the last three years, therefore we are thrilled about this weekend.”

The American Breeders Association was founded in 1949; however, much of its early work with the cattle started in 1912.  IBBA now has members in nearly every U.S. state, Canada, Mexico, Australia, Central America, South America and Africa.

The race details can be found in the June newsletter … As you know there were a lot of unhappy drivers after the race. I tried to hear the conversation between the #33 and the #51 as I was making my way through the garage area, but I felt a tug at my sleeve as my dad was pulling me along to the #23 truck.

Since I was parked in the infield, I decided to leave - only to be sent in a direction on a road where I did not know where I was going. Good thing for cell phones and a brother who would answer!  

On to Mansfield ….

This is the 3^rd year that we have made the trip to Mansfield. How many people do you know that drive 5 hours to their destination - watch the race and then pile back in the car for another 5 hours!  Makes for a long day to say the least.

The good news is that the weather was awesome. Plus we were so excited on the way down since JB earned the pole position. It was a girls day outing - my mom, Bonnie, Glenda and myself got on the road by 5:00 am. Made one stop in Ann Arbor for breakfast and at the track by 10:30 a.m.

By the time we arrived, the traffic was a little snarled in the direction we needed to go in order to get to credentials. Gridlocked. The girls thought that Mansfield was a fan friendly track. There were a lot of food vendors, even one for ice tea. If you did not want to wait in line, you could go to a vending machine. The bathroom facilities were nice too. It was nice to see all the fans support this event.

JB was just getting back to the transporter from the driver’s meeting which was held between turns 3 - 4. The fans got a glimpse of what happens in a driver’s meeting. The guys on the crew are going to the #22 transporter to grab their lunch. Their scorer handles all the food duties for the BDR teams.

Once the guys were standing around, I decided to spring on my suggestion. Since there was confusion over the Charlotte officiating, I thought that the top ten drivers in points should have the most experienced officials working in their pit area. Of course, they thought that was funny - and it would not work since it would show favoritism. Oh, well - I thought it was a great idea.

Mark let me know that after the Mansfield race he was heading to Indy. He was going to be spotting for Townsend Bell in the 3^rd turn on Sunday. How exciting for him!

On my way down to the infield, I noticed Kaye Schragg in the grandstands with her JB gear on. She makes it to this race every year!