Memphis
 

Johnny Benson and the No. 23 Toyota Tundra team headed to Memphis Motorsports Park knowing they needed to have a strong run in order to retain the lead in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship standings.  

The team immediately had of the fastest trucks on the track during practice.  Benson and crew chief Trip Bruce made minor adjustments to the truck, trying to fine tune it for the race.  Benson commented that the truck was really good both into and off the corners.  By the end of practice, the team thought it had a shot to contend for the win Saturday night. 

Benson’s qualifying attempt came mid-session.  The No. 23 team captured the pole last week in Milwaukee and hoped for a repeat at the .75 mile tri-oval.  Benson’s time of 29.837 seconds put him on the pole for the 200-lap event.  It was the team’s third pole of the 2008 season and fifth pole of Benson’s career. 

Benson led the 36-truck field to the green flag and immediately put distance between himself and the rest of the field.  By lap 30, he and Ron Hornaday had a two-second lead over the rest of the field.  Benson called into his crew and reported that the tires were starting to go away, which was causing him to slide the truck at both ends of the track.  Bruce planned the changes he would make to the No. 23 Bill Davis Racing Toyota Tundra during the first pit stop of the night. 

Bruce’s changes included an air pressure adjustment, which was to fix the loose handling condition Benson was feeling.  The No. 23 team made that change during a four-tire stop under caution on lap 53.  He restarted eighth on lap 57.  Benson carefully headed to the front, and by lap 77, he was again battling Hornaday for the lead. 

The caution flag waved on lap 77 for an incident in turn two.  Benson remained on the track and sat second when the race restarted on lap 82.  Unfortunately, as Benson shifted from second to third gear, the truck slowed, and Benson knew something was terribly wrong.  He reported the horrible news to his crew:  the motor expired.  The No. 23 team was credited with a 33rd-place finish.  

The No. 23 Toyota Tundra team gets a well-deserved week off before returning to competition at Kentucky Speedway July 12.  The race can be seen live on the Speed Channel.  Check local listings for start times. 
 

NOTES:

·         This week’s race truck for Memphis Motorsports Park is Chassis No. 23-121.  Chassis No. 23-121 has seen action in 2008 at both Martinsville (Va.) Speedway and Mansfield (Ohio) Motorsports Park.

 Your Points Leader…  The No. 23 Bill Davis Racing Toyota Tundra team’s first win of the season at The Milwaukee Mile Friday night helped pad the team’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship point lead.  The team sits 50 points in front of fellow Toyota driver Todd Bodine.
 

·         Birthday Boy…  Johnny Benson will celebrate his birthday Friday, June 27.  He and teammates Mike Skinner and Michael Annett all have birthdays during the week of June 22.  All three birthday boys will celebrate in the infield media center at 4:30 p.m. CDT, Friday, June 27.

BDR’s Got Three…  All three Bill Davis Racing entries took the checkered flag in the top 10 Friday night at The Milwaukee Mile.  This is the second time in as many weeks that all three BDR Toyota Tundra entries finished in the top 10.

Three in a Row…  The No. 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicle team captured its third consecutive victory at The Milwaukee Mile Friday night.

·         
Cow Mobile… The Brangus Breeders Association logo will again adorn the sides of the No. 23 truck Saturday night.  It will be the third time this season that the Brangus Breeders Association has sponsored the No. 23 Toyota Tundra

·         
Listen and Watch … The O’Reilly 200 is scheduled to start at 9 p.m. ET Saturday, June 28.  It will broadcast on SPEED (TV), MRN (radio) and Sirius Satellite Radio (Ch. 128).  


Johnny Benson on racing at The Memphis Motorsports Park:
“We need to be decent in both corners, but we really need to be able to pass coming out of turn four.  If you can keep your truck low enough and get enough bite in it coming off the corner, you are usually in pretty good shape.  Memphis is a fun place to visit, and we feel like we have learned a lot about our short track program since the end of 2007.  We are certainly looking forward to this weekend.

We do not take a different mindset to the track each week even though we are leading the points.  We do not run our races any different.  We do not come to the track looking just to gain points.  We said at the beginning of the season our goal was to finish in the top five week in and week out, and we are doing that.   We can not make any mistakes.  If we do our homework, we’ll get the chance to battle for the championship.”