Martinsville - Finished 4th

The #1 Red Horse Racing team worked hard to tweak its truck during two practice sessions; one of which was ended after only 20 minutes due to rain. The minimal practice time didn’t faze Benson; he qualified his #1 Toyota Tundra in the third spot for the Kroger 250. Just as qualifying ended, rain showers moved into the area and persisted long after the scheduled start of the race. It was postponed for noon on Monday.  

By Monday morning the #1 Red Horse Racing team was anxious to get the short-track action started. When the green flag dropped, shortly after noon, Benson wasted no time improving his position. By the completion of lap one, he was in the second spot. When the caution came out on lap 13, Benson radioed the crew that the truck was really good but that passing was going to be difficult.

He worked on the back bumper of the leader until the third place truck of Ron Hornaday got into the back of Benson and turned him around on lap 48 and the caution came out. Benson spun up the race track but did not make contact with anything. The truck was fine; the only damage done was the loss of track position. Benson restarted seventh but quickly gained the sixth position. He told the crew he was starting to feel a tight condition on lap 53 and crew chief Trip Bruce formed a plan for changes on the first pit stop. 

When the caution came out on lap 63 Bruce called his driver to pit road for four fresh tires. Since not everyone opted to pit, Benson restarted 27^th.  Fighting a tight condition that was only getting worse, he was still able to gain positions, working his way up to 20^th by lap 90. The caution flag came out again on lap 92 and Bruce called Benson to pit road to top off with fuel since they did not take fuel on the first stop for tires. He also called for a track bar adjustment to help the tight condition. Benson gained back his track position on that stop and restarted 10^th. 

During the next 60 laps, Benson worked his way up to the fourth spot by being patient and taking care of his truck. He reported that the tires were starting to go away on lap 150 but did not want to pit because he would have to give up his track position. Benson knew he could finish the race with the tires and fuel he had but he would have to be a little conservative so the tires would hold up.

On lap 174 Benson told the team that he was lacking side bite. He slipped back one position and was running fifth. Watching the leaders battle hard each lap, he was in the perfect position to inherit the lead. Showing a combination of patience and determination, Benson held his own and reached the fourth spot before the checkered flag waved. He picked up his first top-five of the season for the #1 Red Horse Racing team. 

The NASCAR Camping World Series heads to Kansas City, Kansas in four weeks. The O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 at Kansas Speedway is scheduled for Saturday afternoon, April 25th. It will be televised on Speed at 5:30 p.m. EST.

Johnny's Comments
By:  Toyota Motorsports

JOHNNY BENSON, No. 1 Red Horse Racing Toyota Tundra, Red Horse Racing.  Finishing Position: 4th

Can you talk about the early incident with Ron Hornaday Jr.?
"I knew it was tight and I knew I was holding (Hornaday) tight. I didn't expect to get spun out. I was holding him tight and that stuff just happens. It didn't damage the vehicle or anything like that. It just got our door -- just good hard racing. You're never happy about it, but I know he didn't do it on purpose. He did it in normal Hornaday-style. I'm saying that laughingly, but I was holding him tight. I definitely held him tight, and it probably didn't give him enough room to work with. He came over and said, 'Sorry.' I know he didn't do it on purpose. It is just part of the sport."

Does it help the championship picture that Kevin Harvick beat Ron Hornaday Jr.?
"It doesn't matter. Go race, and that's what they're here for and that's what we're here for. You have to beat your teammates. You have to race to win, and that's what you're here for. If you look at it, yeah, then it's a positive, but it would've been worse if (Harvick) pulled over and let (Hornaday) by. They're out there racing and doing what they're supposed to do. It's all good."

Martinsville Preview
The Kroger 250 will mark Johnny Benson’s 12^th Camping World Truck Series start at Martinsville Speedway.  In 11 previous races, he has earned one win, three top-five and five top-10 finishes. He has logged 2222 laps around Martinsville’s tight corners including 46 laps led. Benson also has a total of 30 starts at Martinsville Speedway in Sprint Cup, Nationwide, and Camping World Series competition.  

When the Camping World Truck Series last visited Martinsville Speedway, Benson earned his first win at the Virginia “paperclip” shaped short track. That win gave Benson and his team the momentum they needed in a tight points battle until the very end when Benson was crowned the 2008 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Champion.

 Benson and the #1 Red Horse Racing team plan to carry the momentum from their first top-10 finish of the season two weeks ago on the sweeping corners of Atlanta to the tight turns of Martinsville Speedway. Bringing home a ninth place finish at Atlanta moved Benson up seven spots in the driver point standings; he now sits it the 12^th position.