DOVER 

Tire Problems at Dover
By:  Red Horse Racing
Johnny Benson and his Red Horse Racing team knew the high-banked, concrete track dubbed the “Monster Mile” would be tough to tame but they felt prepared to make it happen. Benson was right on track when he took the lead on 51 and held it for 23 laps. Tire issues plagued the AAA Insurance 200 and Benson fell victim himself on lap 131 with a blown right front tire. The force tore apart the right front fender and also caused damage to the engine. Benson worked hard to make up the ground he lost but the engine problems slowed his #1 machine and he was unable to run competitive lap times. Benson and the team were relegated to a 20^th place finish. Benson also took a hit in the points. He fell from seventh to 10^th in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver point standings.  

When the #1 Red Horse Racing team unloaded at Dover International Speedway, they were fast from the first lap. After two practice sessions on Thursday, Benson felt confident this truck could take him to Victory Lane. Benson was able to qualify seventh despite rainy conditions that persisted all day on Saturday. Just after the command to start the engines for the race, thunderstorms moved into the area and soaked the racetrack. The race was postponed until the following evening.  

When the green flag finally flew at the Monster Mile on Saturday evening, Johnny Benson wasted no time working his way to the front. In just two laps, he had taken over the sixth position. An early caution on lap two and another on lap seven gave Benson the chance to tell his crew that the truck was just a little tight on the exits of the corners. Just seven laps later, he radioed the crew again to say that the tires were starting to come in and the truck’s condition was much better.  

The caution flag flew on lap 33 and Benson told crew chief Trip Bruce that a minor air pressure adjustment would do the trick. Bruce called his driver to pit road on lap 35 for four fresh tires and the air pressure adjustment they had discussed. Several of the leaders stayed out so Benson restarted 14^th.

After inspecting the tires that had just come off of the truck, Bruce told Benson the right rear tire was showing signs of wear.  On lap 45 NASCAR threw a competition caution so the teams could check their tire wear. Bruce opted to bring Benson to pit road under that caution to take fuel and a track bar adjustment only. Most of the other competitors took tires and fuel so this strategy put Benson in the lead for the restart.   

Bruce told his driver to be smooth and take care of his tires despite having to hold off hard charging competitors behind him. Benson was conservative but still held the lead for 23 laps. Another caution came out on lap 76 for an accident. When pit road opened on lap 81, Benson came in for four tires. He returned on the following lap for fuel and a wedge adjustment. He restarted seventh.  

During the next green flag run, Bruce told his driver that he was running really good laps times and was faster than anyone around him. Benson reported that the truck had been better on the previous run and wanted to reverse the adjustment the team had made on the last stop. The #1 Red Horse Racing machine returned to pit road under caution on lap 102 to reverse the previous wedge adjustment and fill up with fuel.  

Benson restarted second and maintained his position in the top-five while taking care of his tires. After seeing several other competitors blow tires, Benson fell victim himself on lap 131. The right front tire on the #1 Tundra blew out and tire debris flew on the track. Benson was headed to pit road when NASCAR threw the caution flag for debris. The team put four fresh tires on Benson’s Toyota and tried to repair the right front fender damage. Benson returned the following lap to work on the fender damage and take fuel. He restarted 19^th, one lap down.  

A quick caution on lap 142 gave Benson the “Lucky Dog” and he got back on the lead lap. Bruce took the opportunity to pit and work a little more on the fender damage. Just a few laps after the restart Benson began reporting a vibration in his truck. He eventually lost a lap to the leaders and was once again a lap down. When the caution came out on lap 183, Bruce called Benson back to pit road for new right side tires. The driver reported losing RPM’s and the vibration getting worse. The crew opened the hood to diagnose the problem but could not immediately see anything wrong with the engine. Benson’s lap times were getting slower and he reported that the throttle would not run wide open anymore.   

When he could not pick up anymore positions on the track, Benson brought his wounded Toyota back to the garage just a few laps before the end of the race. The team looked over the engine and discovered that the throttle stop had been moved with the force of the right front tire blowing so it would not run wide open anymore. Benson had to settle for a 20^th place finish at the “Monster Mile.”  

“We’re obviously disappointed with the race today,” Benson said after the race. “We had a good truck and it was running great until we blew that right front tire. We knew tires were going to be an issue today and we just didn’t have as many sets as we needed to keep them from wearing out. That’s two disappointing weeks for us in a row but we are headed to Texas this week and we’ll turn it around there.”  

The NASCAR Camping World Series will head to Dallas, Texas this week. The WinStar World Casino 400 at Texas Motor Speedway is scheduled for Friday evening, June 5th. It will be televised on Speed at 9:00 p.m. EST.

Final Practice at Dover
By:  Red Horse Racing

Johnny Benson's #1 Toyota Tundra is ready to tame the "Monster Mile." After two practice sessions on Thursday afternoon at Dover International Speedway, Benson was third quick and feels pretty good about his chances for a win in the AAA Insurance 200.

After running the first handful of laps in the first practice, Benson told the crew that his #1 Toyota Tundra was in good shape. The team used the rest of the practice as a pseudo test session; making changes to see how the truck would react. He finished the first practice in the 14th position after running 21 laps.

The final practice session started just thirty minutes later and lasted another hour and fifteen minutes. Benson told the team that his machine "drives really good." The team continued to make small adjustments to see what would help the truck and what would hurt it. With just thirty minutes remaining, the team geared up to make two mock qualifying runs to see how they would stack up against the competition in qualifying. After the crew cooled down the engine, Benson headed out for the first of his two mock runs. He landed fifth on the board. After hitting pit road to cool down the engine again, Benson returned to the track for the second of his mock runs in the final minutes of final practice. That run put him third on the speed sheet. Benson ended final practice in the third position and feeling confident he could drive this truck to Victory Lane  Friday evening.

Mike Skinner was fastest in final practice with Ron Hornaday Jr., Johnny Benson, Todd Bodine and Kyle Busch rounding out the top-five. Red Horse Racing teammate T.J. Bell was 16th quick.  

Benson will be the 15th truck to take time in Friday morning's qualifying session. It will begin at 10:10am. The AAA Insurance 200 starts at 5:00pm but will be tape delayed and televised on SPEED Channel at 8:00pm EST.

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Strong at Dover…The AAA Insurance 200 will mark Johnny Benson’s fifth Camping World Truck Series start at Dover International Speedway. Benson has earned three top-10 starts and three top-10 finishes at Dover. Benson already knows his way to Victory Lane at the “Monster Mile;” he earned his first NASCAR Nationwide Series win there in 1994. 

·     Championship still in sight….Benson and his Red Horse Racing team suffered a minor set-back in their run for back-to- back championships during the last event at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. After clawing their way to the fifth spot in points, the #1 Toyota Tundra suffered damage after trying to avoid an accident early in the race. The damage resulted in a 23^rd place finish and a loss of two positions in the NASCAR Camping World Series driver point standings. Benson will start the AAA Insurance 200 in the seventh position in the point standings; 187 points behind the leader. The team is dedicated to getting those spots back with a solid performance at Dover International Speedway. 

·     Benson Sizzles in Summer…Johnny Benson is one of the most consistent drivers in the garage area but he has yet to win a race in the series before the summer heat sizzles. In 2006, his first win came at Michigan in race 10 of the season on June 17^th. In 2007 and 2008, it was Milwaukee before Benson took the checkered flag in race 11 on June 22^nd and June 20^th respectively. He’s hoping this year he can reach Victory Lane before June but he has only one chance left to make it happen-this weekend at Dover International Speedway.  

Johnny Benson on racing at Dover International Speedway
“I really like racing at Dover because I have always run good there and I really enjoy the side-by-side racing. It’s a multi-groove, racey racetrack. I won my first Nationwide Series race at Dover but haven’t been able to win in the truck series yet. Hopefully we can change that this Friday night.”