December News

Benson Aches to Return to Competition
By:  Joe Menzer - Nascar.com
It was a rough 2009 for driver Johnny Benson, who began the year trying to defend his championship in the Camping World Truck Series.

That became impossible during a span of less than a week in June. First, it was announced that funding had run out for the No. 1 Toyota he had been running for Red Horse Racing, so the defending champ suddenly had no ride with which to defend his 2008 championship.

As shocking as that news was, it got worse for Benson five days later when he was involved in a horrific wreck during a Super Modified race at Berlin Raceway in Marne, Mich. On just the second lap of the event, Benson's machine collided with another vehicle in between Turns 3 and 4, bounced off the wall after hitting driver's-side first, then burst into flames.

Benson was hospitalized afterward, suffering a broken collarbone, separated shoulder, three broken ribs, bruised lungs, a fractured wrist and third-degree burns on one elbow. He eventually had to undergo two surgeries -- one to repair his shoulder and collarbone, and one to deal with the major burns he suffered.

Amazingly, though, Benson said he never feared that his racing career might be over at age 46. He still hopes to get back into a Camping World Series truck full time for the 2010 season, and currently is working for and with the new Kyle Busch Motorsports operation to make that happen.

"It's funny because it's the first surgery I've ever had -- and there was a lot of stuff that went wrong [and had to be fixed]," Benson said recently. "I know how to fix race cars; these guys [at Kyle Busch Motorsports] all know how to work on and fix race cars. When you wreck one bad enough, you either save it or you don't.

"Well, on yourself, there is only one way to do it: you have to save it, obviously. It's just amazing what the doctors can do and what they can fix -- and really, within the matter of a couple of months, get you right back to where you were."

Benson's shoulder surgery was performed by Dr. Jonathan Paul, a respected orthopedic surgeon and sports-medicine specialist based in Charlotte, N.C. Benson said he has received a clean bill of health to race again in 2010.

"The last month or so has been a big surprise even to myself," Benson said. "I had to figure out the stuff that I can and can't do. I even split about eight barrels full of firewood just before Thanksgiving -- so that pretty much answered it for myself as far as if I would be ready or not."

That didn't happen because sponsorship has yet to be secured for what would be a third KBM truck driven by Benson. Busch already has plans to run two other trucks full time -- the No. 56 Toyota to be driven by Tayler Malsam and the No. 18 that will be driven both by Busch and Brian Ickler.

"I'd love to get Johnny Benson in a truck, man," Busch said. "I'm trying so hard to get Johnny in a truck ride because that guy needs to be in the series. Winning a championship and then falling out of a ride last year due to funding, I mean that just sucks."

Until the sponsorship money comes together -- and there are no guarantees in this economy that it will even for a former champion -- Busch and Benson are in agreement that the veteran driver can fulfill a high purpose at KBM as a mentor to Malsam and Ickler, a pair of young but promising drivers. Malsam is just 20, less than half Benson's age; Ickler is only 24.  "I hope Johnny will still stick around with us and help me with the young drivers, help bring them along and be a part of the program," Busch said.

Benson confirmed that he not only is willing to do so, but sounded fired up about it.  "Kyle's going out on a limb, trying to get this deal going for me," Benson said. "We really thought we were going to announce it [this past Friday], but we had a couple of things that fell through so we couldn't.

"Now we hope to be able to do that before Daytona [in February]; and if not, I told him I would help the young guys as much as I can. There is not going to be all the time in the world that he's going to be able to let me do that. But I vow to put my two cents in whenever and wherever they would like me to, to help some of the young guys out."

What Benson really wants to do, of course, is drive a truck again. He said he's pleased to know that he's healthy enough to do so after the wreck at Berlin Raceway that landed him in a Grand Rapids, Mich., hospital, where he initially was listed in serious but stable condition.

"When you think of wrecks -- and that's obviously the worst wreck that I've had -- not being able to come back never crosses your mind as long as you've got doctors who say they're going to be able to put you back together again. Hey, I've got confidence in them," Benson said.

"To me, it's no different than your race team telling you they can get your truck fixed after a wreck. I mean, obviously it's different in some ways. But I've been pretty impressed. I was a little skeptical at the beginning, when they were talking about the surgeries and all the stuff that was going on. When they said how it was going to take three months out of your life to even begin getting back to where you can move yourself around, that was a little devastating.

"But it really wasn't as long to make that happen. Probably three months after the wreck, I could have gone out and tried to race. They just wanted to make sure I didn't go out and do any more damage to stuff they had just fixed. But I'm actually ready to go right now. Daytona is a little ways away, and I'll be in even better shape by then."

All he needs now is someone with deep pockets to believe in and back him.  "I wouldn't have agreed to come into this deal if I didn't think it was a great opportunity. I think it will be for these young guys -- and I think it will be for me to go and try to run for a championship, if we can make that happen with a third truck," Benson said.

"It's like anything else. Funding is what controls this sport. It didn't years ago, but it does now. And we know we've got just a little bit more to go to be able to make things happen. Hopefully we can do that by next month. Anything after that would make it awful tough to run for a championship, but not so much to try to run a limited deal."

Milwaukee Will Not Hold NASCAR Races in 2010
Johnny leads the NASCAR drivers with the most wins
The operators of the Milwaukee Mile announced Wednesday that the scheduled 2010 Nationwide and Camping World Truck series races will not be held at the track.

The track is operated by the Wisconsin State Fair Park Board, which has not been able to secure a promoter for the 2010 season. The Truck Series race was scheduled for June 18, with the Nationwide Series race scheduled for June 19 at the historic 1-mile oval, which opened in 1903.

NASCAR is looking at replacing those races on the schedule.  "We have learned that the promoter cannot meet the terms of their agreement," NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said in a statement. "NASCAR was aware of this possibility and we have been working on alternate opportunities on the 2010 schedule for both series and will announce those soon."

NASCAR's sanction had been with a group that the fair board had a letter of intent with to promote the races, but that deal fell through in early November.

"For the past seven years, the Wisconsin State Fair Park Board has been committed to maintaining and underwriting national racing at the historic Milwaukee Mile race track," the board said in a statement. "Since 2003, the Fair Park has subsidized race operations from $1 million to $3 million each year.

"This money has come from revenue generated by visitors to the State Fair and other events held at the Park. The Fair Park has invested these substantial amounts in an effort to keep two national race weekends at The Mile. However, even the profitable NASCAR race weekend does not generate sufficient revenue to cover the costs of the other races as well as promoter operating expenses. It saddens us to say there will not be a national race held at the Milwaukee Mile for the 2010 season."

The Fair Park Board has spent the last six months in negotiations with four potential promoters and reduced its licensing fee from $1.8 million in 2006 to a proposed $90,000 in 2010. The board stated that NASCAR even referred to the board a group that had extensive experience and knowledge of racing, but that group declined to move ahead with the contract because the margin for profitability was too thin.

"Any possibility for a profitable operation would be eliminated if the promoter accepted liability for future track improvements," the board stated. "While the Fair Park will continue to fund $1.5 million each year of track debt service, regardless of whether there is a national race, the Fair Park cannot take on the financial responsibility for additional track improvements."

The track will remain open for car clubs and driving schools with the hopes of securing NASCAR races in 2011, the board's statement said.  The Milwaukee Mile is the second track that was on the Nationwide and Truck series schedules that will not conduct races next year. Memphis Motorsports Park closed last month.

Looking for sponsorship to run full Truck season for Kyle Busch Motorsports
By:  Jared Turner - Scenedaily.com

                                        Photo By:  David Griffin

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Johnny Benson has spent the last several months on the sidelines healing from injuries suffered in a crash in a Supermodified race this past summer.
 
Benson walked away from the June 13 fiery accident at Berlin Speedway in Michigan with broken ribs, burns and a separated shoulder.  While the veteran Truck driver says he is fully recovered and ready to race again, his waiting continues. This time, he’s waiting on sponsorship to drive a third entry for the new Kyle Busch Motorsports team in 2010.
 
The team, which announced on Friday plans to field a pair of trucks next season, wants to do the same for Benson, but his status is far from settled. The 2008 series champion could potentially run a full season, a partial schedule or not at all, depending on when sponsorship is found.
 
“I think it’ll be a great opportunity if we could get something going to go run for a championship,” Benson said. “I think we can make that happen. It’s like anything else: Funding is what controls this sport today. It didn’t years ago, but it does now and we know that we’ve got just a little bit more to go to try to get things to happen, but hopefully we can make it happen here in the next month because after that, it’s going to be awful tough to run for a championship, but not so much to try to run the limited deal.”
 
His own driving plans aside, the 46-year-old Benson hopes to help with the KBM efforts of 20-year-old Tayler Malsam and 24-year-old Brian Ickler. Malsam will drive the full season in a No. 56 Toyota while Ickler will share driving duties with team owner Kyle Busch in a No. 18 truck. Neither Malsam nor Ickler has won in 38 combined starts in the series.
 
“I told Kyle, I said, ‘Look, I’m dedicated to helping you do whatever this team needs,’ whether it’s to help some of the young guys, to help when he’s not around,” Benson said. “I’ll be more than glad to do that. The ultimate goal is obviously to get in a truck and run for a championship, and hopefully we can still make that happen but if that isn’t the case, it would just be a partial deal to help some of the young guys.”
 
Benson may be the elder statesman at KBM in terms of drivers but he won’t be the only veteran in a key role. Rick Ren, who has guided Ron Hornaday to two championships the last three seasons at Kevin Harvick Inc., will serve as director of competition for the new team.
 
The 52-year-old Ren worked as a crew chief for Benson at Bill Davis Racing before his appointment at KHI.  “It means a lot to me to have Johnny a part of our team and help these young drivers along when I’m not there,” said Busch, who is 24. “And to have Tayler have the leadership of Johnny and for Brian to have the leadership of Johnny and, of course, Rick Ren, who has worked with Johnny Benson in the past, I feel like that could be a really dangerous combination.”
 
Busch said the team hoped to have sponsorship for Benson in time for Friday’s announcement and is optimistic it can get Benson’s situation squared away in time for the 2010 season opener at Daytona International Speedway.
 
Benson won the 2008 title with Bill Davis Racing, where he earned all 14 of his series wins, but that team sold after his championship season and he started 2009 with Red Horse Racing. That organization suspended operations of the No. 1 team because of sponsorship issues midseason. 

“I’d love to get Johnny Benson in a truck, man,” Busch said. “I am trying so hard to get Johnny Benson in a Truck ride because that guy needs to be in the series. After winning a championship and then falling out of a ride last year due to funding, I mean that just [stinks]. So I hope Johnny will still stick around with us and help me with the young drivers and help bring them along and be a part of the program.”
 
Benson opened 2009 with four top-10s in eight starts and was seventh in the standings at the time of his release from Red Horse. His Supermodified wreck came a week later.   Benson subsequently underwent two surgeries - one for burns, the other on his injured shoulder.
 
Not having an opportunity to contend for a second straight title was tough.  “I think that was probably the biggest disappointment last year,” Benson said. “Really in the scenario that we were in, I was closer to the championship lead at that point in the year than I was the year before that we won it. Yeah, that’s disappointing to have that happen, but those things will happen and I can’t control that part of it, so you just deal with the things that you’ve got to deal with at that point and time.”
 
Now, Benson is dealing with the uncertainty of when his new team will acquire the sponsorship for him to go race. So he finds himself in a familiar position – waiting.  “I’m not tired of waiting,” he said. “There’s so many things that have gone right for me throughout my career and there’s some that’s obviously gone bad, so I’m just contributing the best that we can and at the level that we can at this point in time.  I’m optimistic. Hopefully, somebody will come forward and get some things put together.”

Kyle Busch Motorsports to run Truck teams in 2010
Driving stable includes Ickler, Malsam; Benson possibly

Nationwide Series champion and full-time Sprint Cup driver Kyle Busch on Friday announced he would field at least two Toyota trucks in the 2010 Camping World Truck Series under the Kyle Busch Motorsports banner.

Busch will drive the No. 18 Miccosukee Resort & Gaming Toyota whenever the Camping World Truck Series runs in companion with the Sprint Cup Series. For the non-companion races, the No. 18 Tundra will be driven by 24-year-old Brian Ickler. Running the full schedule for KBM will be 20-year-old Tayler Malsam in the No. 56 Toyota Tundra.

Busch, who won seven 2009 Truck Series races for owner Billy Ballew, thanked another owner, James Finch, for facilitating the sponsorship from the Miccosukee Tribe of Florida for the No. 18 Toyota. That sponsor was on Busch's trucks fielded by Ballew for the past two seasons, when the pair won 10 races.

Busch said Miccosukee would be on his truck for the full 25-race schedule. Malsam's truck will have sponsorship from Talking Rain for an "undetermined number of races," Busch said, "with other opportunities available on that truck."

Former Truck Series champion Johnny Benson was at the announcement, at SPEED's studio, but Busch said sponsorship negotiations to put Benson in a third full-time truck couldn't be finalized in time for the conference. 

General manager Rick Ren, who led Ron Hornaday to two of the past three Truck Series championships at Kevin Harvick Inc., said the team was still working on hiring crew chiefs for the two trucks.

"Everyone knows how much I love to race, and the Camping World Truck Series is one of my favorite places to race, so to be a team owner in this series is a perfect match," said Busch, who has won 16 races the Truck Series and a combined 62 wins among NASCAR's top three divisions. "We started KBM two years ago with the Late Model program and this seemed like the next natural step. I'm also very pleased with our driver lineup -- having young and talented guys like Tayler Malsam and Brian Ickler."

Busch said "having the right people in place" would prevent him from being distracted from his Sprint Cup responsibilities with Joe GIbbs Racing. As key personnel, Busch cited Ren and motorsports veteran Emmett Byrd, who Busch hired from the former Xpress Motorsports to be his operations and marketing manager.

"Rick Ren is an important part of what we're trying to build at Kyle Busch Motorsports," Busch added. "Rick has won multiple championships as a crew chief and is the perfect person to lead this race team and build it into an organization capable of winning races and contending for championships. His record speaks for itself, and in order for me to take on a team ownership role in the Camping World Truck Series, it was important to have the right people in place to make this work. Having Rick on board is a great first step in that process. It's no secret how much I want to win as a driver, and I want to win as a team owner just as badly."

Busch recently purchased the assets of Xpress Motorsports, the Camping World Truck Series team that won in June at Dover and finished the 2009 season among the top-10 in points. KBM will operate from the Xpress Motorsports shop in Mooresville, N.C., until its new shop, also in Mooresville and currently under construction, is completed. 

"A person can work their whole career in any profession and not get an opportunity like this," Ren said. "I've been involved in some other start-up, ground-floor programs, but not of this magnitude. It's a great opportunity for me and everyone who will be a part of Kyle Busch Motorsports. There have been great race car drivers, but Kyle has the opportunity to be one of the all-time greats. Getting the chance to help a guy like that who has a dream of building his own race team is an honor."

Malsam raced his first full season in Trucks in 2009 and finished 12th in the championship with 10 top-10 finishes.  "It can be a little intimidating for a young guy like me to work for a guy like Kyle Busch, who has already done so much in his career," said Malsam, whose path came via winged Sprint cars. "But we have a lot of the same characteristics in the way we drive, so I think it's a good fit. And to have Rick Ren on board -- he's been successful wherever he's been. To team with someone who has won two of the last three series championships is going to be awesome. And I'm proud to continue my relationship with Toyota. The support they give to each of their teams is impressive, and it shows by how many Tundras are usually running up front. This is going to be one of the best years of my life."

Ickler made 11 starts in the Truck Series in 2009, with two top-fives and three top-10s.  "Kyle has done so much for my career by helping me get some experience in the Truck Series last year, along with some Late Model races for KBM," Ickler said. "I'm really looking forward to racing for Kyle with all the success he's had in the sport. I hope we can continue the winning tradition. Every ride I've had since I moved to North Carolina has been because of Kyle. He's been able to get me some valuable seat time."

The best, guaranteed lowest prices in 2010 will go to customers who make a $30 goodwill deposit until Jan. 5. New customers can log onto www.MISpeedway.com or call 800-354-1010.
 

Hornaday honored at Awards Banquet; Carmichael voted Most Popular Driver
Kyle Busch and Ron Hornaday Jr. officially were crowned as champions of their respective series for the 2009 season on the Americana Ballroom stage at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel. Busch was honored with his first NASCAR national series title as champion of the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Hornaday received his fourth championship ring in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, joining Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Richard Petty as the only four-time champions in NASCAR's three national series.

And after a fan vote on NASCAR.com, each series' Most Popular Driver also was revealed. Brad Keselowski and Ricky Carmichael were chosen by the fans in the NASCAR Nationwide and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, respectively. Rick Allen and Krista Voda from NASCAR on SPEED served as hosts of the event. Matt Crafton, Mike Skinner, Todd Bodine and Colin Braun were second through fifth in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series standings, and joined Hornaday on stage.

The NASCAR Nationwide Series/NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Awards Banquet will air on Dec. 4 from 7:00 - 9:00pm/et on SPEED, prior to the live telecast of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Awards Ceremony from Las Vegas. Subsequent broadcasts will air on Friday, Dec. 11 from 8:00-11:00pm/et, Saturday, Dec. 12 from 12:00pm - 2:00am/et and again from 2:00 - 4:00am/et.

Awards Ceremony
The 2009 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season will culminate with the annual awards banquet at the Loew's Miami Beach Hotel on Monday, Nov. 23. For the first time it will be held in conjunction with the NASCAR Nationwide Series. The banquet will honor the series champions and their teams and also the drivers who finished 2-4 in the final championship standings in both the NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The two series' Raybestos Rookie of the Year award winners will be honored as well as their Most Popular Drivers (via fan vote) on stage at the black-tie event. Drivers in each series who finish 6-10 will also be recognized at the banquet. Highlights of the combined Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series Awards Ceremony will be broadcast Friday, December 4 at 7:00pm Eastern

Driver Point Standings following Homestead
 #33-Ron Hornaday Jr. finished up the season with 3958 total points, 187 points ahead of second place #88-Matt Crafton. Rounding out the top ten were; #5-Mike Skinner, #30-Todd Bodine, #6-Colin Braun, who moved up two positions to take over 5th place in standings], #13-Johnny Sauter, #16-Brian Scott, #17-Timothy Peters, #24-David Starr, #14-Rick Crawford.


Kevin Harvick Inc. wins Owners Championship
Kevin Harvick Inc. owners, Kevin & Delana Harvick finished 73 points ahead of second place Billy Ballew Motorsports owner, Billy Ballew to win the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Truck Seriers Owners Championship.

Sauter Clinches Rookie of the Year title
Johnny Sauter clinched the Raybestos Rookie of the Year title following the Ford 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Sauter scored a ninth-place finish in tonight's race, his third consecutive top-10 and 13th top-10 of the 2009 season. He was the top Raybestos Rookie in 14 races this season. Sauter scored his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway where he finished 2.474 seconds ahead of teammate Matt Crafton. The victory came in his 31st career start. Sauter also led the most laps in the event (64 of 146). Sauter finished the season with two poles: Las Vegas and Phoenix. He became the first Raybestos Rookie pole winner in 17 races at Phoenix and joined Bryan Reffner is the only Raybestos Rookie to win a pole position in 13 previous races at Las Vegas.

Back to Back wins for Harvick
A green, white checkered restart put #4-Kevin Harvick, on fresh tires, make short work of retaking the lead to win the Ford 200 at Homstead-Miami Speedway. Harvick led the most laps on the night, and it was his third win in just six series starts this season.

A last lap charge by #88-Matt Crafton, passing two cars in the final turn, garnered Crafton a second place finish. This is the fifth time this season that Crafton finished in second place in 2009. Rounding out the top ten were; #6-Colin Braun, #30-Todd Bodine, #5-Mike Skinner, #24-David Starr, #33-Ron Hornaday Jr., #13-Johnny Sauter, #11-TJ Bell. There were 8 lead changes among 5 drivers, with 4 caution flags for 15 laps.

Toyota Marks Milestone at Miami
When the green flag waves to start Friday night's NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, it will mark the 150th race for Toyota in the series since the beginning of the 2004 season.

During the past six years, Tundra drivers have recorded 65 victories and captured 68 pole positions, and have helped Toyota win four consecutive Camping World Truck Series manufacturer's championships (2006 to 2009). In 149 races, 17 teams and 75 drivers have combined to make a total of 1,421 NCWTS starts. Mike Skinner is the only driver who has started all 149 races.

In addition to Skinner, just two other drivers have been a part of all four manufacturer's titles - Todd Bodine (133 starts) and Johnny Benson (121 starts). Bodine and Benson have both been driving Tundras since 2004, although Benson only ran a partial NCTWS schedule this season.

Skinner leads all Toyota drivers with 35 pole positions, including a series-record 11 in 2007, in his 149 starts in a Tundra. The Susanville, Calif. native has also recorded 12 victories in a Tundra. Bodine, who has 133 starts in a Tundra, has recorded 17 victories for Toyota in the Camping World Truck Series, the most of any Tundra driver. He also has started from the pole five times.


Toyota takes fourth straight NCWTS
Manufacturer's title
When Kyle Busch crossed the finish line first Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway, it enabled Toyota to clinch its fourth consecutive NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) manufacturer's championship. Toyota has won the NCWTS manufacturer's championship each year since 2006, along with a pair of driver titles for Todd Bodine (2006) and Johnny Benson (2008).

Overall, this is the sixth time Toyota has earned a NASCAR manufacturer's title since the start of the 2004 season. Toyota recently also captured its second consecutive NASCAR Nationwide Series manufacturer's crown. The performance of seven full-time teams fielding nine Tundras -- Billy Ballew Motorsports, Germain Racing, HT Motorsports, Randy Moss Motorsports, Red Horse Racing, Wyler Racing and Xpress Motorsports -- all contributed to the NCWTS manufacturer's title. In addition, Premier Racing and Stringer Motorsports ran partial seasons with Tundras in 2009. Tundra drivers have combined for 13 wins, eight poles, 58 top-five results and 118 top-10 finishes this season with three races remaining on the schedule.