JULY NEWS

Kentucky - Truck Series
Saturday, July 18th

Kentucky Speedway is among just three tracks on the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule which have yet to produce a repeat winner.   Saturday's race will mark 10 years of truck competition at a facility where both veterans and first-time race winners have made it to Victory Lane.

Johnny Benson Lives to Drive
By:   Mike Brudenell - Detroit Free Press

Johnny Benson's already-shocking week ended in an explosion of metal and fire.  His life, he now says, easily could have been over in a flash, too.

Benson, the veteran NASCAR driver from Grand Rapids, crashed during a supermodified event June 13 at Berlin Raceway in Marne, at the same short track his father, Johnny Benson Sr., ran in the 1970s and where Benson learned to race.

Just days after losing his ride at Red Horse Racing, the defending NASCAR Truck Series champion was lifted from his mangled, scorched race car and rushed to hospital, his body shattered and his condition at first thought to be critical but later upgraded to serious.

"I pretty much recall all of it," Benson said Tuesday from his home in Charlotte, N.C., where he continues his recovery. "It was big. Top of the list of any crash I've had, and they are all bad in their way. It's the hardest impact I've ever been in. I hit the wall the wrong way."

Benson, who turned 46 shortly after the crash, broke both collarbones and three ribs on his left side. He suffered a fractured right wrist and received second- and third-degree burns on his left elbow. Worst of all, perhaps, the impact bruised his lungs and led to internal bleeding.

"I can honestly say I'm still sore," Benson said. "I've been in better shape, but it could have been a lot, lot worse. I'm lucky to be alive."

Benson's crash occurred coming off Turn 3 at Berlin, when he tangled with a car driven by Larry Lehnert and slammed into the wall. His supermodified caught fire.

Had Benson not been wearing a HANS head and neck restraint device, he doubts he would have survived.  "I hit the wall extremely hard," Benson said. "It could have been a different result. Seven or eight years ago, I may not be here today. I've got to give credit to the safety devices available now and what I've added to my car. You kind of forget how dangerous racing can be."

Benson will have surgery on his left shoulder, but not until doctors are satisfied the internal bleeding has stopped and his lungs have healed. "They don't want to have any complications," Benson said.

Meanwhile, Benson, who began the year driving the No. 1 Toyota in the truck series, has been puttering around his race shop in Charlotte and spending time with his wife, Debbie, and children, Katelyn and Mikayla.  "I can walk around a bit, but I can't do much lifting," Benson said. "I'm just waiting for a whole lot of bones to heal."

Benson wants to race as soon as possible, but that could be weeks away. He must first get through surgery to pin his shoulder -- and find a truck ride.

"When one door closes, another opens," Benson said. "We'll hopefully sign on with a good team and win another truck championship. We've had some interesting calls and have listened to some great opportunities. I'm going to get back in shape and get back on the track. I can't imagine not doing this. I don't think I could handle not racing. I'd like to race at least another three, four years before I retire."

Crashing at Berlin, where he's a part owner, isn't lost on Benson.  "I had a lot of family support there, and Berlin has some of the best medical facilities around," Benson said. "If I had to have an accident, I'm glad it was there."

Benson has competed in 274 Sprint Cup events and won the 2002 fall race at Rockingham. He finished 11th in points in 1997 and 2001 and captured the Nationwide Series title in 1995.

"I just get bored too fast, sitting about," Benson said. "But I won't to get back in the race car or truck faster than I'm capable of doing."

Tom Thomas wins on Late Model Night
Nylaan and Smith also victorious

Marne, MI—  It was Coors Light Late Model Night at Berlin Raceway and the racing was hard and fast.  Taking home the trophies were Tom Thomas in the Coors Light Late Models, Andrew Nylaan in the Engine Pro Super Stocks and Ken Smith, Jr. in the Kerkstra Services Pro Stocks. 

The #51 of Weston Jewett and #78 Will Olmsted led the Kerkstra Service Pro Stocks to the green flag and taking the lead on lap two was 336 Ken Smith, Jr.   On lap 6, the battle for fifth was getting dicey between the cars of #7 Kevin DeGood, #33 Jerry Groeneveld, #50 Justin Regnerus and 376 Brian Tillema.  Caution was out just three laps later, the #X of Matt VanHorssen spun off of the backstretch.  On the restart, Smith was smooth and got away from the pack, the battles to watch were for third between Rengerus and Tillema and for sixth with DeGood, #40 Dave Cutler and #76 Ryan Gruppen.  With 10 laps to go, Regnerus got around Tillema for third and then took second from Jewett on lap 19; he had five laps to catch Smith.   The gap was too much to overcome, Smith got his third win of the season by 1.508 seconds over Regnerus.  The rest of the top ten were; Tillema, Olmsted, Gruppen, Jewett, #20 Dave Hull, DeGood, #88 Tony Davis and Groeneveld.

Up next were the Engine Pro Super Stocks with #11 Nick Bonstell and #10 Bob Spencer on the front row.   From the drop of the green flag, #77 Andrew Nylaan was challenging Bonstell for the lead; after a few laps working the outside lane, he went to the low side and after a four-car battle for the number one spot with Bonstell, Nylaan, #1 Brian Wiersma and #26 Chris Muyskens, Nylaan took it and was under attack from Wiersma.  The pair battled for the entire race, with Muyskens not far behind.  They rode nose-to-tail and they were all running comparable lap times.  It looked as if Wiersma was gaining on him, but Nylaan was holding him off.  Wiersma gave up the low side and moved to the top, but he lost ground and Muyskens was there to capitalize.  Nylaan went on to win the caution-free race, and his second of the season.  The rest of the top ten were Muyskens, Wiersma, #5 Cal Castle, #18 Denny Anderson, #55 Dave Lake, #5 Ray VanAllsburg, #12 Josh Slade, Bonstell and #8 Billy Eppink.

The 75-lap Coors Light Late Model race was last; #19 Nick Shotko was on the pole with #55 Chris Anthony on his outside.  Shotko was leading and the battle to watch was for second between Anthony and #82 Tom Thomas.  The rest of the field rode single-file and #27 Billy Shotko and fast qualifier #21 Terry VanHaitsma were closing in on Thomas for third.  Thomas shook them off, split a lapped car with Anthony, took the second in the process and started cutting into Shotko’s lead.  After three laps, Thomas was on his bumper, but couldn’t quite draw even.  On lap 40, VanHaitsma had caught the leaders, but was biding his time, letting Shotko and Thomas duke it out.   The first and only caution flew on lap 45 when #33 Monte Tolan slapped the frontstretch wall.  This jumbled the field up and on the double-file restart, Thomas wasted no time taking the lead and driving away from the field.   On lap 61, hard racing for second between Shotko and VanHaitsma made contact, but they both saved it and #1 Randy Sweet closed in on them.  With two laps to go, Thomas was in traffic and while VanHaitsma was trying to catch up, he ran out of time.  Thomas got his second win of the season and completing the top ten were VanHaitsma, Sweet, Meeuwsen, N. Shotko, #6 Dave Zagaiski, Anthony, B. Shotko, #28 Scott Thomas and #61 Alec Carll. 

The Berlin Fair returns to Marne next week,  July 13-18.  Tuesday, July 14 is the Demolition Derby and Burnips Equipment 4-Cylinder race (tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for kids 6-12), Wednesday the 16^th is Bus Mania (tickets $8 for adults and $4 for kids 6-12),  Thursday night, July 16 is the Monsters of Rock monster truck show (tickets $10 for adults and $5 for kids) and Friday, July 17 is the Jesse McCartney concert (tickets are $20 and $25).  All shows will start at 7:00 p.m.   Racing returns next Saturday, July 18 for the Fair Week Finale featuing the Coors Light Late Models, Engine Pro Super Stocks, Kerkstra Services Pro Stocks and Young Guns.  Tickets are $10 for adults and kids 12 and under are free.  Pit passes for those 14 and over are $25 and the first race starts at 7 p.m.   Grandstand admisson for all Fair Week events is in addtion to a $3 gate admission to the midway.  For more information, please visit www.berlinraceway.com

Do You Remember?

2004 - "Inside Nextel Cup"

Do you remember back to the days this photo was taken and their was a television show called "Inside Nextel Cup" on Speed?

Congrats!

Cards in the Mail 

Congrats!
 

Berlin - Saturday, July 11 - 7:00 p.m.
This Saturday is Coors Light Late Model night with the Late Models going for an extended 75 laps. They will be joined by the Engine Pro Super Stocks and Kerkstra Services Pro Stocks. Pit gate opens at noon, grandstands at 1:00 p.m., and first race will roll at 7:00 p.m. Tickets for adults are $12.00, kids 6-12 $5.00, and 5-under free. Call 616-677-5000 for more information!

Happy 4th of July! 

CNBC's "Inside Track: Refueling the Business
of NASCAR"
CNBC's "Inside Track: Refueling the Business of NASCAR" hosted by Emmy-Nominated CNBC Sports Business Reporter, Darren Rovell, examines a sport that was once seemingly unstoppable. Infamous for its ties to southern bootleggers and famous for filling some of the largest venues in the world - 200,000 fans at some speedways – a decade of growth made it the fastest growing sport in America. But the rise of the 90s has given way to a new century recession. An imploding car business and shrinking sponsorship budgets are threatening the corporate dollars that are the sport's very lifeblood. NASCAR is now feeling the pressure of the economic implosion as the companies whose names are decaled on the cars are reconsidering their investments. Owned and controlled by the France family, NASCAR is looking at ways to weather the storm. "Inside Track: Refueling the Business of NASCAR" will premiere on Thursday, July 9th at 9:00pm, 10:00pm and 1:00am and re-air on Sunday, July 12th at 10:00pm and Monday, July 13th at 10:00pm.  (jayski)
 

France happy with double-file restarts,
NASCAR overall
NASCAR Chairman Brian France praised the success of double-file restarts and reiterated his stance that the sport remains healthy despite the headaches of a sagging economy. France, speaking to reporters Friday afternoon at Daytona International Speedway, said double-file restarts "clearly are putting a nice energy around the events," which are producing "fantastic" racing overall. He said NASCAR remains the No. 1 or No. 2 most-viewed and most popular sport on any given weekend, which means that despite the economic downturn, "lots of people would like to have our problems." France said the product on the track is the "most important thing," and to that end NASCAR continues to evaluate possible adjustments - which he termed as minor changes - to its new model car. France repeated his comments from last month at Michigan, when he noted that other manufacturers may be interested in joining the sport. But he said nothing was imminent. Regarding the Camping World Truck Series and Nationwide Series, France said both were "relatively healthy" despite reduced manufacturer support and the economy in general. (Scene Daily)

Nominees Announced For Inaugural
NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction
NASCAR announced a history-rich list of 25 nominees for the inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame induction class. From that list, five inductees will be chosen via a process that includes a nationwide fan vote on NASCAR.COM; the inductees will be announced in October and honored next May at the new Hall of Fame facility in Charlotte, N.C. The nominees, which include many of the sport's legendary names, were selected by a 21-person nominating committee consisting of representatives from NASCAR, the NASCAR Hall of Fame and track owners from both major facilities and historic short tracks. The HOF's first inductees will be determined by the Voting Panel, which has 50 members -- the entire Nominating Committee, 14 media members, four manufacturer representatives and nine retired competitors (drivers, owners, crew chiefs -- three each) and two recognized industry leaders. In addition, the fan vote will result in the Voting Panel's 51st and final ballot. Following are the 25 individuals who have been nominated:  Complete List

Future of Milwaukee Mile in doubt
The Milwaukee Mile office is closed, and all 12 staff members have been laid off at least temporarily. Whether the oldest auto racing facility in the country lives to see its 107th birthday is in grave doubt even among its biggest boosters. "It depends totally if I'm able to get some investors," promoter Claude Napier said Thursday in a telephone interview from Texas. Napier, president and chief executive officer of Wisconsin Motorsports, admitted to the Journal Sentinel for the first time that he had no other financial backers when he entered into a deal in February with State Fair Park, where the track is located. "I've got a hunch it's over," said Dominic Giuffre, a former promoter with his brother Frank. "It's too late." The Giuffres, promoters at the Mile from 1983-'91, have expressed interest in returning to that role. It is "very uncommon" for NASCAR to stage a race without being paid in advance by the promoter, said Ramsey Poston, a NASCAR spokesman. The races were already scheduled and television contracts in place when Napier took over. Given its dealings this year, NASCAR is not expected to grant credit to the track - no matter who operates it - to return for 2010.

NASCAR: Truck Series Safe
By:  Jayski
Despite reports from independent blogger Mike Mulhern, NASCAR Vice President of Communications Jim Hunter says emphatically that there is no validity to a story circulating that the Camping World Truck Series will shut down. "There's no truth to it whatsoever," Hunter said. "It's total B.S. The demise of the truck series is the figment of one person's imagination. (Mulhern) has a history of fabricating false stories and this is another example of it. We're very aware that (the Camping World Truck Series) is affected the hardest during this economic recession. We're currently looking at options. We've never given up on a series and we're not going to start now." That said, NASCAR is looking at options to reduce costs such as decreasing the schedule, increasing the number of single-day dates and bringing back the half-time pit stops that could eliminate the traveling crews to five or six members. One possible solution that is off the table is the use of crate engines. NASCAR VP of Competition Robin Pemberton said they are not a viable option because "they're not durable to last much beyond one race" which would raise costs, not lower them. Pemberton feels the sanctioning body has made "good gains with new rules and regulations" and the series "still makes sense."

Back of Shirt

The JBFC has the #21 Super Modified T-shirt available in L and XL.  Cost $15 plus S / H.  If you are interested in this shirt in a different size, please email us at support@johnnybenson.com and we will see if there is an interest for a 2nd printing of the shirt. 

All JBFC orders will be shipped with a 5 x 7 postcard celebrating Johnny's 2008 Craftsman Truck Championship ... 

NASCAR Fans
Thanks to the NASCAR fans who took the time to post their well wishes for Johnny this month.  Fans of Ron Hornaday, David Starr, Mike Skinner, Ted Musgrave and other drivers made their presence known during this difficult time.  We appreciate your support!
 

The Future of the Truck Series
By: Jayski
During an interview on SPEEDtv's NCTWS setup program, NASCAR VP Steve O'Donnell said the state of the series is "really strong." O'Donnell stated that NASCAR officials met with team owners earlier this year to help out the racing with some rule changes, they have been working with the teams, and that the series puts on the "best racing". When asked about double-file restarts, O'Donnell said that the series has two weeks off following Memphis, and that NASCAR will continue to look at it. (Also heard that O'Donnell addressed the state of the series during the Drivers Meeting in Memphis, assuring teams that NASCAR is full speed ahead for 2010. He also said that NASCAR is excited by new owners and drivers and the new tracks coming on line next year.)

Milwaukee Mile owes NASCAR money
By:  Jayski
The race promoter for the Milwaukee Mile owes NASCAR money stemming from the races last weekend, and the Indy Racing League won't say whether it has been paid yet for its event in May. The Mile hosted the Camping World Truck Series Copart 200 and the Nationwide Series NorthernTool.com 250 last Saturday. Claude Napier, head of Wisconsin Motorsports, did not disclose attendance numbers Friday but said the turnout for the truck race was low. As for the Nationwide Series race, Napier said it was in excess of 35,000 fans. Napier acknowledged that the track would lose money this year. The Legislative Audit Bureau, which recently completed an audit of Wisconsin State Fair Park, said in its report that the Mile would lose money this year, putting added fiscal pressure on the fair. "The sanctions fees are part of an overall deal," Napier said Friday. "We have been working closely with NASCAR in resolving these issues." Asked for details, Napier said: "I don't want to get into specifics about what we owe and what we don't owe. We are working very closely with NASCAR and in particular we are working on the future."

Ramsey Poston, a NASCAR spokesman, said in a statement that, "despite having a terrific day of NASCAR racing last Saturday there remain outstanding issues which concern NASCAR. As a matter of policy I won't get into the specifics of our business dealings. However, I can say we are working closely with the track management to resolve outstanding issues." The competitors were paid, according to a Charlotte Observer story.