May News
Congrats!
To Jan Baar of Michigan
who won the short DVD of Johnny's 5 wins in
2006 created by Toyota Certified Used
Vehicles! Your prize is on it's way
.....
Johnny Finishes 3rd in Foggy Race
By: Shawn Courchesne
- Hartford Courant
Rumor has it,
somewhere in the fog, Russ Wood celebrated
on the frontstretch at the Waterford
Speedbowl Saturday nigh
 |
Chris
Perley, Winner Russ Wood and Johnny
at Waterford Speedbowl - 05.28.11
Photo by: @Ismasupers |
Wood, of
Pelham, N.H., came out the victor in a
wreckfest of an ISMA SuperModified feature
at the Speedbowl Saturday that ended up
getting fogged out after 47 of 50 laps had
been completed for the division's season
opener.
The race
was slowed by three red flags for major
wrecks over the first 27 laps. It took three
attempts to even get the race started
because of crashes.
Under
the third red flag a soupy fog rolled in
making the backstretch nearly impossible
for fans to even see from the
grandstand.Ben Seitz had the lead when the
race restarted in the fog, but on lap 48
Seitz hit the backstretch wall, bringing
out the checkered and forcing officials to
end the event after Wood had inherited the
lead.
By the
time Wood got to the frontstretch for the
postrace ceremonies, he was hardly visible
to fans in the grandstands. The race took
an hour and a half before it was stopped.
"That was a bad race," Wood said. "We
couldn't see nothing out there. That last
yellow came out I thought I was still
second. But it's a win, we'll take it."
Chris
Perley of Rowley, Mass. was second.
"I didn't see a thing," Perley said. "It
was an interesting night. Must be a full
moon up above the fog somewhere. I guess
I'm happy to come home in the top-3. I
don't know what happened out there, it was
tough to see at the end. That was a tough
one."
Former
NASCAR Nationwide Series and Camping World
Truck Series champion Johnny Benson Jr. of
Cornelius, N.C. was third.
"That was a little bit crazy," Benson
said. "I know it was the first race for
everybody, but you've got to do a little
bit of give and take. I hate this for our
first race [of the season], it could have
went a lot better. Hopefully what the fans
did see was good."
For link to the blog:
big-mess-turns-even-foggier-as.html
Follow Us
JB Fans: We
have now set up accounts on facebook and
twitter. I have been testing them for a
couple of weeks to see how it works and fits
with this website. The best feature is
that I am not tied down to the web program on
my office computer and can update you from the
track.
I need to give John Daly - from
dalyplanet.blogspot.com for encouraging me and
answering my questions. He is the best!
Even though I not 100% confident on the whole
process, I am ripping off the band-aid and
announcing it here. The facebook page
is: Johnny Benson (Official Driver Page)
and the twitter account is: @johnnybensonweb.
Enjoy! Barb
Next Up: Waterford Speedway
Johnny to Drive the
#74 Supermodified
For the seventh
straight year the International SuperModified Association (ISMA) will spend
part of Memorial Day weekend at Waterford
Speedbowl in Connecticut. This annual event
will once become the ISMA opener after the
previously scheduled May 7 Oswego Speedway
race was postponed until a later date.
A great field of cars should be on hand for
ISMA’s first race of the 2011 season with
more action guaranteed. There will be many
of the veteran owner-driver combinations and
some new faces unloading the powerful supers
on May 28.
Joining the ISMA supers on Saturday, May 28
are the NASCAR Whelen All-American divisions
of SK Mods, Late Models, Strictly Stocks,
and Mini Stocks. Qualifying begins at 6 pm
with features to begin approximately at 7
pm. Adult grandstand admission is $30 with
youths (6-14) $10 and age 5 and under FREE.
For more information check out
www.speedbowl.com. ISMA will then
be off for most of June until they head for
Stafford Speedway’s Xtreme Tuesday event on
June 28.
Race Day at Waterford
The weather looks good in
Waterford, CT today. Cloudy with a high
of 69. Per the track, the races will be
broadcast on the link below:
http://wingsideup.com/news/live-supermodcast-of-isma-waterford-speedbowl/
Contest
It's a good week to
have a contest since Johnny will be back
behind the wheel of the #74 Supermodified.
All you need to do is send an email to
support@johnnybenson.com. Include
you name, address and phone number.
Prize: A short DVD of Johnny's 5 wins in
2006 created by Toyota Certified Used
Vehicles. Deadline: Saturday, May
28th. Good Luck!
Good Luck!
 |
JohnnyBenson.com would like to wish JB fan
Kyle Royster good luck this year in his go
karting season. He is taking us
along for the ride! |
Busch wins at
Charlotte
Johanna Long Finishes
20th
With just seven laps
remaining, #18-Kyle Busch took over the lead
from #2-Clint Bowyer and was able to hold onto
the lead to win the North Carolina Education
Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. This
was Busch's 4th win this season and his 28th
series overall.
Bowyer finished second. Rounding out the top
were; #60-Cole Whitt, #31-James Buescher,
#33-Ron Hornaday Jr., #13-Johnny Sauter,
#3-Austin Dillon, #29-Parker Kligerman,
#66-Justin Marks, #32-Brad Sweet. In his first
NASCAR start, #15-Kimi Raikkonen managed to
bring it home with a 15th place finish. There
were 10 lead changes among 7 drivers, and a
record-tying 10 cautions for 47 laps.
Charlotte Truck Race
7:30 p.m. on SPEED
Crew
Chief Kevin Starland, Johnny and #20
crewman
on top of transporter during the Truck Practice at Charlotte
Johanna Long will race the No. 20 Panhandle
Grading & Paving Toyota Tundra in the N.C.
Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor
Speedway (CMS) on Friday, May 20. Coverage
of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS)
event will begin at 8:00 pm EDT on Speed and
at 7:45 pm EDT on MRN Radio.
Charlotte Motor Speedway – Although
this will be Long’s first race at Charlotte
Motor Speedway, Panhandle Motorsports will
feel at home at CMS as the team’s shop is
located in nearby Mooresville, N.C.
Last
Race Recap – Long’s strong run at Dover
International Speedway ended a few laps
early when the No. 20’s driveshaft broke on
lap 191. Despite her 22nd-place finish, the
young driver was happy with her debut at the
Monster Mile. She led the first laps of her
NCWTS career and was competing for her top
finish before the mechanical problem.
Teaming Up with Johnny Benson –
Former NCWTS championship driver Johnny
Benson will again help the No. 20
Panhandle Motorsports team and Long at
CMS. Benson first came aboard to work with
Long at Dover International Speedway,
where he was instrumental in helping the
18-year-old learn the track.
Johanna Long on CMS -
“I’m
really excited about going to Charlotte
after coming off of what would have been a
good run at Dover. The guys have been
working really hard on our truck. It has
only been driven once before, at
Nashville. I’m really excited about
getting back in the No. 20 Toyota Tundra
and having Johnny Benson back on board. He
helped me out tremendously in Dover, and I
can’t wait to work with him again in
Charlotte.
Dover Photos
By: JohannaLong.com
Disappointing Early End to Long's Strong
Run
johannalong.com
Johanna Long finished 22nd in her first
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS)
race at Dover International Speedway on
Friday afternoon. Long led the first laps
of her NCWTS career and was poised for her
top finish of the year before the
driveshaft broke on her No. 20 Panhandle
Grading & Paving Toyota Tundra.
On Thursday, Long took to the track for
her very first laps on the banked concrete
mile. She ended the first practice session
in 31st but improved in the second
session, laying down the 27th fastest lap.
Long continued to improve steadily over
the weekend as she worked with former
NCWTS champion Johnny Benson to learn the
Monster Mile.
The 18-year-old driver qualified 21st in
Friday morning’s qualifying session, with
a time of 23.517 seconds. Long lost a few
spots in the beginning laps of the Lucas
Oil 200 at Dover as she radioed to the
team that her truck was loose handling but
rolled steadily
through the corners. As the second caution
flag waved on lap 45, Long brought her No.
20 Panhandle Grading & Paving Toyota to
pit road for four tires and fuel. Long
restarted in 18th position on lap 50.
On lap 54, Long’s truck made contact
with Miguel Paludo’s truck. Having no
damage, Long pitted for fuel. As the
race continued, she improved her lap
times, driving into the top 20 before a
lap 72 caution. After pitting for tires
and fuel, the young driver restarted in
the 19th position.
She moved into the top 15 on lap 125 and
eventually up to the fourth-place
position by lap 145. She went on to lead
two laps before relinquishing track
position on lap 152, pitting under green
flag conditions for fuel and two tires.
In spite of a caution flag waving as she
completed her pit stop, Long would find
herself in 12th-place on the lap 159
restart.
Long’s truck fought an ill-handling
condition, leading to another stop on
lap 177 for four tires and fuel. She
restarted in 15th position on lap 182
and continued to race in the top 15
until lap 191 when the driveshaft on her
Toyota Tundra broke, ending the team’s
day a few laps short of the race finish.
She registered a 22nd-place result.
Johanna Long and the Panhandle Racing
team will return to the track this
Friday, May 20, in her first NCWTS race
at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The race
will air on Speed, with coverage
beginning at 8 pm EDT.
Johanna
Long Quote:
“Logging laps and getting used to the
track was huge considering that this was
my first time at Dover. The truck was a
little tight during the first half of
the race, but the guys worked really
hard all day to get it where it needed
to be. We were running in the top 15 and
I really thought we were going to have a
great finish until the driveshaft broke.
We will keep the momentum that we have
built from Dover and move on to
Charlotte. I want to thank all of my
guys for preparing a great truck and
Johnny Benson for showing me the ropes
at Dover; he helped me out
tremendously.”
Congrats!
To Faye Roman
of PA who won the #21
RacingAwareness.com autographed card signed by
Johnny ... And also to Matt Russ
of FL who I am sending a photo of the
#21 car signed by Johnny as the bonus prize.
Thanks to all who sent in an entry!
Busch Wins at Dover
Johanna Finishes
22nd
Johanna
and JB
Photo By: Bob
Pockrass
Johanna
was running 15th with 9 laps to go when
she had equipment failure. The
driveshaft broke. She was credited
for leading a lap and her truck was
in one piece!
A green-white-checkered finish
saw Kyle Busch, #18-Traxxas Toyota, hold of a
challenge for the lead from rookie #60-Cole
Whitt to pick up up his third win of the
season. The race ended under caution when
#8-Nelson Piquet Jr. and #17-Timothy Peters
wrecked on the final lap. This is Busch's
second victory and fourth top-10 finish in
seven races at Dover International Speedway.
He is the first driver to win multiple races
at Dover.
Whitt had a great run finishing second; his
career-best finish and his first top five.
Rounding out the top ten were; #88-Matt
Crafton, #3-Austin Dillon, #2-Kevin Harvick,
#22-Joey Coulter, #62-Brendan Gaughan,
#31-James Buescher, #33-Ron Hornaday Jr.,
#66-Justin Marks. There were 11 lead changes
among 8 drivers with 9 caution flags for 41
laps.
Johnny to Mentor Johanna
Long
Johanna Long and the Panhandle
Motorsports team will head north to
Dover International Speedway for the
Lucas Oil 200 on Friday, May 13. The
race will begin at 4:45 pm EST and be
televised on Speed beginning at 8:30 pm
EST.
First Trip to Dover – This will
be Long’s first trip to Dover and her
first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
(NCWTS) start at the Monster Mile.
Teaming Up with Johnny
Benson –
Former NCWTS championship driver Johnny
Benson has signed on with Panhandle
Motorsports to help the team at Dover as
well as Charlotte Motor Speedway later
this month. He will assist the team and
act as a driver coach for 18-year-old
Long.
Staying Busy – The young driver
has kept busy since the last NCWTS
race at Nashville Superspeedway on
April 22. In addition to preparing for
her high school graduation and
upcoming move to Charlotte, N.C.,
Johanna also recently attended her
senior prom and her older sister’s
college graduation.
Keeping Up with Jo –
Keep up with
Johanna on Twitter at
http://twitter.com/johannalong
or on Facebook at
http://tinyurl.com/JohannaLongFB.
Johanna Long on Dover - “This
is my first time going to Dover, so I
am excited to get up there and see
what we can do. I am really glad
Johnny Benson is on board to help us
out. He and my crew chief almost won
the race last year, before they ran
out of fuel, so I think the
combination of having them both there
is really going to help our team and
myself.”
About Johanna Long:
At 18 years old, Johanna Long is
the youngest driver in the elite
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
After making several starts in the
NCWTS in 2010, Long plans to run the
complete schedule in 2011 for
family-owned Panhandle Motorsports.
She began racing at the age of eight,
quickly moving from go-karts to
Legends cars to a Late Model. She made
history, becoming the youngest driver
and only female to win a track
championship at Five Flags Speedway.
She went on to win the prestigious
Snowball Derby at the track in 2010.
For more information on Johanna,
please visit www.JohannaLong.com.
Berlin Raceway - Photos
By: Tom Devette
Fans Dust Off Their JB
T-Shirts
JB Fans ...
When I was waiting at the pit gate last week
to get into the infield area, I turned around
to see these two fans proudly wearing their JB
shirts! I couldn't believe they dug into
their closet to find their JB t-shirts from
the 1993 ASA Championship Car and the 1995
BUSCH Championship car. Hope you enjoy
the pictures! Barb
Benson Meets Newest Fans
Johnny Benson Jr. spent
Thursday afternoon at the Helen DeVos
Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids. It
was a time to meet and greet the children in
the hospital. Every child and family
member received tickets to the Berlin Raceway
and passes to Craig’s Cruisers.
Late
Caution Spells the End of Benson Debut
After 96 consecutive green flag laps, the
caution came out on the field of Premier
Boyne Machine Super Lates setting up a three
car, 4-lap battle for the win at the Berlin
Raceway. Leader Chris Anthony, Brian
Campbell and Johnny Benson Jr, lined up for
the double file restart.
Brian Campbell and JBComing out
of ...turn
one, it appeared that Anthony made contact
with Campbell causing him to spin in front
of the entire field; Benson was also
involved in this caution. With heavy right
side damage, Benson was unable to continue
and finished 13th. “It’s just one those
racing deals” said Benson, “We had a
run and maybe even a shot at the win. I just
hate it that we had to tear such a good car
but we’ll be back”.
Campbell Wins Super Lates
Johnny Finishes 13th
The
Premier Boyne Machine Super Lates series
made its debut at Berlin Raceway and it was
Brian Campbell who ended the night in
Victory Lane. Dave Lake (Engine Pro Super
Stock), Brandon Hermiller (Kerkstra Services
Pro Stock), Samantha Jansen (Vintage Racing
Organization of America) and Cole Roelofs (Burnips
Equipment 4-Cylinder) also earned victories.
In the
100 lap Premier Boyne Machine Super Lates;
#21 Johnny Benson was on the pole with #11
Nick Bonstell on his outside. Benson led for
2 laps, but Bonstell was quick to overtake
him and the #44 Tim Steele was chasing them
down. Steele was side by side with Bonstell
and took the lead on the backstretch and
pulled out to an impressive lead.
The field settled into a groove and
seemed content to side single file for a
bit. The #5 of Alec Carll was on the move
and gained two positions in one lap,
bringing him to fifth. The top three,
Steele, Bonstell and Anthony were pulling
away from the field.
By lap 35, the #20 of Brian Campbell
was making his way through the field while
Anthony was catching Steele for the lead.
It was lap 42 when Anthony cleared him and
by lap 45 he was putting cars a lap down and
padding his lead over Steele. Carll was
still making his way forward, challenging
Steele for second position as they were
navigating lapped traffic all while Anthony
had pulled out to almost a 6 second lead.
Steele and Campbell's battle came to an end
on lap 71 when Campbell got around him and
had the feat of trying to chop down
Anthony's 6.5 second lead in 29 laps. The
first caution of the night came out on lap
96 and it erased the 9 second lead that
Anthony had accrued. T
he double file restart put Campbell on his
outside and on the restart he was edging out
Anthony for the lead. Coming out of turn
it, it appeared that Anthony and Campbell
made contact, causing Campbell to spin in
front of the entire field; Anthony and
Benson were also involved in this caution.
The restart came with three laps to
go and there were only 2 cars on the lead
lap - Campbell and Anthony. Campbell was
able to put some distance on Anthony and
take the checkered flag. Anthony, #37 Jordan
Dahlke, Bonstell, #231 Andrew Nylaan, #48
Seth Moody, #101 Lauren Bush, #10 Josh
Hobson, Steele and #6 Brandon Hermiller
completed the top ten.
For Complete Race Update -
Click Here
Coming up
at Berlin Raceway on Saturday, May 14 is a
Four in One show featuring the Coors Light
Late Models, Engine Pro Super Stocks,
Kerkstra Services Pro Stocks and Burnips
Equipment 4-Cylinders. Tickets are $10 for
adults (12+) and kids 11 and under a free.
Racing starts at 7:00 p.m. and more
information can be found at
www.berlinraceway.com
Win the newest JB Autograph
Card!
JB Fans - Before I
left the track on Saturday, I made sure that I
grabbed an autographed card to give away to a
lucky JB fan. The card has the #21
Racing Awareness Impala on it with a listing
of all the sponsors and Johnny signed it.
All you need to do is email us at
support@johnnybenson.com by Saturday, May
14th. Include your name, address and
phone number. Good Luck!
Barb
Johnny Benson Jr to
debut Racing Awareness 21L PBMSL car May 7th
Racing Awareness announced the debut of their
21L Premier Boyne Machine Super Late series
car piloted by NASCAR Champion and Grand
Rapids native Johnny Benson Jr for May 7th.
Benson, who was previously announced as the
Racing Awareness entry’s primary driver for
2011, was scheduled to drive his first race in
June. Due to a schedule change, Benson will
not only be behind the wheel for race number
one, but is now scheduled to make a run at the
PBMSL series championship.
“The
schedule opportunities have worked in our
favor so far” Benson said, “we still have a
race conflict coming up later on this summer
so we will just have to see how it plays out”.
Berlin officials announced that the lowest
point night will be dropped when figuring out
the championship. Johnny is now scheduled to
compete in all but one of the PBMSL series
races this year allowing him a shot at the
title. “Already knowing that we have to drop
the race I can’t attend puts us behind but
we’ll at least have a shot at it
(championship)”. Benson will try to win
another track championship at the Berlin
Raceway, something he last accomplished in
1989.
The 21L will
carry the same paint scheme as Johnny’s 1993
ASA Championship car in addition to featuring
Racing Awareness’ charity beneficiary, Helen
DeVos Children’s Hospital. Benson is expected
to drive upwards of seven times during the
year. Check out the
Events page for the complete schedule.
Benson, who
currently resides in Cornelius, North
Carolina, grew up in Grand Rapids as a second
generation race car driver. Johnny followed in
his dad’s footsteps that lead him to becoming
a NASCAR Champion. Benson won the NASCAR
Nationwide Series Championship in 1995 before
winning the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Championship in 2008. In addition, Johnny has
274 starts and one win in the NASCAR Sprint
Cup Series. Benson recorded 3 wins in the
Nationwide series and 14 wins in the Camping
World Truck Series. Johnny is also a former
Track Champion at the Berlin Raceway, as well
as a former series champion with the American
Speed Association, ASA.
The new
Boyne Machine Premier Super Lates Series is
patterned with the same rules as the
Championship Racing Association, CRA. The
track’s schedule aligns to CRA’s off weekends
for their 2011 schedule. Gates
open at Berlin at 11 a.m. Feature racing
begins at 7 p.m. Make you plans now to attend.
Remember children under 10 are FREE with a
paid adult admission during the 2011 season
making Berlin racing the perfect family
activity.
Congratulations!
To Steve Greene
who won the Championship program! Thanks
to all the JB fans who sent in an entry!
Berlin Raceway - Saturday,
May 7th
Johnny will be
returning to Berlin Raceway on Saturday, May
7th to get behind the wheel of the Helen Devos
Hospital Premier Boyne Machine Super Late
Model for RacingAwareness.com. The good
news for JB fans is that his car will look a
little familiar as Johnny will be driving the
#21 with a paint scheme replica of his 1993
ASA Championship car.
RacingAwareness.com
Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the lives
of children and their families coping with the
illness or injury of the child. RA strives to
achieve this through the unique niche centered
around auto racing. RA engages families in
visits to the race track, meet and greets with
drivers, and the opportunity to divert their
attention from the health care process to
share time together and experience their
favorite sport or possibly a brand new
experience.
