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AUGUST NEWS
Kroger to Sponsor Richmond Truck Event
Kroger, one of the nation's
largest grocery retailers, announced today it will be the
title sponsor of the upcoming NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
race at Richmond International Raceway. The Kroger 200 will
run Thursday night, September 9 as part of a double header
with the inaugural Crown Royal International Race of
Champions (IROC) Series.
"We are very excited to have Kroger join us as the
sponsor of our NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race," said
track president Doug Fritz. "They have sponsored truck
races at Richmond International Raceway in the past and we
are very pleased to welcome them back for one of the biggest
race weekends in our track's history."
Kroger, which has more than 65 retail stores in the
commonwealth of Virginia, partners with Richmond
International Raceway as the track celebrates the running of
their 10th NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race. The Kroger
200 is set to run "under the lights" with the green flag
drop scheduled for 8:45 p.m. on Thursday, September 9. Race
tickets, which are only $30, include the inaugural short
track event for the Crown Royal IROC Series, which is
scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. For tickets and
information, fans can call
1-866-455-RACE or visit
www.rir.com. (08-30-04)
Lester on Solid
Ground with Toyota
Charles Krall, Trackside Editor
Bill Lester
started the 2004 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season
looking for solid footing. After leaving the BHR
organization, where he spent two full seasons, many wondered
where Lester would land, or if he would find another ride in
the NCTS.
Toyota’s entrance to the series in 2004 created seven new
quality rides, and gave Lester an additional opportunity to
land a competitive ride. And when Bill Davis Racing called,
Lester was quick to jump at the chance. For complete
story and Bill's comments on Johnny as a teammate -
click here.
(08-30-04)
Berlin Photos:
By Doug Dubois
The JBFC is lucky that Doug Dubois is a JB
fan since he has provided us with great pictures throughout
the summer. Thank you, Doug!
(08-30-04)
Johnny Survives Bristol
This was Johnny's first appearance at Bristol
Speedway in the Craftsman Truck Series. In the
practice session, Johnny ranked 7th with a time of 15.491 at
a speed of 123.865 mph. His time slowed just a bit on
his qualifying lap, placing him 20th with a time of 15.535
at a speed of 123.515 mph.
In the 200 lap event, the Trucks provided
some close racing. If you were caught on the outside
row, it was easy to get freight trained. Johnny spent
the race slipping and sliding to gain positions. The
#23 Bill Davis Racing Team did a good job of servicing
Johnny on 2 pit stops. By the end of the 200 laps,
Johnny brought his Toyota Tundra to a 13th place finish.
(08-26-04)
Berlin Photos:
By Tom Devette
(08-23-04)
Congratulations - Jim Mulder
The JBFC had a booth at the Berlin race.
We raffled off a JBFC Helmet as part of the festivities.
Congratulations to long time JBFC member, Jim Mulder.
You are the lucky winner! Your prize will be on your
doorstep soon via the big brown truck. I also need to
thank my mom and Barb Kurtz for mingling with the fans and
selling t-shirts! (08-21-04)
Berlin Photos:
By Rick Kimball
(08-20-04)
Benson Wins at Berlin
First, Johnny Benson Jr.
invites his friends up from North Carolina to race with him
at his home track. Then he proceeds to whip the lugnuts out of them. That has become a habit for
Benson, and Bobby Labonte was his latest victim. Benson outran the field in
Wednesday night's The Chet Late Model Invitational, a
125-lap feature race at the Berlin Raceway in Marne.
Benson held off the T.A. Gentry cars of Joe Bush and Lee
Anderson, just as he did in June when his NASCAR buddy,
Michael Waltrip, made the trek up to Marne.
Complete Story
(08-19-04)
Johnny to Compete in the Truck Series
We would like to announce that Johnny and
Bill Davis Racing have finalized plans for Johnny to compete
in the #23 Toyota Tundra Truck for the remainder of the
year.
Johnny looks forward to working with crew chief, Greg Ely
and the rest of the #23 Bill Davis Racing team to build on
their two top ten finishes. The next race
on the Craftsman Truck Schedule is Wednesday, August 25th at
Bristol. (08-17-04)
Johnny and Greg Ely
2004 Craftsman Truck Series Schedule:
08/25 Bristol 09/09 Richmond
09/18 New Hampshire
09/25 Las Vegas
10/02 California 10/16 Texas
10/23 Martinsville 11/05 Phoenix
11/12 Darlington 11/19 Miami
**Schedule Subject to Change
Nashville Photos:
By: Sue and Linda
Thanks to JB fans, Sue and Linda for sharing their photos
of the #23 Toyota Truck at Nashville Superspeedway.
(08-15-04)
JB Finishes 6th at Nashville
Johnny Benson, No. 23 Toyota" “The
truck was good, but we just started off a little too
‘slippery.’ It took 10 to 15 laps to really get going. Then
it felt like we were just as good as anybody here. But, it
just took me a little bit to get going. We just have to work
on that little aspect. We could have used this thing to go
green the whole way. It would have been great. I really
wanted to get a top-5 today for all the Toyota folks here.
You want to get a win. That’s always the goal. But, I could
see that that wasn’t going to happen, so I really just
wanted to get a top 5 -- and we just missed with a 6th. I
want to thank everyone at Bill Davis Racing, Toyota and Greg
(Ely, crew chief).
(08-15-04)
Inside Nextel Cup
Johnny will be taking a week off
(August 16th) from the show to head to Michigan for his Late
Model Race with the Berlin Regulars and Bobby Labonte on
Wednesday, August 18th.
(08-10-04)
IRP Photos - Part 2
By: Doug Dubois (08-10-04)
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Checking out the seat
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Touring the Track
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Driver Introductions
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Waving to the Crowd |
Fans Perspective on IRP -
By Doug Dubois
Special thanks to JB fan Doug
Dubois for his race report for the Truck race at
Indianapolis Raceway Park. As I entered the grand
stands for the race, I ran into Doug. He had been very
busy taking pictures and jotting down notes. Doug,
thank you for all your hard work to share information with
the fans! Barb
What a perfect day for a race, 70 degrees and blue skies.
JB's first practice was only a
few laps and reported the truck to be tight, tight, tight.
They spent the next hour of the two hour practice session
on jack stands working on the truck to replace the engine.
.
The next three practice runs were all the
same, better but still tight. Plus the brake pads
felt funny. Johnny reported the truck felt like it
was skating across the track.
They wanted to try several different
things but ran out of time. The crew chief suggested
that he and Johnny go to the hauler and put their heads
together to decide what changes to make before qualifying.
As the trucks were impounded after qualifying, this was
their last chance to make changes.
Complete Story
(08-08-04)
Johnny Finishes 26th at IRP
An engine change and limited practice time
for Johnny and the Bill Davis Racing Team put them behind in
their qualifying efforts. Johnny made it into the
Power Stroke Diesel 200 in the last qualifying position
before provisionals. The #23 Toyota Tundra started
36th due to their engine change.
An early pit stop for right side tires and
another pit stop for gas only put Johnny and the #23 Toyota
Tundra at the front of the pack. Unfortunately, a flat
left rear tire sent Johnny into the pits under green flag
conditions putting him three laps down to finish 26th.
(08-07-04)
"The Chet" presented by Comerica to
benefit
St. John¹s Home
Berlin Raceway and Comerica are
proud to announce that the fourth annual "The Chet" race, to
be held on Wednesday, August 18, will benefit St. John's
Home, Michigan's premiere residential treatment program for
emotionally troubled children and adolescents. The Comerica
Bank-sponsored race, which will feature NASCAR stars
Bobby Labonte and Johnny Benson, is held in memory of
track founder Chet Mysliwiec.
Berlin Raceway and Comerica will donate one dollar for every
ticket sold from the August 18 race to St. John's Home. All
funding for the home comes from charitable contributions
from the community, such as the Berlin Raceway/Comerica
fundraiser.
Complete PR (08-07-04)
Ince Rebounds
The whispered
rumors about James Ince had reached his home in
Springfield [MO], and they were festering-sore ugly. And
while Ince, a former Nextel Cup crew chief who walked away
from the Cup garages late last racing season, gagged at
what he was hearing, he never really responded. He had
more important things to do, such as going round after
round in a bitter fight for his life. “It was terrifying,”
Ince said this week of a medical problem that was draining
the life out of him and baffling his doctors. “I view
myself as an unbreakable man. This was breaking me.” Those
in the NASCAR garages who really know Ince will agree that
he seemed unbreakable.
Ince landed jobs on the
crews of some top-shelf teams, such as those of Robert
Yates and Jack Roush. He would become the youngest crew
chief in the sport in the 1990s. In 2000, he was appointed
crew chief for the [#10] MBV Motorsports team, whose
driver was Johnny Benson.
Complete Story
(08-07-04)
Berlin Raceway Driver Profile
Ray VanAllsburg -
Engine Pro Super Stock driver
by Brian Nelson
Someone once said "It's not what you know; it's who you
know." For Engine Pro Super Stock driver Ray VanAllsburg,
finding success in the racing world required a little of
both.
Although the roots of Ray's family tree don¹t run deep into
the racing history, he says he¹s always been a fan of the
sport. "My dad and I used to go to Berlin when I was a
little kid," Ray said. "We watched Bob Senneker and those
guys...and I knew someday I'd be out there - hopefully
driving."
VanAllsburg may never have made it behind the wheel of a
stock car if not for the owner of an auto parts near his
neighborhood. "It all started when I was still in high
school," Ray said. "I'd ride my bike past this auto parts
store and someone told me they had a race car out back. So
one day, I rode back to watch the guys work on it."
Complete
PR
(08-05-04)
MIS Photos:
By Judy Benson
A big thanks to Judy "Mama" Benson for becoming the JBFC
photographer during the MIS weekend. We sent her on a
mission and she came back with great photos!
(08-03-04)
IRP and Nashville Truck Races
Mark your calendars! Johnny will be
back behind the wheel of the #23 Toyota Tundra owned by Bill
Davis Racing for the next two Truck Series Races.
Indianapolis Raceway Park is scheduled for Friday, August
6th and Nashville is Saturday, August 14th.
(08-03-04)
JB Fan Race Reporter
Many Johnny Benson fans do not
have the opportunity to see Johnny race in person and would
like to hear from JB fans on what it is like to attend a
NASCAR race. So, the JBFC is looking for more fan
involvement. We are looking for fans to be race
reporter for Nashville. The report does not have to be detailed -
just share your experience. Your story is what counts.
Please contact us at
support@johnnybenson.com if interested.
(08-07-04)
Johnny Finishes 4th at MIS
Great job to Johnny and the Bill
Davis Racing Team on their 4th place finish at Michigan
International Speedway. Travis Kvapil won followed by
Ted Musgrave, Mike Skinner and JB! This was the 2nd
top 5 finish for Bill Davis Racing in the 2004 season.
(08-01-04)
JB's Quotes
"The Toyota Tundra ran good
and the Bill David Racing guys did a tremendous job. It
was a lot of fun. It felt like at the beginning of the
race - I kept running hard and kept running hard - and I
couldn't get past the #15. But, we put on the last set of
tires and it was a really good match. We just held on to
see how long we could run. It ran pretty good all day.
We held on to fourth. If the race went a little longer,
we may have even been able to pass a few more trucks. I'm
not complaining though. We held on to fourth and it was a
really good run."
The part about Toyota
that I'm really impressed with is that they seem to be
coming along pretty quickly with the program and the
horsepower is really good. They've come a long way since
Daytona, from talking to some of the other drivers.
Everything in the truck is extremely smooth and I attribute
that to Toyota and everyone at Bill Davis Racing. This is a
really smooth driving vehicle and really fun to race.
(08-01-04)
Photos By: Homer
Thank you for sharing with JB Fans!
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