Congratulations!

The JBFC would like to send out their congratulations to Jeremy and Wendy Bartz on the birth of Alexis Renae.  Jeremy has worked hard to entertain the JB fans will his CUP contest on the JBFC Message board.  Looks like Jeremy has a harder job ahead of him!  (11-29-04)

Inside Nextel Cup
The season finale of Inside Nextel Cup will be broadcast on Monday, November 29th at 7:00 pm.   Join Johnny and the rest of the expert panel as they review the 2004 season.   (11-27-04)

2004 TruckSeries.Com Most Popular Driver
The JBFC would like to thank all the JB fans who took the time to vote for Johnny in the 2004 TruckSeries.com Most Popular Driver Award.  Steve Park won the contest with 35% of the votes (5,609).  Johnny came in 2nd with 30% of the votes (4,884).  Just to show you how dedicated the Johnny Benson and Steve Park fans are - 3rd place went to David Reutimann with just 8% of the votes (1,291).  Steve Park was awarded a trophy and jacket at the 2004 Banquet which was held in Miami on Saturday, November 20th.  (11-21-04)

Congratulations!
The JBFC would like to send out their congratulations to Bobby Hamilton for winning the 2004 Truck Series Championship.    Hamilton’s championship season included 4 wins at Atlanta, Memphis, Kentucky, and Nashville.  The top five in points are Dennis Setzer, Ted Musgrave, Carl Edwards and Matt Crafton.  David Ruetimann won the Rookie of the Year honors.  (11-21-04)

Toyota's First Nascar Season Comes to a Close in Florida
Toyota 's inaugural season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) ended at Homestead-Miami Speedway this afternoon when Tundra drivers David Reutimann and Mike Skinner registered top-10 finishes.

Reutimann, driver of the No. 17 Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Tundra, crossed the finish line fourth and Mike Skinner, driver of the No. 5 Bill Davis Racing Tundra, recorded a sixth-place. In addition to another top-five finish -- his fourth of the season -- Reutimann received NCTS Rookie-of-the-Year honors following the race.

Following Reutimann and Skinner to the finish line at Miami-Homestead were Tundra drivers Johnny Benson (11th), Hank Parker Jr. (17th), Travis Kvapil (19th), Bill Lester (24th) and Robert Huffman (35th).

Benson was running second to eventual race-winner Kasey Kahne late in the event, when handling problems forced him to relinquish the position.  "We were good all day," said Benson. "The guys at Bill Davis Racing did a tremendous job and we had great pit stops. Right at the end, we got really tight on that last run. I couldn't do anything once the tires got worn. We had a shot to run second, but I don't know if we really had a shot at taking the lead. But, we were sure going to go for it."    Complete PR   (11-21-04)
 

Another Position in Owner's Points. 
After finishing 6th at Darlington International Speedway, the #23 Team has climbed another position to 19th in owners point standings!   Good job! 
(11-15-04)
 

Meet the #23 BDR Team
The JBFC would like to thank the #23 Bill Davis Racing team for all their hard work since Johnny has been behind the wheel of their Toyota Tundra.  While in Phoenix, I had an opportunity to meet them and they allowed me to take photos for this website.  Click Here to view individual photos and their responsibilities.  (I hope you enjoy the pictures!  Barb  11-14-04)

NASCAR on Family Feud This Week
The syndicated "Family Feud" show is scheduled to air NASCAR-themed episodes this week. Drivers representing the sanctioning body's top three national series will pit their NASCAR families of crew chiefs, crew members and family members against each other for the benefit of their favorite charities. The lineup includes Ward Burton, who will play for the Ward Burton Wildlife Foundation; Sterling Marlin, who will play for the Boys and Girls Club of Nashville, Tenn.; Casey Mears, who will play for Target House; David Green, who will play for the Lance Armstrong Foundation; Bill Lester, who will play for the Urban Youth Racing School; Elliott Sadler and Kenny Wallace, both of whom will play for the Autism Society of America; and Kevin Harvick and Jeremy Mayfield, both of whom will play for the Victory Junction Gang Camp.
(11-15-04)
 

NASCAR Changing 2005 Rules

NASCAR today announced plans to implement a post-qualifying impound procedure for the Nextel Cup at more than half of the 36 championship-point races in 2005. NASCAR said the move, which eliminates the "Happy Hour" final practices and takes away some of the incentives for special qualifying setups, will help teams save money. After qualifying and post-qualifying inspections, the 43 cars in the field will be impounded by NASCAR officials until race day, and teams will not be permitted to work on them. It isn't clear yet how many events will be covered by the new rules. "We are still in the process of getting more tracks to commit to this procedure,” Nextel Cup Series Director John Darby said.  (11-15-04)

Johnny's Comments After Darlington
“The night started out pretty rough. We just had it too loose. We kept tightening it up, and tightening it up. On the one caution we got real lucky because we had a flat tire as we were coming around. We were fortunate that it was under caution and we were able to change it without losing a lap. We continued to make some adjustments and my Tundra just kept getting better and better. On the last set of tires it was just a little loose. Overall, we come out of here pretty good. It’s been a good night.”

“This place is pretty cool during the day, and really cool at night. I’d have every race here under the lights. Hopefully, it was a good show for the fans. It was a little cold outside, but it was perfect inside the truck.”   (Courtesy of Trackside)
(11-14-04)
 

Another Top Ten Finish for the #23 BDR Team!
Due to the pouring rains on Friday night, the Craftsman Truck teams had to wait until Saturday night to put on a show for the fans.  Johnny and the #23 Bill Davis team lead by Greg Ely had their work cut out for them since they were starting deep in the pack.

Johnny was joined by Kenny Schrader in row 14th.  The main goal was to race the race track and be there at the end.  At 5:30 pm, the temperature was 58 degrees with winds at 12 mph.  The pit window was 60 - 70 laps.  Tire management was key and was a factor at the end of this 147 lap event. 

A decision was made by NASCAR to have a competition yellow on lap 40 since the happy hour session was cut short due to rain.  Right from the start, Johnny fought a loose condition and had all he could do to keep his truck under control.  The first caution flew on lap 13 and Johnny remained on the track.  By the time the second caution flew on lap 32, it became apparent that the loose condition was not going to change.  This forced Johnny to pit prior to the competition caution.  They did not change tires, just made an adjustment by going all the way down on the track bar. 

After returning to the track, the track bar change made the difference in the handling of the truck.  But Johnny did not gain a lot of positions.  Luckily, a caution flew allowing Johnny to bring the #23 Toyota Tundra down pit lane for 4 tires.  Once the majority of the field pitted for the competition yellow, Johnny remained on the track giving them the track position they needed as they were in 6th place. 

Unfortunately, Johnny could not maintain that position.  Within 20 laps, he was shuffled back to 13th.  Another round of pit stops on lap 64 for fresh tires, put Johnny in 12th.  By lap 83, Johnny was back into the top ten.  Another caution flew around lap 100, it was time for another round of fresh tires since this  abrasive track was tough on the tires.  

With 23 laps to go Johnny was in 5th.  However, the teams that had saved their tires for the final run made their final pit stops.  In the closing laps, the top ten positions shuffled around due to bumping and side by side racing.  Kasey Kahne won followed by Bobby Hamilton, Ted Musgrave, Carl Edwards, Steve Park and Johnny Benson.  This is the second week in a row that Johnny is the top running Toyota driver.  (11-14-04)

Johnny on Darlington at Night
Trackside Editor, Charles Krall interviewed Johnny about Darlington
How will it be running under the lights? “When you’re by yourself it doesn’t really matter if you’re running at night or during the day. But, when you get a bunch of other trucks out there together, that’s when it makes a difference. It will be interesting to see all the sparks flying from the other trucks, which is something that you don’t normally see around here. So, it should be really interesting, especially for the fans. I think it’s a great idea to bring the race under the lights. It should be cool.”

How will the cool weather affect the race?  “It being cooler at night is definitely going to play a role in the race because this track is hard on tires. It will probably make tires last a little bit longer, hopefully, and we won’t slide around as much. Although you’re still going to slip and slide a little bit. It’s definitely going to be better running at night.”    (11-14-04)
 

Johnny to Start 27th

Under cloudy skies at Darlington International Raceway, the Craftsman Truck teams took to the track on Thursday.  After running a total of three laps, the skies opened up and the practice session was red flagged.  Johnny was 6th fastest at that time.  Practice resumed allowing Johnny run a total of 17 laps in the first session.  His time of 30.145 clocked in for 20th fastest at a speed of 163.132 mph.  During this session, they changed shocks and checked tire wire while concentrating on race set up.

Johnny and Greg were comfortable with the race set up, but were concerned with putting down a quick lap.  Although Johnny's speed increased over the first practice session, it did not put him in a good starting position.  Johnny's time of 31.130 at a speed of 163.213 mph place him 27th fastest.  Needless to say, they were pretty disappointed.  The three crew chiefs of Bill Davis Racing discussed their qualifying runs in hopes of hitting on something in the last practice session.

It was apparent that the truck teams would have to deal with weather during the happy hour practice.  After running a couple of laps, Johnny brought his Toyota Tundra in for an adjustment.  He ran another 4 laps, but was not comfortable with that adjustment.  A gear change was in order.  Unfortunately, time ran out due to consistent rain and happy hour was shortened.  They would have to rely on the notes from first practice to put the set up in for race day.  (11-14-04)

A New Hat
Bobbie McQueen of Arizona doesn't care what Johnny is driving. It gives her a good reason to design a new hat!  Here is her latest creation that she wore at Phoenix International Speedway this past weekend.  Bobbie, thank you for your support of Johnny!   (11-09-04)

Boyne Machine Driver Awards Banquet
concludes Berlin Raceway's 2004 season
Berlin Raceway's annual Boyne Machine Driver Awards Banquet presented by Performance Engineering and The Screen Print Department Inc. was held Friday night at the Pinnacle Center in Hudsonville, and a sold-out crowd of 650 drivers, crew members, families and car sponsors enjoyed an evening of celebration. Champions Joe Bush, Brian Wiersma and Terry Van Haitsma were awarded their championship trophies and points fund prize money for their respective divisions, and several other awards were presented for driver accomplishments.

The banquet presentations included $40,000 in points fund money distributed to the top 15 drivers in each division, provided by Hoosier Racing Tire, Van Manen Petroleum and division sponsors Coors Light, Engine Pro and Standale Lumber.

Bush, from Hastings, MI, collected six race wins on his way to winning the Coors Light Late Model championship and was a model of consistency, finishing in the top five in every race but one. Bush was also named The Screen Print Department Racer of the Year. Coopersville's Brian Wiersma won seven Engine Pro Super Stock features on his way to winning his third division championship and first since returning to the division after a five-year stint in the Coors Light Late Model division. Van Haitsma, from Hudsonville, won seven features in the Standale Lumber Sportsman division to capture the championship in just his second season racing.  Complete PR  (11-09-04)

Darlington to Offer Free Admission Thursday

Darlington Raceway says it will observe Veterans Day on Thursday by offering free admission for the day's practice and qualifying sessions for Craftsman Truck Series teams. The teams will be seeking to qualify for Friday's Darlington 200, which is scheduled to be the first night race ever held at the historic facility.  (11-08-04)

Good Job - #23 BDR Team!
With another top 5 finish at Phoenix - the #23 Bill Davis Racing team have now position themselves in the top 20 in owners points.  Good job to all!  (11-08-04)

Congratulations - Mike Chaffee It was another trackside battle, this time wrench-to-ratchet, to decide the SK Hand Tool Crew Chief of the Year, but in the end after all the points were tallied Mike Chaffee was the victor.

Chaffee, crew chief on Kevin Cywinski’s No. 1 ride, won the title by accumulating 230 points over the 14-race season. Finishing second with 237 points was Shane Tesch from Mike Garvey’s No. 17 Jani-King Chevrolet. Third through fifth place finishers were Carl Hartman (Car No. 80, 255 points), Bill McGowan (Car No. 63, 260 points) and Butch Miller (Car No. 52, 264 points).

The SK Hand Tool Crew Chief of the Year award is determined by the cumulative score of the driver’s starting and finishing positions during the course of the year. Lowest overall score wins. For example, if a driver started 10th and finished fifth, the crew chief of record for that car would receive 15 points in that race.

In addition, Chaffee was twice named as the SK Hand Tool Crew Chief of the Race during the season. These came from the performance of the No. 1 Country Joe Racing team at Lake Erie (Pa.) Speedway and at The Milwaukee Mile. These individual honors came with a $500 certificate to be used towards the purchase of SK Hand Tool products.  (Mike Chaffee is a JBFC member!  11-08-04)

Conversation with Alba Colon
Note:  Alba Colon is one of the GM Managers who made the trip to Berlin Raceway this year to see Johnny compete.  I thought you would like to read about her responsibilities.  Barb

Three General Motors teams are chasing Ford's Kurt Busch in the 2004 Chase for the Nextel Cup, and it's part of Alba Colon's job to make sure they get there.

Colon is GM Racing's NASCAR Nextel Cup program manager, overseeing how the manufacturer supports its 16 Chevrolet teams. Colon is a bit of a rarity in NASCAR: a female holding a top-level job.  But the results speak to how well she has done her job. Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are all within 48 points of the Nextel Cup points lead.    Complete Story  (11-08-04)

Another Top 5 Finish for Johnny in Phoenix 

The Craftsman Truck garage opened at 7:00 a.m. which made for a long day for the teams since their race was scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m.  Phoenix International Speedway was a busy place with BGN and Cup activities all day on Friday.  The Nextel Cup qualifying session went over, so the Craftsman Truck drivers were buckled in their trucks so they could roll out onto the track as soon as qualifying was done.  NASCAR's main concern was the loss of daylight since they do not have lights. 

Johnny and the #23 team had high hopes for the 150 lap event.  Gail Davis joined Greg Ely on top of the pit box.  Bill Davis paced in the pit area and along pit road.  Johnny began to make his way through the field right from the start.  By lap 18th, he was in 12th and running faster than the leaders on Lap 23. 

A caution on lap 40, brought Johnny onto pit lane for 4 tires.  They dropped the air pressure and removed the paper off the grill.  He went in 12th and came out in 8th - gaining 4 positions.  By lap 53, he was running in 7th.  Another caution flew, but they remained on the track.  The #23 Toyota Tundra was running good and the crew requested that Johnny save gas - just in case the race went green.  By lap 63, Johnny was in 5th. 

The truck began to stabilized on lap 94.  Johnny was still in 5th, but had to deal with lapped traffic and was losing momentum on gaining on the leaders.   After another caution flew on lap 108, Greg made the decision to bring Johnny in for service.  The spotter reminded Johnny to run 3900 rpms in 2nd gear.  Johnny requested that they make sure they rip off the left side tear off so he could see out of his windshield.  He could barely see as he drove down pit lane.  Problems with the pit stop, put Johnny back into the 8th position. 

This set of tires were tight and the Toyota Tundra did not handle as well.  Cautions plagued the last 20 laps of the race.  One truck dumped oil all around the track and Johnny was concerned with the clean up efforts.  He decided that his dirt track experience might help.  Greg radioed back and asked Johnny - just how many years experience did he have.  Johnny replied, "Three years - but it was a long time ago."  It seemed to work as Johnny saved his tires and earned another top 5 finish. 

Quotes from Johnny Benson, No. 23 Toyota: “We started off the race a little loose, but as we got going we got pretty good. I thought we had a shot at getting a top-three, or even a win, but the last stop hurt us a little bit. It was the last set of tires that really hurt. They were really tight, and the one in the front wasn’t working quite as well. But, I’m not going to complain. It was a pretty good run.”  (Quotes - Courtesy of Trackside - 11-07-04)

David Starr Wins in Phoenix
By Charles Krall, TrackSide Editor
David Starr took advantage of Ted Musgrave’s bad luck to win the Chevy Silverado 150 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Phoenix International Raceway on Friday.  Starr took over the lead with 28 laps remaining when then-leader Musgrave pulled to pit road with a flat right front tire.  Starr held off pole sitter and three-time Phoenix winner Jack Sprague on two late race restarts to drive to the win followed by Matt Crafton, Shane Hmiel and Johnny Benson.  Complete Story  (11-07-04) 

Congratulations! 
The JBFC would like to congratulate Kevin Cywinski and his Country Joe Racing team for winning the the 2004 American Speed Association (ASA) National Championship on Friday evening at Atlanta Motor Speedway (GA) on the heels of the team's ninth-place finish in the 150 kilometer event.   Cywinski's title was his second-straight ASA National Championship and his third overall.  He won his first back in 1997.  The points situation was so close that it took 30 minutes to crown a champion.  Cywinski won over Bryan Reffner by 10 points.  Complete PR   (11-02-04)

This brings back memories of another close championship race in 1992 when Mike Eddy won the championship over Johnny by a mere 2 points! 

Condolences to the Dowker Family
Max Dowker, age 81 of Charlotte, Michigan, died October 29, 2004 at his residence. He served his country in the Air Force during World War II and was an automotive machinist and partner in the Bosworth-Dowker Garage, which later grew into Dowker Engines, currently operated by his sons.

He was well known in racing circles and was a leader in the field for his work with titanium in racing engines. He had been inducted into the Michigan Motorsports Hall of Fame and had set many United States Auto Club (USAC) world half mile circle track records. He is survived by his wife Helen (Stukey) Dowker, sons Duane 'Butch' Dowker of Charlotte, Terry (Peggy) Dowker of Eaton Rapids, and grandchild Tony Dowker. 

The Benson Family sends their condolences to the Max Dowker Family.  Max built engines for two Benson generations.    (11-01-04)

"Racing" Honeymoon
Jack and Jennifer Drolema were married in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Saturday, October 16, 2004.  Where did they go on their honeymoon?  To the racing capital of the USA - Charlotte, North Carolina.  Jack is a driver in the Super Stock division at Berlin Raceway.

Their honeymoon included a stop at Martinsville, Virginia to watch Johnny race in the Craftsman Truck race and take in  the Cup race.  One of the highlights of their trip was the racing shop tours.  As you can see, they made a trip to the shops of DEI, Bill Davis and Petty Enterprises to met with Richard Petty.  (See featured photo).  

They had a great time at the Bill Davis Racing shops.  Scott Wimmer was in the shop and took the time to talk to them.  The guys on the #23 team were pretty pumped up about their 2nd place finish in California and are looking forward to JB taking it up one notch to get them a win. 

They also did the ride along program at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.  Jack made Jennifer take the drive first. Jennifer's driver mentioned that this was his first day on the job - made her a little nervous to say the least! 

They had such a good time in Charlotte - that they can not wait to go back for another visit.  Thank you, Jennifer and Jack for sharing your pictures with JB fans!  (11-01-04)

Waltrip to run for Victory Junction:
Michael Waltrip announced he will run the Las Vegas Marathon on January 30, 2005, and has made a commitment to raise $1 million benefiting Victory Junction Gang Camp in an effort called "Operation Marathon, Going the Distance for Kids." Additionally, Waltrip has teamed up with Devine Racing in a five-year agreement to support Operation Marathon. For every person who signs up to run in this year's Las Vegas Marathon, Devine Racing will donate $10 to the cause. Over the next three years, the company is committed to spending $2.3 million in advertising and public relations to promote the Las Vegas Marathon and Operation Marathon. According to Waltrip, Operation Marathon stemmed from a desire to help with the operating costs of Kyle and Pattie Petty's newly opened Victory Junction Gang Camp in honor of their late son, Adam Petty. Operation Marathon is an avenue for people to donate money to the camp. Fans can contribute to Operation Marathon by logging onto www.michaelwaltrip.com or calling 1-866-WALTRIP.