Johnny Benson:  A Racer's Racer

By Arianne Hegeman
June 20, 2008

Stepping into the Craftsman Truck Series garage at Dover International Speedway is vastly different than entering into the Sprint Cup garage.  Even on race day, there is more room to move around all the activity and meetings.  The men and women who are employed in the series that has recently brought three consecutive first-time winners into victory lane have just as much passion for turning wrenches, figuring out the right set- ups and hoisting trophies as the big guns that compete on Saturdays and Sundays. 

The garage is not the only thing that is different inside the truck series, the drivers have an allure all their own. They often work under the hoods of their own racing vehicles and have more freedom to be themselves during interviews.  They do not have multi-million dollar endorsement contracts to enhance their earnings.   

They are racer’s racers.

Johnny Benson, driver of the #23 Bill Davis Toyota Tundra, exhibits all that the truck series has to offer to race fans.  He climbs into his race truck to win.  Benson has been around long enough to know that staying on top is just as hard as getting to the top.  “To me, it doesn’t matter where you are the pressure is the same to do well. It’s no different for me, whether I’m running at a local track, a Craftsman Truck series or a Nationwide Series or a Sprint Series race.  All you can do is go out and try to win races and the rest of the stuff will just takes care of itself”  

That way of thinking has helped Benson score victories in the Winston Cup Series (Rockingham), Busch Series (Dover , Hickory, Atlanta) , and the Craftsman Truck Series (Milwaukee (2), Michigan, Nashville, Phoenix, Loudon, Bristol, Homestead, Gateway).  He also earned the Busch Series championship title in 1995 with only one DNF for the entire season.  After a successful run in the Winston Cup and Busch Series, Benson moved to the Craftsman Truck Series full time in 2005 and has finished 2^nd and 3^rd in Championship standings in 2006 and 2007.  His 2008 statistics place Benson in line for another run at the truck championship.  In the first 10 events, he has scored 5 top fives and 7 top tens and a pole award at Mansfield.   

Benson acquired his interest in racing from his dad who is a racing legend back in Michigan.  The elder Benson was inducted into the Michigan Motorsports Hall of Fame and has over 191 feature victories, 7 track championships at Berlin Raceway, and developed Benson Speed Equipment located in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  He also ran in a Winston Cup race in 1973 at Michigan International Speedway where he started 36^th and finished 21^st. Racing  from the late 1950’s to the early 1980’s did not present a chance to run in the truck series for Johnny Benson Sr., but his son doubts he would have taken the bait anyway.  “He tried the Cup deal once and he thought it was way too boring.  He likes the short sprint-style races, stuff where you have to get it done right away.  He likes it when your stuff has to be really good at the start of the race where you have no opportunities to work on it.  The truck series is very similar to that style of racing because a lot of the time you only get one pit stop maybe two pit stops to work on your vehicle.  My dad tried it but just thought it was way too boring.  He enjoyed the outlaw late model stuff and super modifieds he used to run.”

The apple does not fall far from the tree.  No wonder Johnny Benson Jr. has fit into the Craftsman Truck Series so well.

An occasional trip back to his roots allows Benson to enjoy what he deems as the best form of racing.  “Short track racing is just the best.  It’s a style that is different than running the trucks on short tracks because you don’t have any radios and you don’t have any mirrors.  You are there by yourself and it is a short race. At times, it can be a bit more challenging because if you’re leading it because of the tire management aspect you never know when to go or when not to go so you pretty much run hard the whole time.  You don’t know if a guy is right behind you or if you’re half the track ahead so the mindset is different.”  Benson was scheduled to run a super modified at Toledo Speedway on Friday, June 13^th but the event was postponed due to inclement weather.

Over the span of Benson’s NASCAR career, he has had the opportunity to participate in premiere events such as the IROC series.  Sadly, the series is now non-existent and Benson is among the many drivers who miss the chance to run against guys like Steve Kinser and Al Unser, Jr.  “It’s too bad the series is not still around but in the same token it had become a Cup deal towards the end.  There wasn’t enough outside people brought in and to me that series was brought up strictly to have all champions from different parts of auto racing.  It changed over the years because of scheduling. It was heavy loaded on the NASCAR side and the economy made it tough for them to hold onto it.  I wish it was still around, Jay and Barb Signore did a tremendous job for many years, I love those people for hanging around for as long as they did.”  His career also found him in front of television cameras, co-hosting shows such as Inside Winston Cup.  Although he enjoyed the time it became increasingly difficult to maintain a schedule while competing full time in NASCAR.  “It was fun to do that.  It’s just another way to add to the sport.  We did that for a while until it became too much.”

Johnny Benson’s contribution to the sport is much like what Matt Kenseth does in the Cup series.  He quietly continues to succeed in the Craftsman Truck Series, maintaining a constant presence inside the top ten, winning multiple races each season but does so without all the hype and glitter.  Benson is comfortable with his role in the Craftsman Truck Series and is poised to add another championship title to his resume.

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