Johnny Benson (#23 Toyota Tundra Toyota) owns a niche in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series history hed just as soon relinquish. Benson is the only active competitor to participate in the series Feb. 5, 1995 inaugural event who has yet to win a race. Not that the 41-year-old Michigan native hasnt come close. The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series veteran and television analyst has finished second three times, most recently last October at Texas Motor Speedway. And several factors suggest this weeks Kroger 250 at Martinsville Speedway could be Bensons personal drought breaker.
Three competitors 2004 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion and current point leader Bobby Hamilton (#04 Baileys Dodge), Jamie McMurray and Scott Riggs posted their first career victories at the .526-mile track, and recent short-track racing has produced a flurry of different winners 11 in a row since August 2003.
Finally, Benson has thousands of laps of experience at Martinsville in all three of NASCARs national series. His best performance came in 2002 when he finished second to Kurt Busch in the tracks NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Old Dominion 500.
Benson was 11th in last falls Kroger 200. He finished third when the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series made its debut at the southern Virginia track in 1995.
We are moving ahead with the program, said Benson, who joined Bill Davis Racing last July as teammate to Mike Skinner (#5 Toyota Tundra Toyota) and Bill Lester (#22 Toyota Tundra Toyota). We are real close. Maybe in Martinsville but you will have to wait and see. A Toyota truck has yet to win a short-track race, but Benson believes its only a matter of time.
We have been on the right track and have had some great runs, he said, adding that winning a series short-track race regardless of manufacturer requires a near perfect meld of driving talent, strategy and team preparation. With the more competitive teams get it gets harder and harder to pass. It is really hard to get from the back to the front which means you cant make any mistakes.
For Darrell Waltrip (#11 Toyota Tundra Toyota), life without time behind the wheel of a race vehicle would be no life at all.
So even though Waltrips making his final race appearance in Saturdays Kroger 250, hell continue to be involved in his two NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series teams meaning his two drivers will be getting hands-on advice from their owner.
Im not going to race competitively again, said Waltrip. Its like going to Martinsville a few weeks ago and testing with David (Reutimann, #17 NTN Bearings Toyota) and Robert (Huffman, #12 Toyota Tundra Toyota) and my truck. I still want to do that. Its not that Im not ever going to get in a car or truck again. Ill probably hop in there every now and then just for fun.
Fun is the word Waltrip has used to describe his occasional appearances in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series since retiring from the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series in 2000.
Ever since then, everything Ive done is for fun, he said. It would be no different if you were a professional baseball player or a golfer and you still like to play the game. I still like to play the game.
Waltrip is the winner of 84 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races including 11 at Martinsville Speedway. He has two seventh-place truck finishes at Martinsville since moving to the NASCAR on FOX television booth. Rich Bickle won the 1997 Kroger 250 in a Darrell Waltrip Motorsports-owned truck.
NEWS & NOTES, PART II
NASCAR NEXTEL Cup presence in Kroger 250 Kevin Harvick (#92 Yardman Chevrolet) eyes an unprecedented consecutive race sweep of NASCARs three national series in Saturdays Kroger 250. Harvick, wholl team with Atlanta winner Ron Hornaday Jr. (#6 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet), won the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Food City 500 and NASCAR Busch Series Sharpie Professional 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Harvicks best series finish at Martinsville is third in April 2003. Bobby Labonte (#47 Rodeway Inn/Econo Lodge/Trick Pony Chevrolet) and Ken Schrader (#52 Federated Auto Parts Chevrolet) also have entered this weeks race.
ETC. Hamilton has held a top 10 spot in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship standings for a record 53 races, eclipsing the record held by Hornaday and Jack Sprague (#16 Chevy Truck Chevrolet) in February at California Speedway. Mike Bliss 1999 qualifying record of 94.275 mph could be in jeopardy this week due to a softer compound Goodyear Wrangler tire. Bliss clocked 20.086 seconds to get within an eyelash of a 19-second lap. Last years Kroger 250 saw the most finishers in series history as 34 of 36 starters took the checkered flag. The 24 lead lap finishers matched Richmonds record set in 1998. The Kroger 250 will be the fourth and final race in which 2004 owner championship points will be used to set the starting field.
ON THE RIGHT TRACK
Setzer closes on Martinsville money mark Dennis Setzer (#46 Chevrolet Silverado Chevrolet), the only series driver to win twice at Martinsville Speedway, will surpass the $200,000 mark in track winnings by starting the Kroger 250. Setzer has won $195,990 in 10 appearances. His five top-five and seven top-10 finishes rank #1 at the .526-mile track.
10 YEARS TOUGH
With 25 races run over the first 10 years, Virginia arguably is the cradle of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series especially when it comes to short-track racing. Three tracks, Martinsville, Richmond International Raceway and South Boston Speedway, have produced 18 different winners, including series champions Greg Biffle, Mike Bliss, Bobby Hamilton, Mike Skinner and Jack Sprague.
FROM THE ARCHIVES
Until Bobby Hamilton captured Februarys Florida Dodge Dealers 250 from the 36th and final starting position, Dennis Setzer owned the record for most positions gained by a series winner. Setzer, whose qualifying speed at Martinsville was disallowed due to a technical infraction in 2002, lined up 33rd but still won the race. Only three drivers Hamilton, Setzer and Jimmy Hensley have won from a starting position of 30th or worse.
Fast Facts:
What: Kroger 250 (Race 4 of 25).
Where: Martinsville Speedway.
When: 1:15 p.m. ET, Saturday, April 9.
Track layout: .526-mile paved oval.
Race length: 250 laps/131.5 miles.
Posted awards: $465,155.
TV: SPEED Channel, 1 p.m. ET.
Radio: MRN, XM Satellite.
2004 winner: Rick Crawford.
2004 polesitter: Jack Sprague.
Pre-race schedule (all times local): Friday Practice 9:00 a.m. 11:15 a.m. Qualifying 4:45 p.m. Trucks impounded after qualifying.(NASCAR PR)(4-5-2005)
