Johnny Benson, Bill Davis Racing team honored at Truck banquet
NASCAR's Craftsman Truck Series drivers celebrated champion Johnny Benson and other top competitors during their season-ending awards banquet Monday night at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla.
Benson, 45, became the series’ 10th different champion in its 14-year history by finishing seventh in Sunday night’s Ford 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He also became only the second competitor to win the truck series title and the title in what is now the Nationwide Series, though he went 13 years between championships. Roush Fenway Racing's Greg Biffle is the other driver to have won both titles.
The 13 years between championships is the longest in NASCAR national series history.
Benson team owners Bill and Gail Davis and crew chief Trip Bruce also became NASCAR Craftsman Truck champions for the first time.
There has been a different champion each year since 2000.
Benson joined Bill Davis Racing in mid-2004 on a race-to-race basis and became a full-time driver in 2005. He finished third in the standings a year ago and was the runnerup to Todd Bodine in 2006. He has 14 race victories during the past three seasons.
“Winning the championship for Bill and Gail Davis and BDR has been great,” Benson said. “When I got the call from Bill, we had two main goals. To win races and win a championship.
“We have accomplished those goals. I am excited about being Craftsman's last champion and being the ambassador for [new series sponsor] Camping World. We are going to enjoy this offseason.”
The championship was the first for the Davises, who have operated a NASCAR team for more than two decades and won the 2002 Daytona 500 with driver Ward Burton.
“Winning a championship is what NASCAR is all about, the ultimate goal,” Bill Davis said. “For Gail and me, we have been lucky enough to be in the championship hunt for the last three seasons. We have been so close so many times.”
Bruce, a 31-year-old Chester, Va., native, teamed with Benson for the past two seasons. Their nine victories during that span rank second in the series.
This season, Benson and the team collected awards of $1,181,997, a series record.
Benson was also named the series’ most popular driver for the third consecutive year in the first season that fans voted for the awards.
Craftsman, the series’ presenting sponsor in 1995 and full entitlement sponsor since the following season, will be succeeded by Camping World under a seven-year agreement beginning in 2009. The series will be known as the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
“Over our 14-year span we’ve crowned 10 different champions in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and have been proud to watch many of our series stars go on to become great heroes of NASCAR,” said Mike Cassar, Craftsman brand manager. “While our role will change going forward, Craftsman will remain as the official tools of NASCAR.”
The 2009 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season will begin Feb. 13 at Daytona International Speedway.
