Johnny Benson, Trip Bruce question decision to disband No. 1 Red Horse Racing team
By Jared Turner - SceneDaily Staff Writer
Monday, June 08, 2009
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Johnny Benson is searching for a ride after his Red Horse Racing team suspended operations.
David Griffin
NASCAR Scene
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Johnny Benson and crew chief Trip Bruce weren’t happy to learn they were being released by Red Horse Racing as part of team majority owner Tom DeLoach’s decision to shut down the organization’s No. 1 Truck team. Nor was the pair totally surprised when DeLoach announced on Monday morning that the team was suspending operations because of a lack of sponsorship on Benson’s truck.
What Benson and Bruce don’t quite understand, however, is why DeLoach disbanded their group and chose to keep the organization’s other team, the No. 11 group of driver T.J. Bell, intact.
In addition to being higher in points, Benson is also the defending series champion, having won the 2008 title at Bill Davis Racing, where he spent two years with Bruce atop his pit box. The two moved to Red Horse together in the offseason after Triad Racing Technologies bought BDR and decided not to field a Truck team.
“The 11 is running without a sponsor and so are we, so, yeah, a bit of a shock, but that’s OK,” Benson said in a phone interview with SceneDaily.com Monday. “It’s his (DeLoach’s) race team. He’s going to do what he wants.”
DeLoach, a retired Mobil Oil executive who founded Red Horse Racing in 2005 along with co-owner Jeff Hammond, brought Benson and Bruce over to Red Horse as a package deal for the organization’s new No. 1 team in 2009. After initial talks of running only a partial schedule, the team had planned to run the full season and compete for the series championship.
“Tom had talked a good deal about trying to bring us over there,” said Benson, a winner of 14 races in NASCAR’s No. 3 series. “He’s the one that came over and courted us to come over there to try to help out and make a championship-contender race team. It was plans in the making; he just changed his mind on moving forward, and I’m sure sponsorship had a lot to do with it.
“I find it hard to believe there’s a lot of teams out there getting sponsorship and things of this nature and us not being able to get one, being the defending champions, so that lies back in his hands.”
A car chief, shock specialist and two body hangers were also let go when the team suspended operations, Bruce said.
“We were told it was a lack of sponsorship. He was just going to shut it down and fire me and Johnny and the core of our group, so he did, and that’s about all I know,” Bruce said of DeLoach. “I just walked out. … I work in a forward pace, and that’s tough for some people. Everybody wants to win, but some people don’t really want to win that bad, you know, and it’s tough. I don’t know. It may have been overwhelming for him - what it actually takes to win.”
Benson and Bruce had been pretty pleased with how their season had been going over the first eight races.
Despite being seventh in points, Benson was just 155 points out of the lead. And the Grand Rapids, Mich., native was coming off a fourth-place finish last weekend at Texas Motor Speedway.
Bell has one top-10 to Benson’s four and is 20th in the standings.
“I don’t know if anybody realizes it at Red Horse or not, but I don’t pay attention to those points, but there was an opportunity to put a back-to-back drivers championship together - at the least,” Bruce said Monday. “… That opportunity was there for that, and it’s not anymore as of a few hours ago, so I don’t understand that part. That’s a little confusing. You take the worst of two performing teams, and you get rid of the good one.”
Benson, who says he had a three-year contract with Red Horse, says he hopes to land another ride - possibly even with Bruce as his crew chief again. Where Benson might drive next, though, he doesn’t know.
He doesn’t expect to compete in Saturday’s Truck race at Michigan.
“Seeing I just found out about this, I haven’t a clue yet,” he said. “I don’t have my own truck, so I would dare have to say probably not unless somebody else is fired.”
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13 responses to "Johnny Benson, Trip Bruce question decision to disband No. 1 Red Horse Racing team". Post a Comment.
benflorance said:
Jun 8, 2009 at 2:58 PMi couldn't agree mosre b/c it makes no sense...shut down the 11 that is the lowest full time team in driver points and not the defending champ who is 7th
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» Confirm Abuse ReportJGRFan4Life said:
Jun 8, 2009 at 4:09 PMI have to agree with Benson. After all, he is the reigning champion of the series. I like T.J. Bell, and he's a good driver, but even considering the immense amount of bad luck he's had this year, he's not Johnny Benson. I hope someone picks Benson up this year.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportWerner said:
Jun 8, 2009 at 4:15 PMcome on Hammond...tell DW to give you some of taht Digger money to keep Benson going...hey...put Digger on the truck...
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» Confirm Abuse Reportmere901 said:
Jun 8, 2009 at 5:03 PMI really hope someone does pick up Johnny. He's a great driver and guy!!
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» Confirm Abuse Reportalisoeddie said:
Jun 8, 2009 at 6:25 PMHow bad is it when a team co-owned by Jeff Hammond and all of the resources and connections he has can't find sponsorship for the defending series champ? Real bad.
Report as AbuseGot a feeling that the reason TJ Bell still has his ride is that he's funding at least part of it.
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» Confirm Abuse Reporttrtruckin said:
Jun 8, 2009 at 7:02 PMJohnny is to nice a guy and a great racer to deserve this kind of treatment. Talk about no respect. Oh well never cared for Hammond anyway and now I really don't care for him. What an idiot to give up the chance to have a Champion
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» Confirm Abuse Reportlady6nascar said:
Jun 8, 2009 at 7:45 PMJohnny is [was my pick in the trucks] always was. I guess that ends me and the trucks.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportscottdbrennan said:
Jun 8, 2009 at 9:04 PMOn Jayski, looks like the #17 is going to use the #1 equipment starting this weekend at MIS. Tim Peters moving team to Red Horse Racing. Sounds like some backroom deal was in the works.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportSheilaHawley said:
Jun 8, 2009 at 10:13 PMI can't believe this. Johnny is a great driver and the defending Champion! Who wouldn't want to Sponsor him? Sounds like something fishy going on here. Johnny is a good, hard racer that doesn't take anyone out for the win. Just good, clean, hard racing. He beat Hornaday, even with all his team money and Hornaday's tricks. This is terribly wrong.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportPhoenix987 said:
Jun 8, 2009 at 11:35 PMWhile I can understand cutting a team because of no funding, I do find it nearly impossible to believe that no one would sponsor Benson.
Report as AbuseAs for Timothy Peters joining RHR, I don't mind it (I don't like it either). He's got sponsorship, and was really not a "high-tech" team. By joining RHR, he gets the tech and gives them sponsorship.
I understand that TJ Bell has some sponsorship, but I can't understand that no one would want to sponsor Benson. He'll land somewhere though I am sure.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportksajdera said:
Jun 9, 2009 at 9:52 AMShutting down the defending champion, 7th in points, in favor of the 11, 20th or so in points.......there's more going on here than has been let out. I love Johhny. There's probably no nicer guy in the public eye and I hope him the best. I wish I had a truck 'cause he'd be in it this weekend!
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» Confirm Abuse ReportHornFan33 said:
Jun 9, 2009 at 12:26 PMThis deal has been brewing for month,it was just the matter was it JB or TJ. The whole thing while it a bummer for JB, came down to TJ having some sponsorship dollars and it's rumored he pays part of the bill.
Report as AbuseThe deal with Timothy Peters and Premier Racing with Strutmaster.com as sponsor, is they would be a affiliated with Red Horse Racing and fielded by them. (Same deal as HOF & Yates have in Cup.) The deal with Premier is they have three trucks, several engines, two full-time employees and operate out of a extra garage in a sub division.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportHornFan33 said:
Jun 9, 2009 at 1:34 PMThis deal has been brewing for month,it was just the matter was it JB or TJ. The whole thing while it a bummer for JB, came down to TJ having some sponsorship dollars and it's rumored he pays part of the bill.
Report as AbuseThe deal with Timothy Peters and Premier Racing with Strutmaster.com as sponsor, is they would be a affiliated with Red Horse Racing and fielded by them. (Same deal as HOF & Yates have in Cup.) The deal with Premier is they have three trucks, several engines, two full-time employees and operate out of a extra garage in a sub division.
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