Bill Davis unhappy with Johnny Benson's decision to leave team
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – Bill and Gail Davis posed for the pictures, accepted the congratulations and stood on the Seminole Hard Rock Casino stage as owners of the championship-winning team during the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series awards banquet Monday night.
But while they readily accepted the accolades, there was something else on their minds. In the midst of perhaps Bill Davis Racing’s greatest moment, there was anger, frustration and maybe a little bitterness.
The Davises are upset with Johnny Benson, who won the 2008 drivers championship for BDR, accusing Benson of going back on his word to them earlier this season when he privately told them he was retiring after the 2008 season.
But Benson said he isn’t quitting and added that he hadn’t made up his mind when he told Davis he would be leaving the team at the end of the season.
So while the Truck series banquet seemed peaceful and joyous, it was hardly that.
“There are some circumstances here that makes this a little harder, Johnny leaving and not telling us that he’s leaving..., ” Bill Davis said after the banquet. “It makes it a little hard to really enjoy like you would want to. It’s not the way you’d expect to be treated from someone that you’ve done a pretty damn good job for for four years.
“We never insisted on a contract; he didn’t want one. We just had a handshake. That was good enough for him, good enough for us.
“You know, that’s OK. We will improve, we’ll come back with a stronger [No.] 23 truck next year and continue winning races.”
Gail Davis said she was thrilled to see her husband win his first NASCAR championship, but she admitted Benson’s departure puts a cloud over the title.
“Certainly. I think it does. I thought we had a great relationship, and we thought everything was going so well,” Gail Davis said. “We’ve always given our teams everything we could. We thought everybody was happy. We won this championship and won a lot of races. We thought everything was good, but you just don’t know what’s really going on with other people.”
Benson said he “didn’t have a plan” when he first decided not to return to BDR’s Truck team next year.
“I wanted to make sure he could move forward and do the things he needed to do to make sure that the 23 will be strong again next year,” Benson said. “When that had come around and I decided that's what I was doing, it's kind of hard to step back and say, ‘Hold on, I don't want that now.’ Or, ‘Hey, I still want my ride back or whatever.’
“I stuck with the fact that that's what I told him I was going to do, and we've had opportunities come along. I've turned down at least four opportunities, and then there's been a couple presented in front of me that looked fairly enticing to possibly come back and run a full season.”
Benson admitted Davis is “not real happy over the situation.”
“But I just hope he appreciates the hard work, and I'm sure he does, of everything that we were able to establish the four years I've been there, winning 14 races and a championship for him,” Benson said. “It's very well deserved for Bill Davis and Gail Davis, and Bill Davis Racing to win a championship. And I hope he grasps on to that, and I hope he enjoys it. I know next year's going to be very different for him.”
