Johnny Benson's Bristol Preview

Race: O'Reilly 200

Location: Bristol Motor Speedway

Date: Wednesday, August 20, 2008

NOTES:

This week’s race truck for Bristol Motor Speedway is Chassis No. 23-73. Chassis No. 23-73 was last raced at the Kentucky Speedway where the 23 team took home their second victory of 2008.
Nice Battery… Exide Batteries will serve as the primary sponsor of the No. 23 Bill Davis Racing Toyota Tundra Wednesday night at Bristol Motor Speedway. The Atlanta-based Exide Batteries has been a partner of the No. 23 team for three seasons.
Defending Winner… Johnny Benson and the No. 23 team head to “Thunder Valley” as the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series’ most recent winner, as the team captured a victory last weekend in the Toyota Tundra 200 at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway.
Nice Stats… Benson has made four starts at Bristol behind the wheel of the No. 23 Toyota Tundra. In just his handful of starts, he has accumulated one victory, two fourth-place finishes and one 13th-place finish, giving him an average finish of 5.5 at the “World’s Fastest Half Mile.”
How it’s Made… Benson will appear at the Exide Batteries plant across the street from Bristol Motor Speedway Tuesday, Aug. 19. It will be his second trip to the Bristol plant.
On a Tear… The No. 23 Exide Batteries Toyota Tundra team has been on a tear since the end of June. The team has won four of the last five races and leads the Craftsman Truck Series in victories (four) this season. Three of those wins came in consecutive races, placing Benson in an elite club of only five drivers to win three consecutive races, a group which includes his Bill Davis Racing teammate, Mike Skinner.
Autographs Anyone… Johnny Benson will be at the Toyota souviner trailer on Wednesday, August 20th at 3 pm signing autographs. The trailer is located behind turns one and two.
Listen and watch… The O’Reilly 200 scheduled to start at 8 p.m. EST, Saturday, Aug. 20. It will broadcast on SPEED (TV), MRN (radio) and Sirius Satellite Radio (Ch. 128).

Johnny Benson on racing at Bristol Motor Speedway:

“Bristol is a place that all the teams have marked on their calendars. We have been lucky enough to win one there, which is pretty cool. [Crew chief] Trip Bruce made a call to pit early last year, which helped us win the race. We had a great truck, and I knew I would have to be patient in order to get back to the front. It was a great night.

“Trip and the guys on the No. 23 Exide Batteries team have done a tremendous job this year preparing trucks that win races. This is fun. Momentum is such an important thing in this sport. We have been on a roll and know we have to keep it up for the last 10 races.”

Johnny Benson - Bristol Motor Speedway