Congrats! 

To Greg Gaskill who won the auction for the flag commerating Johnny's first Craftsman Truck Win at Michigan International Speedway on June 17, 2006 signed by Johnny.  He had a winning bid of $201.23. 

 

JB Photos
By:  Ray Fritz

Johnny and Joey Logano signing autographs in Atlantic City


Congratulations!
To JBFC member, Albin Kucera of Texas who won the 2009 renewal contest.  The prize was a 1:24 TCUV diecast signed by Johnny.  It pays to renew on time!  (01-23-09)


A Fan's Perspective
By:  Sandi Beideman
I met JB at the Atlantic city motorsports show on Saturday in New Jersey!!! He signed bunches of things that I brought (hat, champ shirt, truck, etc.)

I asked him where his ring was, and he said at home in the safe...it's the wrong size! I said is it Hornaday's size-and he said probably, they really wanted him to win!!  He was so gracious and fun, and several people said they spotted him AND Hornaday roaming the car show!

Also Joey Logano was next to JB signing, and I told him he has some big shoes to fill, but that he should be fine. I asked him if they were going to call him fire since he's after smoke.  JB announced "that's the first time I heard that-that's pretty good."  Joey's agent was standing there and said I'm writing that down!!  And he did! SO, you heard it here first if you hear about "Fire Logano".  Thanks, Sandi for sharing your experience!  (01-19-09)

Truck Owners Discuss Limiting Pit Stops?
From Jayski
NASCAR officials met with owners from the Camping World Truck Series at the Kevin Harvick, Inc. shop on Thursday to discuss potential procedural changes for this season. Chief among those discussed changes was the possible elimination of green/yellow flag pit stops, multiple sources told FOXSports.com. The sanctioning body wanted to open dialogue to discuss cost saving measures to ensure the health of the series this season since the truck count - and the sponsored truck count in particular - has diminished drastically. When the truck series first debuted, the series was able to limit expenses by having teams pit once at halfway under a competition caution and have fewer men over the wall. A similar plan could be in the works that would bring trucks down pit road according to the order on the track. Teams would be allowed to pit and the trucks would then return to the track in the same order, similar to a TV time out in football or basketball. Last season, 27 teams drove full time and 11 of 25 races had a full field of 36 trucks starting. While no confirmed counts have been released yet, it appears that number will be lower as some teams have shut down during the off season. The full impact of the economy likely won't be felt by the sport until after the season opening weekend at Daytona.(Fox Sports)(1-16-2008)

UPDATE: During an interview on Sirius NASCAR Radio's Sirius Speedway, Camping World Truck Series Competition Director, Wayne Auton talked about the some of the ideas discussed during the meeting at KHI between team owners and NASCAR officials. NASCAR has already put in place limits for the number of crew members, but other topics such as how many people a team will be allowed to bring to the race track, eliminating pit stops were among the issues talked about. Auton said that there may be some "tweaks" made, however, the main focus is to find ways to cut costs while ensuring fans continue to see competitive racing. Auton said that any forthcoming announcements would be made by the end of next week to be put in place prior to the season-opener at Daytona.   (01-17-09)


 

Meet the RHR Owners

Thomas DeLoach

Title: Owner/Managing Partner
Date of Birth: August 22nd
Residence: Mooresville, NC

Thomas C. DeLoach, Jr. received his bachelor's degree with honor in chemical engineering in 1969 from Georgia Tech and joined Mobil Oil Corporation at its Beaumont, Texas Refinery.

Tom progressed through a number of various positions in manufacturing, planning and supply to become Manager Crude Oil Supply for U.S. Marketing and Refining in 1980. In 1981 he was the liason with Mobil's diversified businesses: Montgomery Ward, Container Corporation and W. F. Hall Printing Company. He was named Vice President, U.S. Supply in 1984; and in 1986, he was appointed Vice President and General Manager, U. S. Marketing. He was elected VP, Corporate Planning and Economics for Mobil Corporation in 1990. He was elected to the Mobil Oil Board of Directors and named VP, Worldwide Supply and Trading in 1991. In 1993, Tom was named Executive VP in charge of International Marketing and Refining and in 1994 was named Chief Financial Officer for Mobil Corporation. In 1998, he became President of Global Midstream, which included global hydrocarbon supply and trading, marine operations, Middle East relationships and worldwide natural gas sales and marketing. From 1993 until his retirement, he was also the worldwide coordinator of Mobil’s Motorsports programs. He retired in 2000 from Mobil Corporation.

From 2000 to 2003, he was a partner, then consultant with Penske Racing’s NASCAR Winston Cup teams. He is vice chairman of the Ga. Tech Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Advisory Board, a Director for Liberty Property Trust, and is managing partner for PIT Instruction and Training, LLC.

Title: Owner/Partner
Date of Birth: September 9th
Residence: Mooresville, NC

                    Jeff Hammond

Motorsports veteran and Fox Sports broadcaster Jeff Hammond has been involved in NASCAR for over thirty years. Jeff's career in NASCAR began in 1974 working as a tire changer for Walter Ballard. Becoming one of the best jackmen in the business, Hammond served on all three of driver Cale Yarborough's Winston Cup championship seasons.

Legendary driver Darrell Waltrip took over for Yarborough in 1981 and the Junior Johnson-owned team won yet another championship. At the encouragement of Waltrip, Johnson promoted Jeff to the crew chief position for the start of the 1982 season. The combination of owner Johnson, driver Waltrip and crew chief Hammond set the sport of NASCAR on its ear. Two more championships followed and 43 wins as a crew chief placed Hammond in the record books as one of NASCAR's all time great crew chiefs.

Hammond resides in Charlotte, NC and has a son, Colt and a daughter, Heather. Besides his love of racing, Jeff also has a passion for horses, rodeos, team roping, and hunting. His heroes include his father and John Wayne.  (01-17-09)

Fan Page
The JBFC is looking for photos of Johnny Benson fans in their favorite JB gear.  If you photo is selected for publication on the site, you will get a set of 3 #23 decals sent to you.  Thank you for participating!   (01-17-09)
 

Ask the JBFC ...
During Johnny's recent appearance at Kool Toyota, the JBFC was asked a couple of questions that we felt would be good to share.

Are you ever going to run out of Johnny Benson - #26 Cheerios bags?  What a great question!  When Johnny drove for Jack Roush and his sponsor was General Mills, they produced plastic bags with a photo of the #26 / Cheerios design on it.  The JBFC had a great relationship with General Mills, so they as us if we wanted the remaining bags - 15,000 of them!  We use them for fan events, souvenir sales and packaging when shipping merchandise.  We can't believe we have been using them for 10 years and we hope that last until JB retires from racing!

We are so excited about Johnny moving to a new team in 2009 in the Craftsman Truck Series!  Will we get discounts on Red Bull drinks?  Oops ...  Wrong team!  Johnny has signed to drive for Red Horse Racing.  Unfortunately, they do not have a sponsor as of today.  (Although, Barb thinks the JBFC would look pretty good on the #1 truck! - ha).  Scott Speed and Brian Vickers are the drivers for the Red Bull team.  (01-08-09)

Sad News
Mr. John E. Cunningham, aged 54, of Walker, passed away unexpectedly on Friday, January 9, 2009. Surviving are his wife, Kathy (Planck); two sons, Anthony Cunningham and Scott Cunningham; his mother, Mildred Cunningham.   John was a 1972 Graduate of Northview High School. He was an employee of Emergency Lock & Safe. John was a member of St. George's Aid Society. A Funeral and Committal Service will be held Monday 1:30 p.m. at the funeral home. His family will receive visitors Sunday 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. at the Arsulowicz Brothers, Remembrance Mortuary, 3525 Remembrance Rd.

We are saddened to hear the news of John's passing.  He was fan of both John Sr. and Johnny during their racing careers.  He recently made the trip to Kool Toyota to see Johnny during the autograph session.  Over the years, he could be counted on rushing to the Benson's household to help us when we locked ourselves out of the house.  Our thoughts go out to the John Cunningham family.  


Spotlight On ....
We continue to spotlight the championship crew members who attended the banquet.  Here is Bryan Cable, Richard Gray and Trip Bruce and Tonya Hall.  (01-04-09)

Toyota 2006 Win Ads
The best part of starting a new year is the chance to clean out the office and tackle some of the projects that never seem to get done during the racing season.  During 2006, Toyota Motorsports produced a series of ads in honor of Johnny's wins.  I thought I would share them with you.  Barb   (01-04-09)

MIS Johnny took a trip back home, then he took a trip to victory lane	Milwaukee Two Wins in a Row Proof that nice guys don't finish last	Nashville Take it from Johnny: It ain't over till it's over!
New Hampshire Good?? Johnny Be Great	Phoenix First he took a Spin Then he took the win!

Congratulations! 
The following JBFC members won prizes at Johnny's Kool Toyota appearance:  Marilyn Lyons (Phoenix Raceway Program signed by Johnny), Denny Johnson (Phoenix Raceway Program signed by Johnny), Dick Wierenga (JB Shirt from Phoenix Racing), Chuck Quick (JB Engraved drawing by Jerry Victory), Ed McGregor (2008 Racing Directory), Phil VanSolkema (#10 Diecast)  and Peter Buhay (8 x 10 JB Photo).  It pays to be a fan club member!   (01-04-09)    

Kool Toyota Photos
By:  Denny and Donna Johnston  (01-04-09)

Johnny and Ashley	The Group in Line	The girls say thanks to the JBFC for the prizes

Sad News
Mr. Thomas A. VanderLind, Sr. aged 66 of Clermont FL., formerly of Comstock Park, MI., passed away Monday Dec 29, 2008.  Tom owned and operated Van’s Auto Sales on Alpine Ave. for many years until health issues forced him to retire and move to Clermont FL.  He enjoyed stock car racing; He drove, owned, and sponsored many at Berlin Raceway for many years.  In lieu of flowers memorial donations can be made to  The Victory Junction Gang Camp, 4500 Adam's Way, Randleman, NC 27317.  Tom was a long time JBFC fan.  Our thoughts are with your family at this time.  (01-02-09)

Red Horse Racing Expands to Two Teams

Red Horse Racing formally announced today that they will expand to two teams for the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season with the addition of defending series champion Johnny Benson to the team's roster. Benson, the 1995 NASCAR Nationwide Series champion and 1996 Sprint Cup Series Rookie of the Year, will join teammate David Starr in the Red Horse Racing Toyota Tundra's. Fittingly, Benson will pilot the team's No. 1 Toyota with Starr back behind the wheel of the familiar No. 11 Tundra.

"I couldn't be happier than I am joining Tom DeLoach and Red Horse Racing for 2009," Benson said. "Tom has a long history in the sport and has always done things the right way. He has built a great racing team. The shop, the equipment and the people are all top notch. There will be some familiar faces from the championship-winning team that comes over to Red Horse Racing so we hope that minimizes the adjustment time. We really plan on not having any adjustment time at all; we want to hit the ground running and fight for wins starting with the first race at Daytona. I'm looking forward to teaming up with David (Starr) too. He's always been a hard competitor on the track but he's a lot of fun to be around. I can tell we're going to have a lot of fun in 2009. We're going to enjoy the off-season - I've been looking forward to spending time with my family and working on some of my other racing projects during the winter - but I can't wait to get to Daytona and get the season started."

Benson will be paired with crew chief Trip Bruce, with whom he's had tremendous success in recent seasons. Since teaming with Benson prior to the start of the 2007 season they have scored nine wins, 26 top-five finishes, and 37 top-ten finishes in 50 starts.

"This is a great day for the Red Horse Racing team," said team owner Tom DeLoach. "We have wanted to expand to two teams since we entered the sport as owners full-time but the opportunity was never there to do it the way we wanted to. We got the opportunity to pair together David and Johnny and we did just that.  Johnny is one of the most accomplished drivers in NASCAR. He's won races at every level and he has won championships all the way back to his ASA days. On top of that, he's a fantastic guy that is tremendous with sponsors and he has a huge fan following. We're looking forward to getting him on the track in the No. 1 Tundra and picking up right where he left off in 2008."

Benson has 274 Sprint Cup Series starts with one career win (Rockingham, November 2002) and 58 career top-ten finishes. In 91 career Nationwide Series starts he has three wins, 19 top-five and 35 top-ten finishes. In addition to his 1995 series championship Benson was the 1994 Nationwide Series rookie of the year. Benson has made 125 Camping World Truck Series starts through the 2008 season with 14 wins, 53 top-five and 81 top-ten finishes. He joins Greg Biffle as the only two drivers to have scored championships in the Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series. Benson was also the 1991 American Speed Association rookie of the Year and the 1993 ASA champion.  (12-15-08)
 

EXIDE - NASCAR Illustrated
Heads up JB fans ...  EXIDE has informed me they have taken a full page ad out in the January - Champions Issue of NASCAR Illustrated congratulating Johnny and the team on their championship accomplishments.  Thank you, Exide for all your support! 
 

Bodine Challenge Starts
The Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge, is an effort to raise funds to keep the U.S. men's and women's bobsled teams at the forefront of international racing. It will again feature NASCAR and NHRA drivers piloting specially made bobsleds down the Mount Van Hoevenberg track outside Lake Placid. Members of the New York State Army National Guard will serve as brakemen, and the U.S. Bobsled National Championships, a four-heat competition over two days, will be held in conjunction with the Bobsled Challenge.

This year's Bodine field includes: road racer Boris Said; Joe Gibbs Racing phenom Joey Logano; NASCAR Whelen racing series champions Philip Morris, Brian Loftin, and Ted Christopher; Daytona Rolex pole winner Eric Curran; 19-year-old sprint car driver Tom Tolbert; NHRA Pro Stock champion Jeg Coughlin Jr.; and top fuel drivers Morgan Lucas, JR Todd, and Bob Vandergriff.  (Note:  Johnny did not make the trip to New York)

Said, whose late father drove in the 1968 and 1972 Winter Olympics for the U.S. bobsled team and was one of the sport's great promoters in his heyday, has dominated the Bobsled Challenge with five wins in six races since its inception. In Race 1 on Saturday, all drivers will compete against the clock in two runs down the track. Race 2 on Sunday will feature head-to-head matchups between the NASCAR and NHRA drivers, with the winner from each division squaring off in a final heat for bragging rights. 
(01-03-09)

Benson Returns to GR as Champion
By:  Steve Kaminski

Many professional athletes celebrate championships by going to Disney World, but not Johnny Benson Jr.

Instead, he came home.

Benson signed autographs for a steady stream of fans during a three-hour session Saturday afternoon at Kool Toyota on Plainfield, although he arrived without his 2008 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship ring.

"It's in a safe," said Benson, 45, a Grand Rapids native who resides in the Charlotte, N.C. area. "It's the wrong size, and I have to get it worked on."

If Benson adds some more bling next year by going back-to-back, it will be with a different team.

He announced last fall that he was leaving Bill Davis Racing, about one month before he locked up the championship in the last race of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Red Horse Racing
Benson made a second announcement earlier this month: He and Bill Davis Racing crew chief Trip Bruce will join Red Horse Racing in 2009.

However, Red Horse Racing continues to search for sponsorship as the Feb. 13 season opener at Daytona International Speedway draws closer.

"As far as I know, we are going to race an entire season, based on talking to (team owners) last week," said Benson, a 1981 Forest Hills Northern graduate. "We'll see what happens. I will be happy with whatever they want to do, whether it's a full season or partial or whatever the deal.

"A lot of it depends on sponsorship. But they made it sound like we are going to run the full season, with or without it. That was exciting to hear in one aspect. And on the other, it makes for a lot more work this year."

A history lesson
Before winning the Truck Series title by seven points over Ron Hornaday Jr., Benson had won Berlin Raceway Late Model (1989), American Speed Association (1993) and NASCAR Busch Series (1995) championships.

But this will mark the first time Benson returns to a series and attempts to defend his title.

He moved up in ranks after winning each of his previous championships.

It was clear by Saturday's turnout that Benson will have plenty of hometown support in his quest to win two in a row. He will try to become the first Truck champion to repeat in the series that dates back to 1995.

"It's always exciting to come home, but probably more so this year because they can all call you champion," Benson said.

"That's kind of a cool deal. It's great to come back and see the race fans who have supported me during my run for the championship. I have to thank Kool Toyota for getting me out here today."

Kool Toyota Appearance
Frank Boelema joined other JB fans at Kool Toyota in Grand Rapids for Johnny's autograph session.  Thanks for sending us your photos!  
(12-29-08)

Benson and Bruce Hope to Continue Success
Johnny Benson might be going to a new team for the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Truck season, but part of the defending series champion’s surroundings will remain the same, and his expectations aren’t changing much either.

While Benson is leaving Bill Davis Racing to become the driver for Red Horse Racing’s new second team, he will be paired with a familiar pit boss in crew chief Trip Bruce and a familiar manufacturer in Toyota, the brand for which he has competed since joining BDR in 2004.

Neither the continuation of Benson’s relationship with Toyota nor Bruce happened by chance. In fact, a desire to keep both intact influenced Benson’s move to Red Horse, where he and Bruce believe they can contend for another championship in 2009.

“I think probably the biggest attraction is that Trip Bruce was going over there,” Benson said in a phone interview. “I’ve known for a while that he was heading that way, and working with Trip has been something that I’ve really enjoyed the last two years and knew that I was going to miss that over at [BDR].”

Both Benson and Bruce say they were courted by several teams last season but that they didn’t want to go to another organization without the other. And their results are a testament to why that is.

In their two years together at BDR, the pairing produced nine wins, a third-place points finish in 2007 and the 2008 title.    “We talked about it together,” Bruce said of the move to a new team. “Both of us probably had a lot of people talking to us apart from each other. I had a lot of people approaching me about what I wanted to do next year and also Johnny the same. We talked to each other and decided it was probably best that we got on the same page.”

Benson also wanted to stay with Bruce for the sake of continuity. During his four-and-a-half seasons at BDR, Benson worked with three crew chiefs.    “It becomes very stressful when you try to run and then you have people leave for whatever reasons that they’re leaving, so that was a factor,” Benson said. “I didn’t want to start all over again.”

Nor did he want to drive for a different manufacturer.  “Toyota has done a lot for me, so I thought it was the best opportunity to have them have an opportunity to try to keep me within the camp,” Benson said. “I think they were worried about that. They were worried about me maybe going somewhere else or not, and they made it very clear that they would like to keep me within their camp, and they had a big influence on me as far as running a full season again.”

While Benson intends run the entire 25-race schedule in 2009, he says that was not his original plan. When he decided with about a month left in the 2008 season to depart BDR at season’s end, Benson at first considered running a partial schedule in 2009 or even retiring. It was only after he agreed to drive for Red Horse that the pieces fell in place for a full schedule, even though the team continues to seek primary sponsorship on Benson’s truck.

“I contemplated for sure maybe retiring or running a partial schedule and things of this nature, and that’s really what I was looking for,” Benson said. “Things kind of led to another as far as the type of season that we’re looking forward to.”

How do Benson and Bruce expect to fare with their new Tom DeLoach-owned team? Red Horse Racing has just two wins – one with Brandon Whitt and the other with Benson’s new teammate, David Starr – in four seasons of competition. The group last went to victory lane in April 2006 and has never finished higher in the standings than fourth.

“I didn’t ever think it would be a given to just get up and walk away from Bill Davis Racing and pick up where we left off,” Bruce said. “But the ingredients are there. Everybody loves a challenge, especially racers. … I’m not scared of going down there and lacking in performance. I think we’re going to do well.”

Benson concurs.  “There’s no concerns,” he said, noting that BDR had not won a Truck race when he joined the organization midway through 2004. “You can really see the growth that Bill Davis has had in the last couple of years with their Truck team. And in this scenario, it’s no different.  “They’ve gone and they’ve won [some races] … They theoretically are ahead right now of where it was when I went to [BDR]. So that’s not a concern of mine.”    (12-20-08)


Iowa Speedway To Host NASCAR Camping World
Truck Series Race in 2009
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) announced today that Iowa Speedway will host a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race on September 5 in place of the event that was originally scheduled May 23 at Mansfield Motorsports Park. The realignment of the race was a result of Mansfield's request that the event be moved from its track because of its inability to meet the requirements necessary to remain a NASCAR sanctioned facility. "It is always exciting to go to a new venue and show the fans what the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is all about," said NASCAR's Vice President of Racing Operations Steve O'Donnell. "The Midwest has some of our sport's most loyal fans and Iowa Speedway produces some incredible racing as we've seen with the NASCAR Camping World East and West Series. We look forward to racing there this season." In addition to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, Iowa will host the NASCAR Nationwide Series, as well as the NASCAR Camping World East and West Series in 2009. "We are extremely pleased to continue our strong relationship with NASCAR with the awarding of yet another NASCAR series race to Iowa Speedway," said Iowa Speedway CEO Stan Clement. "We know from past experience that fans here in the Midwest will support this exciting new event.  (12-17-08)


Mansfield Cancels Truck Race
Due to the economic times that we are all facing, Mansfield Motorsports Park will not be hosting the 2009 NASCAR Truck Race. We will begin processing refunds immediately. Please accept our apologies and please be patient while we are going through the refund process. We apologize for any inconvenience.   (12-17-08)


NASCAR to begin tougher drug testing in January
NASCAR will test drivers for performance-enhancing drugs next month under a tougher policy that also bans using illegal drugs and abusing prescription medications. NASCAR likely will test drivers the third week of January, and crew members must submit results from an approved lab by Jan. 16, according to documents obtained Thursday by The Associated Press.

A NASCAR memo sent to teams lists specific banned substances for which crew members must be screened. No similar guidelines were issued for drivers, as NASCAR reserves the right to test competitors for anything. Under the old policy, NASCAR had the right to randomly test based on suspicion of abuse. Under the tougher guidelines first announced in September, everyone will be tested before the season begins, and random testing will continue throughout the year. NASCAR expects to randomly test 12 to 14 individuals per series each weekend in 2009. The memo, dated Dec. 8, is the first time the new policy has been laid out in writing and specifies who falls under the guidelines. Those who must be tested before Jan. 16 include: pit crew members, including "over-the-wall" crew members, the crew chief, car chief, team members responsible for tires, fuel and pit crew operation, spotters and race-day support personnel that includes engineers, engine tuners, shock specialists, chassis specialists and tire specialists.  (12-20-08)

NASCAR Preseason Thunder Fan Fests
Scheduled For Jan. 16-17
Race fans will receive a sneak peek of DIRECTV Speedweeks 2009 as well as the new NASCAR racing season on Friday, Jan. 16 and Saturday, Jan. 17 with the annual NASCAR Preseason Thunder Fan Fests at historic Daytona International Speedway. Fans can get their “racing fix” prior to DIRECTV Speedweeks 2009 and the 51st annual Daytona 500 with numerous activities with their favorite drivers from the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series in the Sprint FANZONE located in the heart of “The World Center of Racing.”

Among the activities planned for both days include:  Interactive fan forums, Autograph sessions. Show cars, displays, music, Online auction, Blood drive,    In addition, Richard Petty Driving Experience will be on track with ride and driving packages available. The ride-only packages can be purchased on-site while the driving packages must be purchased in advance at 1-800-BE-PETTY. Tickets, which go on sale Saturday, Dec. 20 at 9 a.m., are $15 with autograph session availability limited to only 100 people per driver in advance. To purchase tickets and request access to the special autograph sessions, call 1-800-PITSHOP.   (12-20-08)
 

NASCAR Announces 2009 Schedule
NASCAR announced today its national series schedules for the 2009 season, which features realigned dates for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Truck Series.

The NASCAR Truck Series in 2009 again will have 25 races, with one realigned date: The series' late-season race at Atlanta will be replaced by a night event at Chicagoland Speedway on Friday, Aug. 28.  For complete schedule - nascar.com