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closeBenson edges Hornaday for Truck series title
Bodine comes away with the victory in season's final event
Friday, Nov. 14, 2008
Johnny Benson celebrates after winning the Craftsman Truck Series championship Friday, Nov. 14, 2008 in Homestead, Fla. (AP Photo/Glenn Smith)
HOMESTEAD, Fla. - Johnny Benson didn't have the best truck. He didn't appear to have the best pit strategy, either.
What he does have is his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship.
Benson struggled with the handling on his No. 23 Toyota all night, but elected to stay out on old tires when many on the lead lap, including championship rival Ron Hornaday, took new tires.
While Todd Bodine held off rookie Brian Scott for the win in Friday night's Ford 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Benson finished sixth, one spot ahead of Hornaday and won the championship by seven points.
"This is for (team owners) Bill and Gail Davis. They, along with Toyota, have done so much to get me in the position to do this," Benson said after the race.
Asked if he realized how close the points margin was in the final laps, Benson said, "I don't know if you were watching, but it was pretty close coming in (the race), too. It seemed the whole race it was a couple of points."
Benson, who also won the 1995 championship in the series now known as Nationwide, came into the race with a three-point lead over Hornaday. Both drivers led during the race, which meant whoever finished ahead of the other would win the title.
Following a wreck with less than 10 laps remaining, many of the lead-lap drivers - including Hornaday - elected to pit for tires. Among those who stopped, most took two tires while Hornaday’s team took four, sending their driver back to 13th on the restart.
It appeared there would be enough time for Hornaday to make up the ground, but another caution with three laps remaining slowed his advance and forced a two-lap overtime. In the final two laps, Hornaday got within a couple truck lengths of Benson before the finish.
"It was an awesome day for us until that last (pit) call," Hornaday said. "We didn't realize so many teams were going to take two (tires).
"Track position was everything. It was a good call but it just didn't work."
Kevin Harvick, Hornaday's team owner, finished third in the race, Kyle Busch was fourth and Dennis Setzer was fifth. The race also marked the end of the series sponsorship by Craftsman, which has been the title sponsor since its inception in 1995.