Benson hopes Michigan repeat can propel season (cont'd)

Benson sees this Saturday's Michigan 200 (2:30 p.m. ET, SPEED) as the perfect opportunity to start his ascension back to the top.

"I am very excited about Michigan," he said. "It is my home track on the NASCAR side, and it is a great place to race."

Following a disappointing finish at Texas, where engine problems forced him to a 29th-place finish, Benson says a return home is just what this team needs.

"We have had some unfortunate luck the last few weeks, even though our truck has been incredibly fast," Benson said. "Hopefully we can come out of Michigan with another win."

Five Nextel Cup drivers will be pulling "double-duty" this weekend, including the two Benson held off in last year's win, Martin and Labonte.

Benson is also racing twice this weekend, but not in the Cup race. After truck activities at Michigan International Speedway on Friday, Benson will head to Ohio for an IMSA race on the half-mile Toledo Speedway.

"I'm really looking forward to [racing at Toledo]," said Benson, who won an ASA race there early in his career. "I ran with ISMA last year at Berlin. It didn't take long to realize that these cars are very cool to drive.

"If I could make a living racing those cars, I'd do it in a heartbeat."

For now, his living is in the Craftsman Truck Series, and coming home on Father's Day weekend is something this Bill Davis Racing driver can't wait to do and he hopes deja vu is one of his gifts.

"We have a ton of family and friends here, so that always pumps you up when you are racing," Benson said. "This is where we turned things around last year and I am hoping to do it again."