Benson adds his name to record book with Truck title

While Jimmie Johnson was taking his place alongside Cale Yarborough in the NASCAR record book, Johnny Benson was sharing a bit of history with Greg Biffle.

Benson joined Biffle as the only drivers to win championships in the Craftsman Truck and Nationwide series. Benson, who won what was then the Busch Series title in 1995, the first year of the Truck Series, held off Ron Hornaday for seventh position in a green-white-checkered finish in the last race of the year at Homestead to win by the championship by seven points.

Johnny Benson's first win at Martinsville led to his first title.

Benson tied his career high with five wins, set a career high with 14 top-fives and was one off his career high in top-10s with 18.

After starting the season with back-to-back third-place finishes, Benson had consecutive finishes of 30th and 25th to fall from third in the standings to ninth, 144 points out. But he steadily made up ground and by the time he finished second at Michigan he was atop the points for the first time in 2008.

Benson posted his first win of the season the following week at Milwaukee, then following a DNF (engine) at Memphis, reeled off consecutive victories at Kentucky, Indianapolis and Nashville. Three more top-fives followed and his lead was 74 points. But Benson crashed out at Las Vegas after 64 laps and finished 27th, losing all but one point off his lead.

Benson dropped to second in the standings, by 39 points, after an 11th-place finish at Talladega. But he won the next time out at Martinsville and reclaimed the top spot in points never to relinquish it again.

Benson went into the season finale with a three-point lead, the closest in the history of the series. The decision to stay out on the track during a caution eight laps from the scheduled distance gave Benson the edge, and the title.

Benson will defend his title next season with a new team, Red Horse Racing. Benson drove Bill Davis Racing's No. 23 Toyota to 14 wins the past three seasons, but with two races remaining in 2008 announced he was leaving the organization at season's end. He'll drive the No. 1 Toyota in '09.

Kroger 200 at Martinsville -- Benson made up 104 points in the final big point swing of the season. Benson led the final 46 laps as Hornaday ran out of fuel and finished 29th. Benson took a 65-point lead over Hornaday with four races remaining and needed just about every one of them, winning the second-closest championship in series history.

O'Reilly 200 at Memphis Motorsports Park -- First, Hornaday bumped Benson out of the way to take the lead. Then nearly 40 laps later Benson's engine gave out resulting in a 33rd-place finish, his worst of the season. Benson went into the race with a 50-point lead in the standings; he left in fourth place, 56 points behind the new leader, Hornaday, who made up 126 points over Benson.

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