Truck title brings it all full circle for owner Davis

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. -- For a guy who had waited two decades to finally celebrate a NASCAR championship, Bill Davis seemed amazingly relaxed about the whole ordeal. As the laps wound down Friday night at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Davis was a picture of serenity, even if his insides might have been churning.

"Yeah, I was pretty calm," Davis said. "It is what it is. You put forth your best effort and you get the best people that you can, the best equipment that you can, and it's going to come out the way that it does.

"We've been through these deals before, and I don't want to sound nonchalant about it. It was an emotional deal and it was going to be what it was, and it worked out."

For Davis, the 2008 Craftsman Truck Series championship was the culmination of a dream that started out as merely a weekend hobby. In high school, Davis helped out at a Little Rock, Ark., top fuel drag racing team, then raced motocross at local tracks. It was longtime friend Julian Martin -- Mark's father -- who then suggested that Davis get into the trucking business.

A season of success

Johnny Benson capped a grinding halt to the Craftsman Truck Series season in the appropriate way: in the closing laps of the final race. The year was special for Benson, and a few others along the way.

• Benson knew he could win
• Key to the season: Survival
• Davis full circle as an owner
• Rookie Braun has big goals

And as a way to relax on the weekends, Davis decided to help the Martins with their fledgling American Speed Association program. One thing led to another, and by 1981, Davis was traveling nearly every weekend to Mark's races. In 1988, Martin was running full time with Jack Roush, but had a sponsor willing to run a partial Busch Series schedule if he could find an owner.

Davis stepped in, and what started out as a hobby became a full-time career from that point forward. In 1990, Davis moved the operation to High Point, N.C., while wife Gail stayed in Arkansas with the trucking company. The next season, a young open-wheel star caught Davis' eye: Jeff Gordon.

The success Davis had with Martin and Gordon laid the groundwork for a full-time Cup deal with Bobby Labonte in 1993, which led to Davis' first Cup win, scored by Ward Burton in Rockingham in 1995. Davis reached the pinnacle of the sport when Burton won the 2002 Daytona 500.

But Davis said winning the Craftsman Truck Series championship might have been the one thing missing from an impressive resume.

"Obviously a championship is what it's all about, no matter what series you're talking about," Davis said. "Winning the Daytona 500 was a very cool thing and to finish top 10 in the Cup Series points is very cool. But a championship is a championship, and that's the ultimate goal for everybody that races."

To no one's surprise, the title didn't come easy. Crew chief Trip Bruce made a critical call midway through the race to get Johnny Benson much-needed track position -- and the lead, which earned the team five critical bonus points. And when Ron Hornaday stopped for fresh tires with nine laps to go, Benson was able to hold off Hornaday on a green-white-checkered finish.

"Well, I don't know if we went according to plan or not," Davis said. "You know, it worked out. [Hornaday's crew chief, Rick Ren] made a call that probably a lot of people wouldn't have, and that's how it works. It could have been the greatest call and [he'd have] been a hero, but this time it didn't work out because of how things fell in place, and that's racing.

"It's just great that we won it, great that we were in a position to win it, and this is why we all race. This is why we all do this and work so hard. This obviously feels real good."

And at the end, Davis might have been happier for his team, sponsor and manufacturer than he was for himself.

"Toyota and TRD gives us a wonderful opportunity. They give us the best equipment in the garage and the best support, and we've come up short the last couple years.

"Obviously we needed to get it done [Friday night] and kind of fell into it in an unusual way, but it worked out for us really well, and I'm just real happy for all the guys. It's second to none. Finally we got it done for them."