Benson always believed he would win a Truck title (cont'd)

Benson came close to getting Davis his first championship in 2006, finishing second to Todd Bodine, and then again last season, when he wound up third in the points. The team then came to Daytona in February with one goal -- to take home the trophy -- and that mission was accomplished when the checkered flag finally fell at Homestead.

"When we started this deal, the goal was to try to get a championship, and it's been amazing to get 14 wins and now a championship in the last three years," Benson said. "It means more to me to get this for Bill and Gail than anything you people can even ever imagine. Bill has been in the sport for many, many years. He's put a lot of blood, sweat, tears in this, a lot of money, and he deserves it. He deserves more than one, and hopefully he'll get more than one before this is all done with."

Johnny Benson

Truck Results Since 2004

Year	No.	W	T-5	T-10	Rank
2004	13	0	5	8	25
2005	25	0	6	10	10
2006	25	5	13	17	2
2007	25	4	12	19	3
2008	25	5	14	18	1

Benson admitted that emotions took over once the race ended.

"Words can't describe this," he said. "I was kind of crying down the backstretch, but hopefully I'm over it. Just when [Craftsman Truck Series director Wayne Auton] came over the radio to say congratulations, that's way cool.

"My wife kept telling me that I only had to win by one. She kept saying, 'God already has a plan, it's all set, and it's going to be what it's going to be.' That was my approach going into the race."

As is the case in life, all good things must come to an end. Benson announced earlier this month that he was leaving Bill Davis Racing at the end of the season, so the championship provides a perfect final chapter to the past four and a half years.

"You know, it is bittersweet to talk about that, but in the same token, I really want to talk about the championship and what it's meant for us because that's what [this] is about," Benson said. "Next year doesn't have anything to do with right now. Right now it's about the championship. Right now it's about winning this for Bill Davis Racing and Toyota and everybody involved, and that's what it's about.

"It is what it is at the moment, and ... I don't care about that right now because I'm going to celebrate and going to celebrate with all of our team guys, Bill, and just everybody involved, because that's what it's about. It's about this race team ... and what they've been able to provide for me to go out and win races."

So now Benson joins Greg Biffle as the only drivers to win championships in both the Busch and Craftsman Truck series. But when asked how to compare this one to the others, Benson said they're all special in his eyes.

"The championships are all different in their own ways, but the one thing you can look back and say you can be extremely proud of every one of them," Benson said. "I don't view one as any better than the other. Obviously the higher you get in rankings and things of that nature, the more challenging they are.

"But you really get to the point where you have this same desire to win whatever you're at and whatever you're doing. And the accomplishments are overwhelming when you win a championship, when you win, because that takes every race into perspective for the entire year, and to do that is very difficult. They're all very, very cool. They all mean a tremendous amount, and hopefully we can go win more."

Video
• Benson celebrates winning the Truck Series championship