Bill Davis Racing

“Checkered flag is up and Ward Burton is going to win the 44th Daytona 500,” said race commentator Allen Bestwick.

Those were the glory days. The days were wins seemed to be possible and closing up shop was nowhere in sight.

Fast-forward six-and-a-half years and Burton’s 2002 Daytona 500 winning racing team has folded.

Bill Davis Racing (BDR) announced they would be closing shop and selling off their shares on Dec. 22nd.

Sprint Cup driver Dave Blaney has also been released from his contract and is currently looking for other options.

Unable to compete for wins or sponsors with the big three teams of Hendrick Motorsports, Roush Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing, Davis was forced to sell his single car operation.

BDR first came on the Cup Series Scene in 1993 with Bobby Labonte.

Midway through their second season in competition, they hired Burton who won the team’s first career race at the North Carolina Raceway after starting third. Burton would also be the most successful driver to compete for BDR on the Cup level winning all five of their wins.

The highlight for the team’s career had to be the 2002 Daytona 500. After Sterling Marlin was penalized for tugging on a fender during a red flag, it promoted Burton’s No. 22 dodge to the front.

He never looked back, holding off Elliot Sadler in the Wood Brother’s 21 Ford for the victory.

Caterpillar signed on as a sponsor for BDR in 1999 and stayed on with the team until the end of the 2008 season, where they switched to Jeff Burton’s No. 31 Chevy.

Along with the Cup Series, BDR posted wins in the Busch and Craftsman Truck Series.

Success came quickly in the Craftsman Truck Series as 1995 Champion Mike Skinner posted two wins in 2005. This was followed up by six wins between Skinner and Johnny Benson during the 2006 season followed by a championship runner-up finish in by Skinner in 2006.

In total Skinner would amass nine career wins for BDR as 1995 Busch Series Champ, Benson had 14. Also 2008 rookie, Scott Speed would win at Dover leading to a grand total of 24 wins for BDR.

The best parting gift for BDR in 2008 was from Benson.

He drove hard all season, clinching the 2008 drivers’ championship by seven points over three-time champion Ron Hornaday Jr.

The new stockholders of BDR have planned to continue the Sprint Cup program for the number 22 team, but it remains to be seen if they will compete full-time in the 2009 championship.

I cannot remember an offseason quite like this one. NASCAR teams are facing hard times. We've seen the fall of empires and seen teams sift through the rubble trying to salvage what may be left of once competitive teams. It is truly a very harsh time in the sport.

If the unfortunate reality of the economy was not enough, we have had to endure something much worse as fans of the sport.

We've had to listen to all of the teams doing a lot of talking, yet not saying a word.

It started very early, before Homestead was in the books. The talk of the Chip Ganassi and Dale Earnhardt Incorporated merger.

It was announced that they would share information to give both teams a technical boost. They failed to mention anything for the following month after, while we were all left to speculate the possibilities on our own.

Then there is the Gillett Evernham fiasco. We learned that Ray Evernham was selling his remaining share of his once powerful team to George Gillett. We at least knew at this point there were three cars with three drivers.

But George wasn't done.

As of late, we have learned that there are talks that involve Gillett and Richard Petty Racing.

The Pettys released driver Bobby Labonte, and put the #44 or #45, depending on what day it is, on hold.

This prompted the talks about the Gillett group buying into the Petty team, rumored to be for the rights to the name and the #43.

So far, it is said that it could be merged to create a four car team and that they would add another driver to the stable.

Now today, we have the announced buyout of Bill Davis Racing. Marty Gaunt and Mike Held will now control the management of the company, with Bill Davis as an adviser to the company.

They had nothing to say other than they bought into the team, and that they would have more information in three weeks.

Much like the other two mergers, there was nothing to say other than "Hey! We are merging!"

I realize some decisions have been made on the part of DEI and Ganassi. They have determined the shop and the make of the vehicles.

Everything else for all other teams involved remains up in the air with no solid answers.

It's a little hard to land a good sponsor or driver when all that you are doing is flapping your gums.

The story broke three weeks ago, about Johnny Benson leaving Bill Davis Racing at the end of 2008 and you have to ask yourself's why would he leave.

In fiver years, with the team, he's compiled in 113 starts, 14 wins, six poles, 50 top fives, 72 top 10 finishes, and a championship. The last three years, he finished the season in points second, third, and first respectively.

Benson's run better than Ron Hornaday over the same period of time, and with the addition of Trip Bruce in 2007. You would have to be crazy to make the move of leaving.

So via the Internet, looked it up on NASCAR.com and read the, "Benson To Leave BDR After Season-Win or Lose" article.

These five comments, popped out as I read:

1. Possible retirement, other options on the table.

2. Ten races, part-time schedule in the Sprint Cup, pays more money than the entire truck season.

3. I'm opting to try and do something different.

4. But there's a couple of other little issues.

5. Obviously, I'd really like to get a truck championship, so if we can get that done this year that'd be great.

So I bookmarked it, but my gut told me, this is a silly season deal and wait to see what happens. So when I found this rumor, while looking for new items for my camping World Update I write, I made a note of it and just tucked it away.

But with the season over, I thought you got it written, might as well just publish it and it will have to be announced over the next couple of weeks. So the team has everything ready to go for Daytona in February.

First was the rumor, about Johnny Benson would be replacing David Starr in the No. 11 Red Horse Racing truck. But it was denied by both drivers, with Zachry resigning for 2009, and Starr announced as driver it was proven wrong.

Now the team was correct, it's just, that it's in a second team truck and a teammate to David Starr. This rumor is from siruis-speedway.com, still needs to be confirmed and my guess Red Horse Racing will be announcing it with in the next two weeks.

Johnny Benson, along with his current crew chief Trip Bruce, the majority of the 23 team are all leaving Bill Davis Racing and going to Red Horse Racing. It's also possible that his truck will be sponsored by one of his current sponsors, Toyota Certified Used Vehicles and Toyota will announce it shortly probably beat both JB and RHR confirming it.

I'm glad, I took a casuel approach to his leaving BDR, didn't juggle my writing projects around to rush the news out about his leaving.

Also if it's true, this is why Bill Davis is upset about JB leaving. He'll basically have to rebuild the 23 team and not just replace a driver.

Trip Bruce is one of the unsung heroes on pit road. He's worked hard, paid his dues, and is finally getting the recognition he so justly deserves.

During the Ford 200 at Homestead last Friday night, he made two gambling pit calls that have made him a champion-winning crew chief.

Bruce began racing at 18, racing both Late Models and Grand Stocks at Southside Speedway in Richmond, Va. There, he worked for car owner, Don Beverly in 1989 as both a mechanic and fabricator.

Over the next few years, Bruce moved on to work for several NASCAR teams: Richard Childress Racing, Bill Davis Racing, and Ultra Motorsports.

He's currently in his second tour of duty with Bill Davis Racing. The first time, he worked for them from 1999 to 2003, where he was the car chief for Ward Burton's No. 22 in Sprint Cup.

In 2004, Ultra Motorsports, chose Bruce to lead its effort in the Camping World Truck Series. The team posted one of its best seasons ever with Jamie McMurray and Kasey Kahne. In five races, they compiled 1 pole, 3 wins, and 4 top five finishes.

In 2005, Bruce again would move on joining, Evernham Motorsports as it organization's team director. He would lead Evernham's NASCAR Nationwide Series program, with eight drivers, compiling 2 poles, 1 win, 2 top fives and 7 top ten finishes.

Bruce in 2006, led both Kasey Kahne and Scott Riggs to 1 pole, 2 wins, 2 top fives and 5 top ten finishes and he was named the series Crew Chief Of the Year.

Bruce would return to Bill Davis Racing in 2007, to be Johnny Benson's crew chief in the Camping World Truck Series. The two clicked from day one, in fact the first time they met was at Benson's garage and Bruce knew it would be special.

He knew he saw a car guy just like him and liked what he saw.

"I knew right then, I had met a true car guy," Bruce said. "I'm a mechanic and a car guy and I knew this would work. I've got a lot of respect for all the drivers in this series and every series, but [Benson's] got my heart and soul. He's got my passion." (scenedaily.com)

They scored a second place at Daytona in their first race together. In 2007, they finished third in the points, compiling 4 wins, 12 top five and 19 top ten finishes in 24 races.

We all knew the special year Bruce and Benson had in 2008. They fought Ron Hornaday all year, swapping the points lead five times. It would take 25 races for the teams to battle it out to the checkers on the last lap of the season.

Benson and Bruce compiled 5 poles, 5 wins, 14 top fives and 18 top ten finishes in 25 races in 2008.

It came down to Bruce, making first a two-tire call and then to stay out with 10 laps to go made the difference for Benson to win the championship.

I thought it was awesome to see the deciding factor to who won the championship came from calls made from pit road.

Johnny Benson describes it best with this comment what Bruce did to win the championship.

"Thank you so much for your dedication, your wit, gambles on races and giving us as a team the confidence to go out and do things we like to do best and that's go racing," Benson said. (scenedaily.com)

Only Ron Hornaday and Rick Ren have been better over the last two years, since Benson and Bruce paired up, and looks like that pairing will be going their separate ways now.

But don't be shocked to see Benson and Bruce together in 2009, on another team still in the Camping World Truck Series and defending their title. Now that's a story I'm re-working and will be publishing shortly.

Sources for article: are billdavisracing.com & scenedaily.com                                Photo Credit: CIA Stock Photography

If you have ever listened to NASCAR personality, owner and driver Michael Waltrip's radio show "Out Loud," you know that Michael loves his music.  In fact, he often spends half the show either talking about a song or singing it.

Waltrip will most certainly be making sweet music with the announcement that Robert "Bootie" Barker will be joining him as crew chief for the No. 55 Napa Auto Parts Toyota in 2009.

Michael and Bootie should be singing from the same song sheet, having much in common.  Both are good ol' Southern boys.   Michael hails from Owensboro, Ky., and Bootie from Halifax, Va.

They are both "veterans" of the sport.  Michael has been racing in the Cup series since 1985.  He is a two-time winner of the prestigious Daytona 500 race and is the younger brother of race car legend Darrell Waltrip.

Michael currently races under his own banner at Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR), founding his own team in 2007.

Bootie has been involved with racing since his college days at Old Dominion University, where he graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering. 

In college, he worked for Ashton Lewis, who was then driving for a Late Model Series team.  Bootie then went to work at Bill Davis racing as a shock absorber specialist, and his racing career was launched.

Michael and Bootie have another common melody, that of being involved with their share of struggling teams.  Although Barker worked on the No. 24 team of Jeff Gordon from 1999 to 2000, he has jumped from challenging times and teams at Bill Davis Racing, Jasper Motorsports, and most recently Haas CNC Racing.

Although Michael was fortunate to be involved with DEI, driving their No. 15 Napa Chevy, he too then bounced from team to team after leaving that organization.  Michael also did a stint at Bill Davis Racing as well as Jasper Racing, before forming his own team at Michael Waltrip Racing.

Both Michael and Bootie have had their times of singing the blues as well.  At the Daytona 500 in 2007, Waltrip was severely fined for using an illegal fuel additive.  Just this year, Barker was suspended for six races and put on probation for the rest of the season for illegal wing mount locations.

The final common note between Michael Waltrip and Bootie Barker is their love of sharing their opinions about racing.  They are both broadcasters in their own rights.

Waltrip does commentary for the Craftsman Truck Series and participates in a weekly show that airs on the Speed Channel.  Barker is a host of NASCAR Performance and is a frequent guest on NASCAR Race Day, both on the Speed Channel.

Bringing Michael Waltrip and Bootie Barker together should be sweet music to the ears of MWR's sponsors and fans.   Let's hope they can make beautiful music together on the race track as well.

Did a broken $2 bolt really cancel out a season of NASCAR dominance like we’ve never seen before? 

Maybe and maybe not.  Kyle Busch’s run-and-pout act after the New Hampshire Motor Speedway Chase kick-off didn’t help.  The guy seems to handle success just fine.  It’s the little bumps in life’s road that challenge him.  That doesn’t make him unusual.  But it may not make him a champion either.

Dodge’s NASCAR status is seeing some of those bumps as well. Dodge announced they were dumping the Craftsman Truck Series last week.  And now they may be going from dumper to dumpee, as the team that brought them into the Sprint Cup Series may be jumping ship. 

Bruce, of NASCAR Bits and Pieces  goes Tight in Turn Two with me on the whole deal.

If the rumors turn out to be true, and Gillette-Evernham Motorsports buys Bill Davis Racing and becomes a Toyota team, is it a good thing for NASCAR and the sport?

Charlie: Well, it would weaken the Dodge presense in a serious way.  On the other hand, it would probably strengthen GEM and save Bill Davis Racing’s No. 22 team, which has been pretty good for the most part.  With Dodge pulling out of the Truck Series, the future of their involvement in NASCAR’s other series is cloudy. 

Dodge needs to show that they are in this thing to compete for the long haul, on a level with the other three manufacturers.  Not sure they have everyone convinced of that right now.  You can’t blame GEM or BDR for making a move like this.  I say, what’s good for the teams —and competition on the track —is good for the sport.

Bruce: Though technically, GEM switching to Toyota would weaken what Dodge presence there is, would it really?  The Dodge teams are all struggling, per se, with the highest spot they hold in the standings right now at 13th, (Kahne) then Newman in 17th. 

GEM has to look out for itself, and that’s that. More fans could balk at more Toyota’s in the field, but it would seem that Toyota has proven itself sufficiently.  Dodge needs to show they are in it for the long haul, but even a little thing like pulling out of the Truck Series can’t help that endeavor.

The economy just isn’t there for them any more.  Maybe they should have already put more into NASCAR…too little, too late?

That’s what we think.  What do you think?  Let us know your opinions on this topic and Bruce’s own query…

If NASCAR  insists on limiting the year-end competition to top performing drivers, are 12 drivers too many?

The year was 1996 and a young man by the name of Johnny Benson was ready to move into NASCAR's top series. Just the year before he had captured the NASCAR Nationwide, the Busch Series, Championship after two wins and nineteen top ten finishes.

With momentum and a helmet full of talent, he signed with the number 30 Pennzoil team which was owned by Bahari Racing. But Benson never had the success that he enjoyed in his Nationwide days. From 1996 to 1997 Benson would win two pole awards but no wins and had sixteen top tens. He finished twenty-first in points in '96 and eleventh in points in '97.

He was also the 1996 NASCAR Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year, and that combined with Benson's personality could have been what attracted owner Jack Roush to hire him to drive the number 26 General Mills/Cheerios Ford Taurus.

Now with Roush Racing all the parts where in place for Benson to break into the win column, but instead his career began to break apart. It started by the team missing the Daytona 500 and compiling nineteen finishes of twentieth or worst, his best finish of the year being ninth resulting in a points finish of twenty-first.

The following year, 1999, was one of Benson's worst on the Cup circuit. After numerous crew chief changes and finishing twenty-third in points, Benson and Roush Racing decided to end both their misery's when Benson bought out of his contract and left the company.

With the struggles at Roush behind him, he turned toward 2000 to shape a new identity. An identity of what many will remember Johnny Benson as a Sprint Cup driver. His new team was the number 10 white Valvoline car owned by MB2 Motorsports. Benson nearly pulled the upset in the season opening and Superbowl of Motorsports, the Daytona 500. He held the lead for 39 laps but with ten laps remaining the caution flew and during the final four laps he faded to twelfth position as Dale Jarrett took the win.

However it appeared his career was back on track after having seven top ten finishes and ending the year eleventh in points.

He would back that up in 2001 by finishing eleventh in points again with fourteen top tens.

But 2002 was finally Johnny Benson's year.

He may have finished twenty-eighth in points with only seven top tens but he was able to accomplish something that eluded him for nearly seven years: he finally visited victory lane.

It took 226 races but on November 3 in Rockingham, North Carolina he passed former teammate Mark Martin to lead the final twenty-eight laps. As Benson crossed the start finish line under the checkered flag, crew chief James Ince, told him, "It was a long time coming, Johnny Benson, but you got your win."

Finally, the nice guy had won. Mark Martin couldn't be happier to finish second. "I'm very happy to see Johnny win. He is a tremendous race car driver. It's a shame it's taken this long, but I'm happy for him."

In victory lane Benson couldn't believe it, "I thought for a couple of years that I'd never get a win. I was always going to be the best guy who never won a race."

The 2003 season marked the final season that Benson would compete full time in the Sprint Cup Series when he finished twenty-fourth in points and was replaced by Scott Riggs.

That's when the turn around and life changing happened for Benson. He was hired by Bill Davis Racing to drive the number 23 in the Craftsman Truck Series, where he rolled off eight top tens in twenty-five races. The following year he had ten top tens and finished tenth in points. Even going from stock cars to trucks, Benson had caught on quick. 

During that time he ran four Nationwide Series races and three Cup races.

At Michigan in 2006 he won his first Truck race leading 31 of 102 laps and became the seventeenth driver to win in all three of NASCAR's top series.

After that Benson easily rolled off four more wins to end the year second in points behind Champion Todd Bodine despite having more wins, top fives and top tens.

Last season Benson was once again back behind the wheel of the 23 truck and chasing the championship. He won four times and had nineteen top tens but ended the year third in points.

However, the 2008 season may bring a new image and identity for Johnny Benson and his fans: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion.

This past weekend, the fifteenth race on the schedule, Benson captured his fourth win of the year and third in a row. With ten races left he has a 45 point lead over Ron Hornaday.

Johnny Benson is back on track. In 274 races on the Sprint Cup level he only managed one win and 58 top tens with two poles and in the Nationwide Series in 91 starts he managed three wins and 35 top tens with one pole.

However in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series he has excelled. In 116 starts he has 74 top tens, 48 top fives, 5 poles and 13 career victories. This is where Johnny Benson belongs, back on top.

Gone are the days of struggling to make races or finding sponsorships. He raced hard and clean to make his name and career about being the nice guy. He's gone from down in the pits to victory lane and I can't see anyone not being happy to see the nice guy hoist the biggest trophy in his career come three months from now in South Florida.

Johnny's probably just happy to still be racing and certainly to be winning.

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Red Bull Racing development driver Scott Speed was our featured guest INSIDE ARCA Tuesday night. Scott is heading to Pocono Raceway this Saturday in his Eddie Sharp Racing Toyota Camry, with a two-race ARCA RE/MAX Series win streak and a real shot to make it three in a row.

Speed is the first ARCA driver to win three races in 2008, having won early in the season at Kansas Speedway in addition to the last two at Kentucky Speedway and Berlin Raceway.

The Red Bull driver is part of a very strong 2008 rookie contingent in ARCA’s top touring series. That group includes series point leader and Roush-Fenway Racing driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

We’ve talked with Scott several times now. I really like the guy. He’s brash, confident, and always seems to be enjoying himself. He does not embody the corporate NASCAR image. Very refreshing.  But it’s obvious, in discussion, that he takes his racing career very seriously.

Steve asked him about his 2009 plans which, Speed said, look to include a full Craftsman Truck Series campaign and several Sprint Cup races. So I asked about the balance of this 2008 racing season.

Although he didn’t give any details, Scott did say that he is getting a lot of seat time in the Cup cars and that he was pretty sure he would get a few races in Sprint Cup before the 2008 season ends.

Don’t let the antics fool you. He’s going to be good at this. I can’t wait.

What does Chip Ganassi’s latest news say about the state of NASCAR today.  For those who haven’t heard Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates will cease the operation of his #40 Dodge formerly piloted by Dario Franchitti.  Look back no farther than 2002, when Sterling Marlin made the #40 “flagship” car of CGR a perennial championship contender.

Ganassi pioneered the “Open-Wheel Driver” movement into NASCAR.  A few short years ago they introduced Juan Pablo Montoya into NASCAR.  Despite the seemingly unnoticed earlier movements of Tony Stewart and other less storied drivers from open wheel backgrounds, JPM ignited a fad towards open wheel drivers making the move.  Suddenly it seemed like every owner wanted open wheel talent; every open wheel driver wanted to be in NASCAR. 

One driver to make the jump during that time was Dario Franchitti.  Dario only had experience in the open wheel ranks, he was 35 years old, and he wanted see if he could find success like JPM.  Like so many others had before him, he jumped right into the Cup level.  As on several previous occasions, he made a mistake doing it, and Ganassi made a mistake letting him do it.    

Looking at this years entry lists it is not uncommon to see ten or more drivers who have recently made the jump.  Chip Ganassi becomes the latest to realize that this fad is not always profitable.  Remember Jacque Villeneuve and his early departure from Bill Davis Racing - an underfunded team at best.  In the long run it is overly obvious that only a few open wheel drivers will successfully make and maintain the transition into NASCAR. 

Looking at the bigger picture of driver impact on sponsorship, and the financial requirement race teams need from sponsorship, we see yet another trend.  Today’s multi-million dollar sponsors, or lack thereof, are making and breaking teams like never before.  With the additional emphasis placed on the top-12 by the new Chase format, we can only expect the current trend to continue. 

Sponsors seem to want young talent that experience instant success.  At times they just want youth.  This was most recently referenced in stories of the Army wanting a younger driver to hit their target audience, rather than old and gray, yet experienced and capable Mark Martin.  With more sponsors either finding success or moving on to a more successful organization, we will see more and more of the smaller teams dropping off the radar. 

With the news of Dario, it is clear that even Ganassi Racing is not exempt from sponsorship woes.  It seems like sponsors would rather have a small patch on the uniform in victory lane than a logo on the hood of the car riding mid to rear pack.  Sooner or later teams like Penske, Ganassi, Waltrip, DEI, Wood Brothers, etc. will be mired permanently outside of the top-25 in points.  Left there to fight over the few small sponsors and investors left who want to take a chance on a struggling team.  Or they will resort to partnering up with a larger team like Yates Racing has with Roush, left still to struggle with good equipment due to lesser known drivers and lack of full time primary sponsors. 

The result will be the big teams like Hendrick, Gibbs, Childress, and Roush having a controlling interest in all the teams in NASCAR.  Which ironically is the same route taken by the tracks raced on in NASCAR.  Before long all tracks will be owned by one of two organizations, Speedway Motorsports, Inc. (SMI) or International Speedway Corporation (ISC).

The days of drivers like Kurt Busch, Reed Sorenson, Casey Mears, and a wide array of driving talent having a few years to bounce off the walls of every track before finding their footing are numbered.  The unfortunate part is that occasionally a few of those drivers would figure it out and win races or a championship.  Furthermore champions can now be produced by equipment over talent. 

What is most distressing is that money now controls our beloved NASCAR.

Go Kyle Busch and the #18 crew!  Show them how to win at Daytona this time!

Goodbye Ashley Judd-Franchitti, we will now have to watch those old DVD’s to see your smiling face.