Benson wins truck race after Busch spins Kvapil
BRISTOL, Tenn. (AP) -- Johnny Benson postponed a pit stop and then held off Brendan Gaughan to win the NASCAR truck series' O'Reilly 200 on Wednesday night after Kyle Busch took out leader Travis Kvapil late in the race.
When most drivers on the lead lap pitted after a caution on 35, Benson and crew chief Trip Bruce decided to wait and have a fresh set of tires later on in the race over Bristol Motor Speedway's new surface meant to make passing easier.
Benson finally pitted when a caution came out just past the midway point, and with new tires and a full tank of gas, there was no stopping him.
"We did the same thing at Darlington in 2004, and it paid off for us there," Bruce said. "We both agreed on what fresh tires could do for us. It's hard to hold somebody off at the end when they have tires."
Mark Martin finished third, followed by Mike Skinner and Rick Crawford. Skinner's top-five finish allowed him to increase his points lead over Ron Hornaday Jr. to 92 points.
In the past, track position was more important than fresh tires at Bristol -- Mark Martin drove on the same set of tires for the last 170 laps of last year's race and won easily.
But on the brand new surface, Benson's fresh rubber allowed him to move up from 17th after the restart and then hold off a charge by Gaughan at the end.
"It's unbelievable," Benson said of the new concrete. "It is way, way cool and just a pleasure to race on."
Benson led 63 laps before surrendering the lead to Kvapil when he pitted on lap 104. As Benson worked his way back through the field, Kvapil led the next 75 laps.
But when Kyle Busch got underneath Kvapil to challenge for the lead on lap 180, Kyle Busch got loose and collected Kvapil in the accident.
"That should have never happened," Kvapil said. "I saw him down there and I wasn't worried about it -- he just got loose down there."
See more at www.news-star.com
