As the Truck Series hit the summer portion of the season, Johnny Benson took a stranglehold on the points standings, winning 4 of the 5 races in this stretch.  Ron Hornaday won the other.

Race #11: Camping World RV Sales 200 - The Milwaukee Mile (June 20, 2008)
Johnny Benson started on the pole for this race and dominated.  There were 6 caution flags. 2 drivers went to the garage in the first 10 laps.  Michael Annett spun to bring out the first caution, but rebounded quite nicely to finish 6th.  Larry Gunselman lost an engine on lap 17, his night was done.  Paul Poulter brought out a caution when he stalled on the track, he would finish 12 laps down in 30th.  Nick Tucker lost his brakes, and called it a night on lap 74.  Following a short caution for debris on lap 96, a huge crash occurred at halfway.  Rookies Colin Braun and Brian Scott received the worst of it, and would be finished for the night.  Also involved were Brendan Gaughan who finished a lap down in 16th, Ted Musgrave, rookie Donny Lia and David Starr who finished 3 laps down in 19th, 22nd, and 23rd, and Jack Sprague, Mike Skinner, and Ron Hornaday who finished on the lead lap in 13th, 10th, and 7th.  On lap 146, caution came out for rain, and the race was red flagged with 50 laps to go.  Rick Crawford led at lap 146, Matt Crafton led the next lap, and Johnny Benson assumed the lead with 52 laps to go.  Rick Crawford got a speeding ticket, which all but ended his chance of a victory, he would finish 8th.  Michigan winner Erik Darnell led twice, but had to settle for a 4th-place finish.  Chad McCumbee brought out the final caution with a spin, and would finish 5 laps down in 27th.  In the end, it was Johnny Benson cruising to his first win of the season and increasing his points lead.  Here's a look at the standings...

1. Johnny Benson 1617
2. Todd Bodine -50
3. Matt Crafton -67 (+1)
4. Ron Hornaday -70 (-1)
5. Rick Crawford -109
6. Mike Skinner -134
7. Terry Cook -176 (+2)
8. Erik Darnell -182 (+2)
9.  Jack Sprague -189 (-1)
10. Chad McCumbee -221 (-3)

Race #12: O'Reilly 200 - Memphis Motorsports Park (June 28, 2008)
This race saw another change at the top of the standings.  Johnny Benson was the pole sitter, and was one of only 3 leaders.  He led the first 43 laps before being passed by Ron Hornaday, who went on to dominate this race.  After 2 drivers called it quits in the first 5 laps, Todd Bodine and rookie Donny Lia brought out the first caution on lap 8.  Bodine would rebound to finish on the lead lap in 14th, but Lia finished 3 laps down in 26th.  After a caution for debris, Todd Bodine spun again on lap 54.  Dennis Setzer then spun on lap 79, but came back to finish 12th.  2 laps after the ensuing restart, the points standings changed dramatically, as points leader Johnny Benson went kaboom with a blown engine on lap 84.  He was the 3rd retiree of the race, and wound up 33rd.  On lap 123, rookie Donny Lia spun again, this time by himself.  A few laps after the restart, Todd Bodine got the trifecta when he got together with Jason White, who would finish 2 laps down in 25th.  On lap 167, a 3-truck crash occurred involving Rookie Colin Braun, who would finish 6 laps down in 29th, Bobby East who managed an 8th-place finish, and Chris Jones who was done for the day.  With 2 laps to go, a 4-truck crash brought out the caution and a 9-minute red flag.  Involved were Kevin Wood and rookie Marc Mitchell, both of whom would not finish the race, Chad Chaffin who finished as the first and only truck 1 lap down in 23rd, and Ted Msgrave who finished 20th.  In overtime, Ron Hornaday held off Erik Darnell for the win, and took over the points lead, check out the standings...

1. Ron Hornaday 1742 (+3)
2. Matt Crafton -27 (+1)
3. Todd Bodine -54 (-1)
4. Johnny Benson -56 (-3)
5. Rick Crawford -74
6. Mike Skinner -113
7. Erik Darnell -137 (+1)
8. Jack Sprague -164 (+1)
9. Terry Cook -189 (-2)
10. Chad McCumbee -228

Race #13: Built Ford Tough 225 - Kentucky Speedway (July 19, 2008)
After a nice looong break, the Truck Series hit the midpoint of the season in the middle of Summer.  Mike Skinner was the pole sitter, and led a few laps, but finished 7th.  Kyle Busch led twice for 43 laps, but had to settle for 6th.  Shelby Howard crashed on lap 2, and was the first truck to retire from the race.  On lap 13, another caution waved for a spin involving Ryan Lawler, who rebounded to a 17th-place finish and Timothy Peters who finished as the first truck a lap down in 19th.  J.C. Stout lost his power steering on lap 22, and the leaking fluid brought out the 3rd caution.  After Brent Raymer called it a night, Chrissy Wallace crashed out on lap 50, which led to a 10-minute red flag.  On lap 63, rookie Brian Scott ended early with engine woes.  Just after a caution for debris, a large crash occurred.  This involved Kyle Busch (yep, that's why he didn't win this race), Erik Darnell who "finished" 23 laps down in 29th, and Chad McCumbee and rookie Justin Marks, both of whom were finished.  The final caution occurred on lap 128, when 3 trucks got together.  Rookie Colin Braun was involved, but managed to finish on the lead lap in 16th, but Todd Bodine and Brendan Gaughan weren't so lucky, their race was done.  When the checkered flag fell, it was Johnny Benson rebounding after his engine failure the week before.  Ron Hornaday finished 10th, and lost the points lead, but this is the day when the standings closed up tightly among the top 3, separated by only 5 points at the end of this race!  Here's the top 10 as the second half of the season begins...

1. Johnny Benson 1881 (+3)
2. Matt Crafton -1
3. Ron Hornaday -5 (-2)
4. Rick Crafword -92 (+1)
5. Mike Skinner -101 (+1)
6. Todd Bodine -111 (-3)
7. Terry Cook -186 (+2)
8. Erik Darnell -200 (-1)
9. Jack Sprague -206 (-1)
10. Dennis Setzer -227 (+1)

Race #14: Power Stroke Diesel 200 - O'Reilly Raceway Park [formerly IRP] (July 25, 2008)
Bobby East was the surprise pole sitter.  Caution didn't wave until lap 40, but once it did, the cautions just kept on comin'.  3 drivers retired before lap 20, and T.J. Bell spun to bring out the first caution, but would rebound to a 7th-place finish.  Rookie Brian Scott then spun to bring out caution #2.  After a debris caution, Stacy Compton got together with pole sitter Bobby East.  Compton finished a lap down in 23rd, and East finished 19th.  On lap 128, rookie Justin Marks spun out.  Right after this, Chad McCumbee crashed out of the race.  With 49 laps to go, Marks wrecked again, and this time, his night was over.  Less than 10 laps after the ensuing restart, Brian Scott followed suit with his second crash of the night, which also put an early end to his race.  Transmission troubles ended Mario Gosselin's night with less than 25 laps remaining.  Rookie Marc Mitchell spun on lap 175, and would finish 2 laps down in 25th.  With just 12 laps to go, 4 trucks wrecked, Terry Cook, Jack Sprague, Todd Bodine, and rookie Colin Braun.  All 4 trucks would finish on the lead lap, but no higher than 11th.  With just a few laps to go, Michael Annett spun.  This led to a 2-lap shootout for the win.  Up front, it had been Ron Hornaday and Johnny Benson all night.  As the checkers waved, Benson held off Hornaday for his 2nd win in a row, and 3rd in the last 4 races.  Take a look at the points standings...

1. Johnny Benson 2071
2. Ron Hornaday -15 (+1)
3. Matt Crafton -31 (-1)
4. Rick Crawford -155
5. Mike Skinner -157
6. Todd bodine -204
7. Erik Darnell -225 (+1)
8. Terry Cook -246 (-1)
9. Jack Sprague -284
10. David Starr -322 (+1)

Race #15: Toyota Tundra 200 - Nashville Superspeedway (Aug. 9, 2008)
Todd Bodine sat on the pole in this race and led the most laps, but he would finish in 3rd.  Norm Benning started the race, came around to complete one lap, and went to the garage to collect his paycheck.  There were 7 cautions, the first coming out on lap 4 for Michael Annett, who would earn a DNF.  On lap 42, a 4-truck incident brought out the caution.  Shane Seig was in the #51, and he finished a lap down in 25th after getting caught up in this wreck.  Terry Cook was also involved, but came home 12th.  Keven Wood and John Wes Townley got the worst of it, and were finished for the day.  Ted Musgrave spun out early, but rebounded to finish 8th.  On lap 73, Jason White crashed out.  and with 28 laps to go, Willie Allen crashed out of the race as well.  Up front, Todd Bodine led the first 74 laps, but as I mentioned he finished in 3rd position.  Stacy Compton led the next 40, but he would fade to 7th.  Jack Sprague then took the lead for one lap, and Ron Hornaday led the next 3.  They would finish 4th and 5th respectively.  Erik Darnell then took the lead with 31 laps to go.  With 5 laps to go he was still in the lead, but Johnny Benson caught him and passed him with just 3 laps to go.  He only led 3 laps, but he led the ones that counted, the last 3.  Benson won his 3rd in a row and became the first repeat winner in the Truck Series at Nashville.  Here's a look at the points standings with just 10 races to go...

1. Johnny Benson 2261
2. Ron Hornaday -45
3. Matt Crafton -91
4. Mike Skinner -235 (+1)
5. Erik Darnell -240 (+2)
6. Todd Bodine -244
7. Rick Crawford -251 (-3)
8. Jack Sprague -309 (+1)
9. Terry Cook -309 (-1)
10. David Starr -374

Don't miss the last 10 races.  This points lead began to shift faster than you can shake a stick, and you can already tell that this thing was coming right down to the wire.  Stay tuned!  Until next time, I'm your NASCAR VP wondering how many more weeks Benson is going to hold this points lead!

BK over and out