NASCAR Daily News Headlines * November 15, 2008

Jim Beam Returns With Robby Gordon

Neither side will comment until the contract is signed and becomes official. The sponsorship should put Gordon in good shape for the 2009 season. He already had confirmed that he had renewed his sponsorship from Menards.(scenedaily.com)

Montoya May Miss Shootout

While Earnhardt-Ganassi officials say they have not finalized a manufacturer, NASCAR Vice President of Operations Steve O’Donnell said Saturday morning that the teams will use their points from the previous year but their manufacturer of the current year to determine berths in the preseason event that comes eight days prior to the Daytona 500. “It will be the top six Dodges starting for the ’09 season,” O’Donnell said. “Juan Pablo would be a Chevrolet. Let’s say Juan Pablo fell in No. 5 at Chevrolet, then Chevrolet [could use him].”

Montoya wouldn't fall in the top six in Chevrolet, but what would happen with the final Dodge spot? The No. 42 Ganassi team is the sixth-ranked Dodge team, while the No. 41 Ganassi team is seventh. Next in line? Robby Gordon. As long as he remains a Dodge. If not him, then Penske Racing's Sam Hornish would get the spot.(scenedaily.com)

GM Cars For DEI-Ganassi?

“Until they tell us what it’s going to be, I’m not confident of anything,” Suhy said Friday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, site of Sunday’s Ford 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup season finale. “They need to make a decision based on their own needs and what kind of support they can get and what they think is in their best interests.”

Suhy would not comment on how much support DEI gets and whether it is based on a four-car team.

Neither DEI nor Ganassi has won a race nor has a team in the NASCAR Chase For The Sprint Cup this year.

“They’re two teams that have had their own struggles,” Suhy said. “They’re independent businesses. Them getting together is just a continuation of all the things we’ve seen. “It’s two fairly big [organizations]. I hope that they can take the best of each organization and make one more successful organization out of the thing.”(scenedaily.com)

Chad Knaus Crew Chief Of The Year

Lightening quick pit stops helped ensure Johnson stay near or at the top of the running order all day in the Valley of the Sun. The team started from the pole, led the most laps and cruised to the victory, extending their championship point lead to 141 over Carl Edwards. Johnson needs to finish 36th or better in this weekend's season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway to capture the team's third consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship.

Also at the Homestead-Miami Speedway this weekend, WYPALL will announce the 2008 WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Year during a press conference in the track's media center at 5:45pm on Friday. The winner will be presented a check for $20,000.

The 2008 WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief Challenge was a season-long contest that determined the best crew chiefs in the NASCAR Sprint Cup garage. Following each Cup race, a panel voted to determine which crew chief demonstrated the most outstanding strategy and leadership during the race. It wasn't necessarily the crew chief that went to victory lane, but the crew chief that made the biggest difference to his team.

Representatives from WYPALL Wipers, together with FOX/Speed television analyst Jeff Hammond, and three of NASCAR's top crew chiefs who represent WYPALL, including Todd Berrier of the Richard Childress Racing No. 29 Shell Pennzoil Chevy team, Osborne of the Roush Fenway Racing No. 99 Office Depot Ford team, and Kenny Francis of the Gillett Evernham Motorsports No. 9 Budweiser Dodge team, made up the panel of judges.

In addition to the $1,000 check, the winning crew chief received signage to announce the win on their pit box the following week.

"The WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief Challenge has spotlighted the crew chief's efforts to get his team in Victory Lane," said Tom Merrill, Category Manager for WYPALL Wipers. "WYPALL Wipers and crew chiefs are a natural fit. Crew chiefs only want to use reliable products on their cars and engines. That's why they choose WYPALL Wipers. Our products are used to wipe up the toughest, most stubborn messes, and we want to focus on the men who put WYPALL Wipers to use each week. That's why we continue to show our appreciation to the crew chiefs."

About WYPALL* Wipers WYPALL is a brand of Kimberly-Clark Professional. Since 2004, WYPALL Wipers has been affiliated with some of racing's top teams. Offering heavy-duty to versatile light-duty towels, WYPALL Wipers provides race teams with a number of products providing strength and durability. Defeating the toughest of challenges, from absorbing tough grease and oil to wiping down windshields without leaving residue behind, WYPALL Wipers continue to offer performance and versatility.

For more information, log onto (www.Wypall.com)

Logano On Ford 300 Pole

Thanks to a lap of 168.951 mph, the 18-year-old driver will lead the field to the green flag for Saturday afternoon's Ford 300. Starting alongside Logano on Row 1 is Roush Fenway Racing's Carl Edwards, who turned a lap of 168.151.

Edwards enters the season finale 56 points behind Richard Childress Racing's Clint Bowyer in the championship standings. Bowyer will start 13th after posting a lap of 166.190.

Logano, whose No. 20 team leads the series owner points, earned his fourth pole in 19 starts.

Rounding out the top five were Roush Fenway's David Ragan, RCR's Jeff Burton and Roush Fenway's Jamie McMurray.(scenedaily.com)

Benson Wins Craftsman Truck Championship - Bodine Takes Ford 200 Win

In one of the closest championship battles in series history, Benson edged Ron Hornaday, Jr., by seven points to capture his second-career NASCAR championship -- he won the Busch Series (now Nationwide) title in 1995. By winning titles 13 years apart, Benson breaks a NASCAR record for the most years between national series championships, eclipsing the mark established by Terry Labonte, who won Cup series titles in 1984 and 1996. It marks the second NCTS championship for Toyota this season and third overall NASCAR title in 2008. In late October at Texas Motor Speedway,

Toyota clinched the NCTS manufacturer’s championship and captured the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) manufacturer’s title at Kansas Speedway in September. In addition, it marks the sixth NASCAR championship for Toyota since joining the upper levels of competition in 2004. Previously, Toyota won the NCTS manufacturer’s championship in 2006 and 2007, and Todd Bodine captured the NCTS driver’s crown in 2006. “Words can’t describe this,” said Benson, following the race.

“I was kind of crying down the backstretch, it’s fairly emotional, obviously. Trip (Bruce, crew chief) told me early on that if we weren’t the fastest, we’ll definitely do what we have to do to be the smartest. It was only fun at the end of tonight’s race -- it wasn’t fun at the beginning or the middle. I knew Trip (Bruce) was going to make some pretty gutsy calls, and that’s what we had to do. Ron (Hornaday, Jr.) had a great truck tonight but we just ended up beating them on a little bit of strategy work.”

Benson solidified himself as a serious title contender with a mid-season stretch that saw the 45-year-old win four of five races -- including Milwaukee (June 20), Kentucky (July 19), Indianapolis (July 25) and Nashville (Aug. 9). The BDR driver added his fifth victory of the year at Virginia’s Martinsville Speedway (Oct. 18).

A modest start to the season saw Benson sit fifth in the championship point standings following the eighth race of the campaign at Dover, Del. However, a third-place finish in Texas (June 6) was the beginning of a 17-race stretch to end the season where Benson posted 11 top- five results.

“I have to thank my wife, Debbie, and both my kids,” added Benson. “They’ve been at every race I’ve won at this year, and I have to really thank Bill and Gail Davis (team owners) -- this is for them. They’ve given me a great opportunity to come and do this. I’m glad that we could get that title for them. It means more to me to get that for them because they’ve done so much for me.”

Along with his five victories in 2008, Benson had 18 top-10 finishes in 25 races and recorded three pole positions -- at Mansfield (Ohio), Milwaukee and Memphis. Benson’s championship comes in his fourth full season driving a Tundra for Bill Davis Racing in NCTS competition. In 113 career NCTS starts behind the wheel of a Toyota, Benson has amassed 14 wins, 72 top-10 finishes and has led 1,195 laps.

Benson finished second in the 2006 NCTS championship chase to Bodine, and was third behind Hornaday and BDR teammate Mike Skinner in 2007. “We are extremely proud of Johnny Benson and everyone at Bill Davis Racing for what they accomplished this year,” said Lee White, president and general manager of TRD, U.S.A. (Toyota Racing Development). “Johnny performed at an exceptional level this season and was able to finally win the championship after being in the running for a title the last three years. We’re extremely happy for Bill and Gail Davis, who have poured their hearts into NASCAR over the years, and have finally gotten the championship they both deserve. We also need to recognize everyone at TRD and Triad for all their hard work and dedication this season and throughout the years.”

Todd Bodine earned the 13th win of the 2008 season for Toyota with his victory in Friday night’s NCTS race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. In addition to Bodine (first), other Tundra drivers finishing in the top-five at Homestead included rookie Brian Scott (second) and Kyle Busch (fifth). Other Toyota drivers in the field included Terry Cook (ninth), Scott Speed (10th), Timothy Peters (15th), James Buescher (19th), Jack Sprague (20th), Tayler Malsam (21st), David Starr (22nd), Mike Skinner (26th), Max Papis (27th) and Chrissy Wallace (31st).