For Johnny Benson (No. 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Toyota), his victory in the 2006 Toyota Tundra 200 was a case of being in the right place at the right time.
Benson never held the lead until the final trip around Nashville Superspeedway’s 1.333-mile concrete surface and found third place the place to be in a green-white-checkered shoot-out.
The winner’s success came at the expense of teammate Mike Skinner (No. 5 Toyota Tundra Toyota) and 2006 series champion Todd Bodine (No. 30 Lumber Liquidators Toyota), who had traded the lead four times over the race’s final 72 laps before contact left both trucks wedged against the Turn 3 wall.
Benson’s success marked the second time in the 2006 season the race winner led only the final lap. Ironically, Bodine measured Skinner in the same manner in June at Texas Motor Speedway.
The outcome of the race didn’t blunt Bodine’s charge to the championship – he still wound up with a finish of eighth while Skinner dropped to 17th.
But he and his team still think about the finish.
“We classify it as a ‘laughable memory’ and we put it behind us, ” said Bodine. “Mike says we’re both boneheads, but we know better than that! We’ve chalked it up to hard-headed racing. ”
And the message to Nashville fans? Don’t leave early.
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