Benson Set For 2012 Truck Series Return

Johnny Benson will return to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series full-time next season, competing for the series championship beginning at Daytona in February.

Benson will display the "Pure Michigan" logo on the hood of his Chevrolet Silverado, and said he is seeking additional Michigan-based sponsorship to back the effort. The former series champion left the circuit when Bill Davis Racing closed its doors following his championship 2008 season, and has been racing successfully in Super Late Model and Supermodified competition since then.

The Grand Rapids, Michigan, native says he is in "top condition" and ready to return to the Truck Series “as a contender for a championship."

Benson's racing resume' is lengthy and impressive. He claimed Rookie of the Year honors on the highly competitive American Speed Association circuit in 1993, before graduating to the NASCAR Busch Series. He won that circuit's Rookie title in 1994, and the series championship with BACE Motorsports the following year. He made his full-time Sprint Cup Series debut in 1996, once again winning Rookie of the Year honors, and claimed his lone Winston Cup checkered flag in the 2002 "Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400" at North Carolina Motor Speedway (Rockingham).

He won the Truck Series crown with Bill Davis in 2008 and was voted the circuit's Most Popular Driver in 2007, 2008 and 2009.