The event at Talladega Superspeedway has been marked on the No. 23 Exide Batteries Toyota Tundra team's calendar all year. The team knew it must avoid the "big one" in order to keep its championship hopes alive. There are so many unknowns when racing at a superspeedway, and driver Johnny Benson and his team knew they had a challenge ahead of them when they arrived at the 2.66-mile high-banked superspeedway.

Benson and his crew seemed very happy with the handling of their Exide Batteries Tundra throughout both of Thursday's practice sessions. Benson said he was able to move from the back of the pack to the front with little problem. He also commented that he could run both the high and low lines of the track with ease. The No. 23 team anticipated a good run in Saturday's 94-lap race.

Benson realized the importance of starting at the front of the field at a place like Talladega. However, the team did not make mock qualifying runs during practice, so Friday's qualifying session was in itself a test for the team. The veteran driver's lap of 53.070 seconds was good enough to put the Exide Toyota Tundra on the inside of the third row. The No. 23 Bill Davis Racing team was extremely pleased with the effort.

When the green flag was shown to the 36-truck field on an almost perfect fall afternoon in Alabama, Benson was on his way to the front. It only took two corners for Benson to slide into the second spot behind pole winner Mark Martin. Benson took the lead on lap six. He and fellow Toyota driver Jack Sprague lined up and started to pull away from the pack.

The caution flag waved on lap 22, and Benson reported to the team that the truck was really good, and he did not want to make any changes to his Tundra in the upcoming pit stop. He did pit on lap 24 for two tires and fuel and retained the lead for the restart two laps later.

Benson communicated with his crew on lap 33 that the new right side tires made the truck handle a little loose in the corners. Crew chief Rick Ren and his crew began working on air pressure adjustments for the next pit stop.

Benson relinquished the lead on lap 40 and tucked in behind some of the other lead trucks. He told his crew the truck was really good, and he was just being patient. Benson remained in the top 10 for most of the day, driving on both the top and the bottom of the race track.

With four laps remaining in the event, Benson found himself in the fifth spot and trying to strategize with his teammates in making a run at the leader. Benson made his move to the middle of the track on the final lap, but he lost drafting help and crossed the finish line in the ninth spot.

Benson remains second in the championship standings, but he lost ground to leader Todd Bodine. The No. 23 team sits 113 points out of the top spot with five races remaining in the 2006 campaign.

The Craftsman Truck Series takes a weekend off before it returns to Martinsville (Va.) Speedway for the Kroger 200. Oct. 21.