Johnny Benson and his No. 23 Exide Batteries Toyota Tundra team were looking forward to racing on the new surface at Bristol's "Thunder Valley." After finishing fourth the last two years at the .5-mile track, Benson and team were looking to win there Wednesday night.

The Exide Tundra handled a little loose in the corners, but good overall during the Wednesday morning practice session. Benson and crew chief Trip Bruce soon discussed setup for that evening's race. The truck ran well again during the "Happy Hour" final practice session, and Benson and his team finished the day as the fourth quickest team on the speed chart.

Benson had a great qualifying draw -- near the end of the qualifying order - to go along with his great truck. After posting a time of 15.938 seconds, Benson placed himself eighth on the starting grid.

Benson began his charge to the front immediately upon the start of the race. He broke into the top five by lap 30, despite his complaints that the right rear was possibly loose.

When the caution flag waved on lap 35, Benson and his Exide team gambled and remained on the track while the rest of the field came down pit road. Benson and Bruce saw no reason to pit early since their tires did not wear all that much in practice. Benson led the field to the green flag for the lap 46 restart.

Benson appeared unstoppable for the next 60 laps, and he began to pull away from the field. He relinquished the lead for his one and only pit stop of the night, which came under caution on lap 104. Because most of the lead trucks did not pit, Benson restarted 17th after the four tire stop.

Benson knew he had a battle ahead of him, but he remained patient and focused and began picking off positions one by one. By lap 120, Benson was within the top-10 and charging for the front.

Benson stood third with 30 laps remaining in the 200-lap race. He drove hard into the corners and gained ground on the leader each lap. When the top two trucks collided on lap 181, Benson regained the lead. He fought off the hard-charging Brendan Gaughan for the next 20 laps to capture his first victory at the tough to tame Bristol Motor Speedway. It was also his second victory of the year.

Benson will join the rest of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at Gateway International Raceway in St. Louis next weekend. The race will be televised live on SPEED Saturday, Sept. 1.