Johnny Benson Jr.: Busch and Truck Champion Who Raced in All Three NASCAR Series

Johnny Benson Jr. is a retired American stock car driver who raced in all three of NASCAR's national series. He won the 1995 Busch Series championship and the 2008 Craftsman Truck Series title, and he was the 1996 Winston Cup Rookie of the Year. He retired from driving on March 6, 2026.

Benson is the son of John Benson Sr., a former Michigan modified driver, and he was the second of three drivers to win both the Busch and Truck championships. Only thirty-six drivers have won in all three of NASCAR's national series, and Benson was the seventeenth of them. His career began in Michigan and took him through the American Speed Association before he reached NASCAR's top tiers.

Where did Johnny Benson Jr. start in racing?

Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1963, Benson finished high school at Forest Hills Northern in 1981. Before joining the American Speed Association in 1990 he had won a late model title at Berlin Raceway in Marne, Michigan. His rookie season there earned him the Pat Schauer Rookie of the Year award.

That rookie season produced one pole, 174 laps led and eight top-ten finishes. In 1991 he compiled 13 top-tens, including four second-place finishes, and ranked fourth in the AC-Delco Challenge Series. He went on to win the 1993 ASA championship while driving the No. 21 Valvoline Chevrolet for Throop Motorsports.

A late model champion from Michigan who went on to win titles in two of NASCAR's national series.

How did Benson develop in the Busch Series?

Benson made his Busch Series debut in 1993 at Michigan International Speedway, driving Ernie Irvan's No. 41 Delco Remy Chevrolet. He started 20th and finished 40th after an early crash. He ran three more races that season for BACE Motorsports in the No. 74, and he qualified third at Hickory Motor Speedway. His best finish in those races was 18th at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

In 1994 he became BACE's full-time driver and won his first career race at the SplitFire 200. He finished sixth in points that year and collected the Rookie of the Year honour. In 1995 he opened the season with wins at Atlanta and Hickory, collected nineteen top-tens and took the title.

Benson also started running in the Truck Series in 1995, driving the No. 18 Performance Friction Chevrolet for Kurt Roehrig. His best finish in that first season was second at Indianapolis Raceway Park, and the following year he won the pole at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

In 2004 he signed with Phoenix Racing for the full Busch schedule, and his only Busch pole came at Rockingham. A rules violation dropped him to the back of the field before the green flag, which took away a strong starting position. Later that year he left Phoenix Racing before the Richmond race, after a stint with the team that had also included an appearance in its Cup car. Earlier that season he had been poised to win at Bristol until a late incident between Kevin Harvick and David Stremme caught him up, and he was also involved in a crash among the top four at Nashville while racing for the win.

What did the Winston Cup years look like?

Benson moved up to Winston Cup in 1996, driving the No. 30 Pennzoil car for Bahari Racing. He failed to qualify for one race, the Food City 500, but won Rookie of the Year and took one pole at Atlanta Motor Speedway. That August he ran at the front of the Brickyard 400 until a pit-stop problem ended his win hopes. He finished 21st in points that year.

Having won the Busch title, he was invited to the 1996 International Race of Champions, and he finished third in the final standings after top-ten finishes in all four races. In 1997 he had eight top-tens but no top-five finish. He finished one point outside the top ten, behind Ken Schrader, after a season that included a second career pole at Michigan.

At the end of 1997 he announced he would join Roush Racing to drive the new No. 26 Ford Taurus. He missed the season-opening Daytona 500 and finished 30th at the next race, but he had a stretch of finishes no worse than ninth before the season settled. He finished 20th in points that year. The 1999 season produced two top-tens and 28th in points, and he then bought out his contract and left Roush.

How did the Tyler Jet and Valvoline years unfold?

For 2000 Benson joined Tyler Jet Motorsports in the No. 10 car without a sponsor. Lycos came on as the sponsor on race morning at Daytona. Mid-race, Benson and his crew chief, James Ince, chose a late stop for only two right-side tyres and fuel, which put him in front with 43 laps left. Dale Jarrett passed him on the final restart and he slid back to twelfth. Earlier that year he had failed to qualify in the first round at Atlanta, and he missed that race when the second round was cancelled.

Tyler Jet later went sponsorless for a few races, and Valvoline took over as sponsor and then part owner. Benson finished 13th in points that season. In 2001 an engine failure at Daytona relegated him to 28th, but he later posted top-tens in four straight races. He was second in the points for a time after the spring Darlington race, and he finished 11th at season's end.

His final big win in that stretch came at the 2002 Pop Secret 400 at Rockingham. He started 26th and passed the leaders in the closing laps, then held off Mark Martin by 0.26 seconds to win. Valvoline let him go after the 2003 season to make room for rookie Scott Riggs.

How did Benson win the 2008 Truck championship?

Benson won his first Craftsman Truck Series race at Michigan International Speedway in 2006, and he became the seventeenth driver to win in all three of NASCAR's major series. He drove for Bill Davis Racing in the No. 23 truck from 2006 through 2008. He finished second in the 2006 standings, 127 points behind Todd Bodine, and was named Most Popular Driver that year. During 2005 he also made three Cup starts, two in Michael Waltrip's No. 00 Sara Lee Chevrolet and one at Atlanta for Bill Davis, where he finished 28th.

In 2007 he finished third in the standings with four wins, and he also returned to the Cup Series in the Wyler Racing No. 46 for the Jim Stewart 400. He was also named Most Popular Driver for a second straight year, the first driver to repeat as that award's recipient. He made a Busch start for Phoenix Racing and drove Bill Davis's No. 36 Toyota Camry in Cup on the same weekend as his truck at the final two races of the year.

The 2008 season was his strongest in trucks. He won at Milwaukee, then at Kentucky, O'Reilly Raceway Park and Nashville, which made him the fifth driver in the series to win three races in a row. He added a fifth win at Martinsville and clinched the title in the season-ending race. He was named Most Popular Driver for a third straight year. That title made him the second driver to take both the Busch and Truck crowns, after Greg Biffle in 2002.

What were Benson's later years in NASCAR?

In 2008 Benson failed to qualify for the Kobalt Tools 500 in the shared No. 27 ride, the last Cup attempt of his career. He joined Red Horse Racing for 2009, driving the No. 1 Toyota Tundra, but the team had to suspend the truck in June after eight races and four top-ten finishes.

On June 13, 2009, he was burned in a fiery supermodified crash at Berlin Raceway. His injuries included a collarbone fracture, a separated shoulder, three broken ribs, bruised lungs, a broken wrist and third-degree burns on one elbow. Two surgeries followed, and he recovered fully.

In 2010 Kyle Busch Motorsports planned a truck for him but could not secure the sponsorship. He mentored the team's drivers, Brian Ickler and Tayler Malsam, and raced for Team Gill Racing at Daytona, where he finished eighth. He also ran for Billy Ballew Motorsports at Martinsville, Kansas and Dover, finishing in the top ten at all three, before a single race for Kyle Busch Motorsports at Texas, where he finished tenth. That Texas race was his final NASCAR start.

What has Benson done since retiring from NASCAR?

Benson works for the National Motorsports Appeals Panel. He ran a supermodified for owner Brad Lichty on the ISMA circuit through 2025, and he served as the pace car driver for the 2021 SRX Series. In 2023 he returned to competition in a one-off SRX appearance at Berlin Raceway, and on March 6, 2026 he retired from driving.

His family's place in local motorsport also shaped his later honours. He was inducted into the Grand Rapids Sports Hall of Fame in 2013, following his father, who had been inducted in 2001. He entered the Michigan Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2018, after his father in 1986, and the Berlin Raceway Hall of Fame in 2022, after his father in 2006.

What were Benson's titles and honours by series?

Benson's three major titles came in the American Speed Association, the Busch Series and the Craftsman Truck Series. His 1996 Winston Cup Rookie of the Year award and his 2006 first Truck win are the other milestones in his record. The table below sets out his main honours by series.