Norm Benning

Norm Benning, Jr. (born January 16, 1952) is a full-time owner/driver. He has competed in the three top touring series of NASCAR and currently owns and drives the #57 Chevrolet in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

Early career

Born in Level Green, Pennsylvania,^[1] Benning began by racing as a 15-year-old at Heidelberg Raceway even though he was supposed to be at least 18 years old.^[2] He also has raced in dirt late models and asphalt modifieds.

ARCA

Benning has finished in the top 10 in ARCA points seven times, with a highest of 5th in 2001. In 276 starts, Benning has five top 5 and 32 top 10 finishes. His best effort was a 3rd place finish at the Springfield dirt mile in 2004.

NASCAR

Benning has attempted numerous NASCAR races in the top 3 divisions during his career. Benning made his NASCAR debut in 1989, driving in three races in the Cup series for the #99 car owned by Jerry O'Neil. After starting 35th, Benning would finish 30th in his debut at Dover. He would then match that finish at Pocono and 31st in his return to Dover.

Benning made his last Cup points race start for O'Neil in 1993, starting last (39th) at Darlington and finishing 39th after one lap of competition. After that, Benning attempted to make the Daytona 500 for seven consecutive years. He attempted many Cup races through 2001 in his own #84 84 Lumber Chevy, as well a couple of entries of the #79 T.R.I.X. Racing car.

Benning's next NASCAR start came in the Craftsman Truck Series in 2002. Driving for Troxell Motorsports, Benning qualified the #93 Chevy into the field at Nashville Superspeedway in 18th position. A vibration dropped the team out of the event and Benning finished 32nd. In 2009 Benning was back in the truck series attempting a full season. He only missed one race and that was Daytona. At Michigan Benning finished 17th his best finish of the year for the Camping World Truck Series. His final position in points was 21st.

Benning attempted the NASCAR Busch Series for the next two years. Benning was able to compete in 3 of the 6 races attempted. In his debut, Benning started the 2003 Nazareth race in 42nd before finishing in 40th. He was later able to improve in the year with a career-best 36th place at NHIS. Driving once again at Nazareth, Benning started 42nd before finishing 38th with brake failure. He fielded a car for Dion Ciccarelli at Nazareth in 2004, who finished 29th.

During the 2008 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season, Benning competed in 7 of the 8 races attempted driving his own #57 Chevrolet. In 2009, Benning competed full-time in the Truck Series for his own team (his first attempt at a full NASCAR season). He qualified for 24 of 25 races and finished 21st in overall points. His best finish came at Michigan when he finished 17th with Germane Red sponsorship.

In 2010, Benning tied his career best Truck Series finish of 17th at Texas Motor Speedway.^[3]

Benning was forced to withdraw from the 2011 Daytona 500 field after he failed to practice.

In 2013, Benning held onto fifth place after a hard fought battle with Clay Greenfield in the "Last Chance" qualifying race at Eldora Speedway to earn the final transfer spot into the first annual Mudsummer Classic.^[4] His truck sustained a fair amount of damage, but he was able to make repairs with the help of members of larger teams. He would go on to finish 26th, four laps down. This performance allowed Norm to gain mass popularity among NASCAR fans.^[5]

Images

Benning's 2012 truck at Rockingham Speedway  Benning's 2013 truck at Rockingham

References

External links

• Official website
• Norm Benning driver statistics at Racing Reference