Defending champ Benson loses ride

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Johnny Benson lost his ride yesterday when Red Horse Racing folded his team because it couldn't find sponsorship for the defending Truck Series champion.

"This leaves me without a ride, I'd say, and not a lot of time to put something together," Benson said.

He said the team notified him yesterday morning that the No. 11 Toyota would not finish the season. Red Horse will continue to field the No. 11 truck for T.J. Bell, who has some funding but is not fully sponsored.

"We gave it our best shot, and we tried as long as we could, but nothing materialized," team owner Tom DeLoach said. "This is a tough economic climate, and the cost of fielding a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team with essentially no support other than our manufacturer is too much for Red Horse Racing to bear alone."

It's the second time in seven months that Benson has been hurt by the sagging economy. He won the truck title last year driving for Bill Davis Racing, but informed Davis before the season finale that he was moving to Red Horse because of the financial instability at BDR.

Davis sold his race teams and engine-building operation in January, and the new owners have not entered a race this season.

Benson said he believed Red Horse gave him a good chance to defend his series title, but the team had not lived up to his expectations. Benson is seventh in the standings finishes.

Petty organization lays off nine, cuts salaries

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Richard Petty Motorsports laid off nine employees and reduced salaries throughout the organization, a byproduct of Chrysler's bankruptcy filing.

RPM officials took the measures because of anticipated cutbacks from Dodge, a person familiar with the moves told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing uncertainty surrounding RPM's contract with Chrysler.

Chrysler, Dodge's parent company, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last In an interview before the organizational cuts, team co-owner Richard Petty acknowledged a disruption to the race team since Chrysler's April 30 filing.

"Everybody sets up a budget of what to do. All of a sudden, they call up and say, 'We just went bankrupt, guys. We can't pay you. Or we can give you a quarter on the dollar that we owe you.' And you say, 'Whoa, man,'" Petty said. "Everything you've got just goes out the window."