Robert A. Benton Jr. (born June 28, 1979) is an American former professional
stock car racing driver who competed in the NASCAR
Busch,
Truck
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame constructi ...
and
East
East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...
Series as well as the
ARCA Re/Max Series
The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into the three national ...
. He currently works as the team manager for
Team Penske's NASCAR teams. Before starting in that position in January 2018, he was the owner of NASCAR team
RAB Racing
RAB Racing with Brack Maggard was an American professional stock car racing team that attempted NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Xfinity Series, Camping World Truck Series and the ARCA Racing Series. The team was co-owned by Robert A. Benton Sr. and hi ...
and
Change Racing, a team in the
IMSA
The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) is a North American sports car racing sanctioning body based in Daytona Beach, Florida under the jurisdiction of the ACCUS arm of the FIA. It was started by John Bishop, a former executive direc ...
sports car
A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...
series.
Racing career
Team owner career
Benton's first dip into team ownership came in the early part of his career, when he fielded cars for himself when he competed in a No. 82
Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
in the
ARCA Re/Max Series
The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into the three national ...
in 2000.
Benton then partnered with owner-driver Brack Maggard's ARCA team in
2007 to form
RAB Racing
RAB Racing with Brack Maggard was an American professional stock car racing team that attempted NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Xfinity Series, Camping World Truck Series and the ARCA Racing Series. The team was co-owned by Robert A. Benton Sr. and hi ...
with Brack Maggard. Benton became the majority owner, and the name change to RAB stood for Benton's initials. The team continued to field Maggard's No. 65
Dodge with
Justin Marks, who joined the team late in
2006, continuing as the driver.
RAB Racing would begin in NASCAR in 2008, fielding a Nationwide (now Xfinity) Series team with
John Wes Townley
John Wesley Townley (December 31, 1989 – October 2, 2021) was an American professional stock car racing driver. He competed in NASCAR's Xfinity and Truck Series from 2008 to 2016, winning a race in the latter in 2015.
Townley's father Tony is a ...
driving the No. 09
Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
with
Zaxby's
Zaxby's is an American chain of fast casual restaurants offering chicken wings, chicken fingers, sandwiches, and salads. The chain operates primarily in the Southern United States and has more than 900 locations. Most Zaxby's restaurants are owne ...
sponsorship, which Townley brought to the team. They would leave after
2009, with the team starting the 2010 season without a sponsor.
Scott Riggs
Russell Scott Riggs (born January 1, 1971) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the 92 for RBR Enterprises in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
Racing career Early career
Riggs was born in Bahama, Nort ...
was supposed to drive the car full-time, but was quickly replaced by any driver who brought sponsorship in order to keep the team afloat. The team was likely to shut down at some point that year or at the end of the year, but the team pulled off an upset win in the
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
race with road course ringer
Boris Said
Boris Said III (born September 18, 1962) is an American semi-retired professional racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 66 Ford Mustang for MBM Motorsports and in the Trans-Am Series, driving the No. 2 ...
in an exciting photo finish with
Max Papis
Massimiliano "Max" Papis (born 3 October 1969) is an Italian professional motorsport driver who has competed in several top-level motorsports events such as Le Mans 24 Hours, Formula One and Champ Car. He has three Champ Car victories. He is the s ...
, which saved the team from closing.
Motorsports career results
NASCAR
(
key) (
Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
Busch Series
Craftsman Truck Series
Busch North Series
ARCA Re/Max Series
(
key) (
Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benton, Robby
1979 births
Living people
People from Harrisburg, North Carolina
Racing drivers from North Carolina
NASCAR drivers
ARCA Menards Series drivers