Benton started curling in 1975 and competed at his first and only
U.S. Junior National Championship in 1987. He has competed at the
United States Men's Championship ten times, his first in 1997. In 1991 Benton qualified for his first
Olympic Trials but failed to make it to the Games. He would go on to compete in the Olympic Trials two more times, in 1997 and
2005, before finding success his fourth time in
2009. Benton's team won the 2009 Trials which earned them a spot representing the United States at the
2010 Vancouver Olympic Games as well as the
2009 World Championship, since the Trials were also that year's National Championship. Benton played as
lead on the team, which included
John Shuster (
skip),
Jason Smith (
third), and
Jeff Isaacson (
second).
Chris Plys joined the team as alternate after the Olympic Trials. In April 2009, Benton's team participated in the Men's World Championship in
Moncton, Canada. His team placed fifth with a 7–4 record. At the 2010 Olympics, Team USA finished 10th with a record of 2–7. After the Olympics Benton left the team to form his own team. Benton was hired by
NBC Sports to work as a curling analyst during the
2014 Winter Olympics. At the
2017 United States Men's Championship Benton played second for
Todd Birr. Team Birr earned a silver medal, losing to Team John Shuster in the final. Benton has helped
Jared Allen's team of ex-NFL players turned curlers, both as coach and alternate. == Personal life ==