Press Release

Pennzoil Pontiac Driver Johnny Benson Goes to Sea

01/06/97

Johnny Benson Joins the Navy -- For at Least a Few Days

Jan. 2 -- With 31 race weekends, many days of testing, a recent trip
to Japan, and the holidays, you might think the last thing Pennzoil
Pontiac driver Johnny Benson would want to do is spend a few days away
from home with a bunch of guys who work on high-tech equipment.

But, the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year did just that a
few days ago and it wasn't even with his Bahari' Racing crew. Instead,
Benson got a close-up look at the work of the 5,000 sailors and
aviators onboard the United States Naval Ship Enterprise.

"I can't tell you how much respect and admiration I have for those
people and I can't begin to describe to you how big that ship is,"
said Benson who, along with five other NASCAR drivers, spent Dec. 18
through Dec. 20 on the aircraft carrier. The trip was organized by
racing writer Al Pearce and the Langley (VA) Speedway.

Benson spent most of the trip touring the mammoth ship to learn how
each person and department works as a team to keep the ship
functioning. The highlight of the trip for Benson was taking off and
landing in a C-2 cargo plane.

"That was awesome," said Benson, who was buckled into the seat
backwards and wore a safety helmet, goggles, harness and a lifevest.
"On the take off, they said we went from 0 to 140 mph in two seconds.
It wasn't like hitting the wall at a super speedway, but it was still
a heck of a jolt."

After cruising around the Atlantic Ocean, Benson's plane returned to
the carrier and the pilot made a precision landing on the deck by
catching the plane's tailhook on a cable used to stop the incoming
aircraft. Benson said the plane went from 100 to 0 mph in about a
second and a half.

"That wasn't as big a jolt as the takeoff, but it was a pretty cool
feeling. I'm glad the pilot was able to hit the cable or it could have
been a little scary," he added.

Benson's trip began when he flew from his home near Charlotte to
Norfolk, then on to Bermuda. The drivers boarded the ship at Bermuda
and stayed with the Enterprise until it reached its home port in
Norfolk.

While they were on board, Benson, Steve Grissom, Randy Lajoie, Terry
Labonte, Mike Wallace, Jimmy Hensley, and drag racer Jim Yates signed
autographs and toured the ship. With about 5,000 people on board,
there were plenty of autographs to sign, questions to answer and
people to see.

"A lot of them were race fans. They told me sometimes it was hard to
keep up because videotapes of each race didn't come to the ship until
about a month after the race," Benson said. "But, they all seemed
pretty knowledgeable. All of them were extremely nice and that goes
from the guy at the bottom of the totem pole all the way to the top."

At night the drivers bunked three people to a room in one of the
ship's state rooms -- luxury accommodation on a ship that sometimes
houses as many as 70 sailors to a room. The time the drivers spent on
the Enterprise were the aircraft carrier's final days of a six-month
trip. When the ship docked in Norfolk, thousands of people greeted the
sailors.

"There were 125 new fathers on board who had not seen their babies,"
said Benson. "You know, as racers we travel a lot and really don't get
to see our families as much as we would like, but we have nothing on
those people. That they are willing to give up so much for our country
says a lot about them, and makes me thankful we have them."