NAASCAR Brickyard 400 Order Of Finish - Point Standings Benson Gains Most Spots, Best Pontiac

Time of race: 2 hours, 58 minutes, 23 seconds.
Margin of victory: 2.758.
Winner's average speed: 134.548 mph.
Caution flags: Five for 25 laps.
Lead changes: 17 among 12 drivers.
Lap leaders: Harvick 1-17; Elliott 18

Race Results

1. (29) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 180 - 5 bonus points
2. (17) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 175 - 5 bonus points
3. (42) Jamie McMurray, Dodge, 170 - 5 bonus points
4. (24) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 165 - 5 bonus points
5. (9) Bill Elliott, Dodge, 160 - 5 bonus points
8. (7) Jimmy Spencer, Dodge, 142
9. (6) Mark Martin, Ford, 143 - 5 bonus points
10. (2) Rusty Wallace, Dodge, 134
11. (12) Ryan Newman, Dodge, 135 - 5 bonus points
12. (20) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 137 - 10 bonus points
13. (10) Johnny Benson, Pontiac, 124
14. (8) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 121
16. (15) Michael Waltrip, Chevrolet, 115
18. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 109
19. (5) Terry Labonte, Chevrolet, 106
20. (1) Jeff Green, Chevrolet, 108 - 5 bonus points
21. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 100
22. (18) Bobby Labonte, Chevrolet, 97
23. (54) Todd Bodine, Ford, 94
24. (23) Kenny Wallace, Dodge, 91
25. (74) Tony Raines, Chevrolet, 88
26. (22) Ward Burton, Dodge, 85
27. (99) Jeff Burton, Ford, 82
28. (77) Dave Blaney, Ford, 79
29. (41) Casey Mears, Dodge, 76
30. (57) Kevin Lepage, Ford, 73
32. (14) Larry Foyt, Dodge, 67
33. (0) Jason Leffler, Pontiac, 64
34. (40) Sterling Marlin, Dodge, 61
35. (01) Mike Skinner, Pontiac, 63 - 5 bonus points
36. (37) Derrike Cope, Chevrolet, 55
37. (25) Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, 52
38. (21) Ricky Rudd, Ford, 49
39. (88) Dale Jarrett, Ford, 46
40. (45) Kyle Petty, Dodge, 43
41. (19) Jeremy Mayfield, Dodge, 40
42. (38) Elliott Sadler, Ford, 37
43. (81) John Andretti, Chevrolet, 34




Pont Standings

1. Matt Kenseth, 3152
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr., 2866
3. Jeff Gordon, 2834
4. Jimmie Johnson, 2656
5. Michael Waltrip, 2653
6. Bobby Labonte, 2642
7. Kevin Harvick, 2623
8. Kurt Busch, 2569
9. Ryan Newman, 2498
10. Rusty Wallace, 2467
11. Robby Gordon, 2442
12. Jeff Burton, 2437
13. Tony Stewart, 2420
14. Terry Labonte, 2392
15. Mark Martin, 2362
16. Sterling Marlin, 2339
17. Bill Elliott, 2244
18. Ricky Craven, 2174
19. Elliott Sadler, 2151
20. Greg Biffle, 2126
21. Jamie McMurray, 2092
22. Ward Burton, 2075
23. Johnny Benson, 2036
24. Dave Blaney, 2003
25. Joe Nemechek, 1999
26. Ricky Rudd, 1990
27. Jimmy Spencer, 1948
28. Dale Jarrett, 1918
29. Todd Bodine, 1885
30. Jeremy Mayfield, 1873
31. Kenny Wallace, 1843
32. Steve Park, 1736
33. Jeff Green, 1719
34. Casey Mears, 1612
35. Kyle Petty, 1475
36. Tony Raines, 1475
37. Ken Schrader, 1431
38. Jack Sprague, 1284
39. John Andretti, 1275
40. Mike Skinner, 1067
41. Jerry Nadeau, 844
42. Larry Foyt, 829
43. Mike Wallace, 771
44. Derrike Cope, 442
45. Christian Fittipaldi, 432
46. Brett Bodine, 308
47. Boris Said, 155
48. Johnny Sauter, 152
49. Ron Fellows, 151


There are a thousand minor dramas in every NASCAR Winston Cup race.

On Sunday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, #10 Valvoline Pontiac driver
Johnny Benson's drama came near the end of the race and ultimately determined
just what kind of day he would have at the Brickyard 400 - perhaps the most
important race of the 2003 season.

Before the late-race drama began, Benson rocketed from his 40th starting spot
up to about 18th place passing cars on the flat 2.5-mile oval that limits
passing. Some good pit stops and pit strategy put Benson in a good position to
make a late race push even higher.

A debris caution with less than 20 laps to go set the stage for the final
showdown.

With just 15 laps to go the race restarted and Benson as well as the other lead
lap cars swarmed all over the track battling for positions. Just in front of
Benson,  Terry Labonte got spun by Kurt Busch in the short chute between turns
3 and 4 and started a multi-car crash involving, Sterling Marlin, Mike Skinner,
Ricky Rudd, Joe Nemechek and Jimmie Johnson.

Benson came through the debris miraculously intact.

"There wasn't much you do in something like that just start aiming where you
hope cars won't be and make sure you don't lose control yourself," Benson said.
"There was a lot of luck involved."

His Crew Chief James Ince disagreed.

"That was an unbelievable job of driving, John" he told his driver over the
radio.

But then the drama began.

Benson's right front fender made contact with another car during the melee. The
question was whether the fender was push down into the tire and cutting the
tire.

If it were cutting the tire that would mean serious trouble on a track where
speeds exceed 200 mph.

Under the yellow Benson swerved back and forth testing out the tire and
spotters reported they could see wisps of smoke. So could driver Dave Blaney
who looked at the Valvoline Pontiac when Benson pulled up beside him.

Any other time he probably would have pitted for new tires. But this was Indy
and there were only going to be 11 laps left in the race when the green flag
flew again.

"If we come in that is about seven spots," said Ince. "If we stay out you have
a chance to drive up through there. But, you have to make that call."

Benson spent another lap swerving back and forth but the trouble still
persisted.

"There seems to be smoke when I turn the wheel to the right," he radioed his
crew. "But I don't smell anything. No burning rubber."

It was time to make the decision. Stay on the track and give up 13th place at
the biggest race of the season or come to the pits for new tires have drop to
about 20th.

As the field approached turn four to get the "one-to-go" signal from NASCAR,
Ince told Benson if he was coming to the pits come in now.

The crew awaited the decision.

"I think we are going to stay out," Benson said. "I think it might just smoke
when I turn it to the right. And I don't plan on turning right. We'll see."

And with that the green flag fell and Benson drove into turn one at full speed.
The first turn went well and so did the second turn. By the time he made it
back down the front stretch the tire drama was over and now it was time to see
if Benson could hold his position or even gain a spot or two.

The traffic made passing difficult but Benson slipped by a car or two while
another car passed Benson.

He crossed the line in 13th place - the fastest Pontiac and the driver who made
the most improvement over his starting spot.

Not bad for the fourth provisional starter.

"You know as frustrated as we all were after qualifying on Saturday, it just
shows you can never give up in this sport. We fought all day long to make this
car better. James made some incredible calls in the pits and it all paid off
today."

Benson said the team is starting to run better.

"We are slowly creeping back to where we think we want to be. We have a long
way to go. This team was in victory lane not that long ago and we will do
everything we can to get back there again."

Kevin Harvick pulled away from the field on the final restart and earned his
first Brickyard 400 victory.

As part of 2004 preparations, NASCAR decided to take cars of Tony Stewart and
Jeff Gordon (Chevrolet), Matt Kenseth and Elliott Sadler (Ford), Jamie McMurray
and Rusty Wallace (Dodge) and Ricky Craven and Johnny Benson (Pontiac) the wind
tunnel in Marietta, Ga. on Tuesday.

In the day's scariest moment, Dale Jarrett spun on pit road and struck his
jackman John Bryan. Bryan was taken from pitlane in an ambulance and taken to
the infield car center. Bryan was awake and alert complaining of pain in his
shoulder and pelvis area. He was released from the hospital Sunday night.