NAASCAR : Ryan Newman Takes Dover Chekered Flag
Race results and points awarded 1. (12) Ryan Newman, Dodge, 180 - 5 bonus points 2. (19) Jeremy Mayfield, Dodge, 170 3. (20) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 170 - 5 bonus points 4. (29) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 170 - 10 bonus points 5. (24) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 160 - 5 bonus points 6. (42) Jamie McMurray, Dodge, 150 7. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 146 8. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 142 9. (17) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 143 - 5 bonus points 10. (2) Rusty Wallace, Dodge, 134 11. (21) Ricky Rudd, Ford, 130 12. (99) Jeff Burton, Ford, 127 13. (40) Sterling Marlin, Dodge, 129 - 5 bonus points 14. (9) Bill Elliott, Dodge, 121 15. (7) Jimmy Spencer, Dodge, 118 16. (43) Jeff Green, Dodge, 115 17. (54) Todd Bodine, Ford, 112 18. (88) Dale Jarrett, Ford, 109 19. (38) Elliott Sadler, Ford, 106 20. (5) Terry Labonte, Chevrolet, 103 21. (10) Johnny Benson, Pontiac, 100 22. (6) Mark Martin, Ford, 97 23. (31) Robby Gordon, Chevrolet, 94 24. (77) Dave Blaney, Ford, 91 25. (0) Jason Leffler, Pontiac, 88 26. (30) Steve Park, Chevrolet, 85 27. (4) Kevin Lepage, Pontiac, 82 28. (23) Kenny Wallace, Dodge, 79 29. (22) Ward Burton, Dodge, 76 30. (74) Tony Raines, Chevrolet, 73 31. (18) Bobby Labonte, Chevrolet, 70 32. (45) Kyle Petty, Dodge, 67 33. (49) Ken Schrader, Dodge, 64 34. (1) John Andretti, Chevrolet, 61 35. (37) Derrike Cope, Chevrolet, 58 36. (41) Casey Mears, Dodge, 55 37. (8) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 57 - 5 bonus points 38. (97) Kurt Busch, Ford, 49 39. (02) Hermie Sadler, Pontiac, 46 40. (32) Ricky Craven, Pontiac, 43 41. (01) Mike Skinner, Pontiac, 40 42. (15) Michael Waltrip, Chevrolet, 37 43. (25) Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, 34 Average speed of race winner: 108.802 mph. Time of race: 3 hours, 40 minutes, 35 seconds. Margin of victory: 1.152 seconds. Caution flags: 7 for 63 laps. Lead changes: 13 among 7 drivers. Lap leaders: M. Kenseth 0; K. Harvick 1-11; R. Newman 12-44; K. Harvick 45-166; S. Marlin 167; J. Gordon 168-180; D. Earnhardt Jr 181-198; T. Stewart 199-212; D. Earnhardt Jr 213-237; M. Kenseth 238; D. Earnhardt Jr 239-243; J. Gordon 244; T. Stewart 245-327; R. Newman 328-400. Points 1. Matt Kenseth, 4158 2. Kevin Harvick, 3722 3. Jimmie Johnson, 3685 4. Dale Earnhardt Jr., 3668 5. Ryan Newman, 3578 6. Jeff Gordon, 3542 7. Bobby Labonte, 3393 8. Kurt Busch, 3372 9. Terry Labonte, 3294 10. Tony Stewart, 3291 11. Michael Waltrip, 3206 12. Robby Gordon, 3189 13. Jeff Burton, 3173 14. Rusty Wallace, 3096 15. Bill Elliott, 3073 16. Mark Martin, 3037 17. Sterling Marlin, 2973 18. Jamie McMurray, 2969 19. Greg Biffle, 2893 20. Elliott Sadler, 2877 21. Ricky Rudd, 2825 22. Jeremy Mayfield, 2821 23. Ward Burton, 2816 24. Ricky Craven, 2745 25. Johnny Benson, 2742 26. Joe Nemechek, 2704 27. Dale Jarrett, 2619 28. Dave Blaney, 2601 29. Jimmy Spencer, 2501 30. Kenny Wallace, 2378 31. Steve Park, 2376 32. Todd Bodine, 2348 33. Jeff Green, 2091 34. Casey Mears, 2084 35. Kyle Petty, 1976 36. Ken Schrader, 1953 37. Tony Raines, 1941 38. John Andretti, 1690 39. Mike Skinner, 1600 40. Jack Sprague, 1284 41. Larry Foyt, 921 42. Mike Wallace, 903 43. Jerry Nadeau, 844 44. Christian Fittipaldi, 717 45. Derrike Cope, 607 46. Jason Leffler, 546 47. Johnny Sauter, 356 48. Kevin Lepage, 348 49. Brett Bodine, 308 50. Hermie Sadler, 260 Benson 21st at Dover. #10 Valvoline Pontiac driver Johnny Benson’s 21st-place finish Sunday at Dover International Speedway might not seem all that impressive compared to his fifth-place finish there in June. But Sunday’s race posed a lot more obstacles just for the Valvoline team to get to the finish. . Before the first ten laps were complete, the Valvoline Pontiac had sustained heavy rear end damage when Dave Blaney hit Benson while the pair raced in traffic. By the half way mark, Benson had completed a long green flag run with a tire going flat. In the final third of the race, Benson ran over debris on the track heavily damaging the front valence forcing the Valvoline team to bring Benson to pit road several times. “We fought something all day today, but we made it to the end,” Benson said after the race. “A couple of the things that happened to us that usually end your day at a racetrack but we were able to keep going and get a respectable finish. “ NASCAR set Sunday’s field based on the season point standings after hurricane Isabel cancelled Friday qualifying. Benson lined up 26th on the grid. He appeared to have a fast car on the long green flag runs, but spent most of the race in traffic trying to regain the lap he lost in the first 90 laps. “The race started with us getting hit in the back then a long green flag run and we were just tight and got down that lap,” Benson said. “We never got a shot at making it up.” On the next run, Benson again complained of handling problems only to find out a tire was losing air pressure. But the day’s most frustrating moment came when debris from Ken Schrader’s car flew off on the backstretch. “There wasn’t much I could do,” Benson said. “The car in front of me swerved at the last second and I ran over it.” The debris caved in the front valence, which is critical to the aerodynamics needed to drive through the turns on the high-speed mile oval. Benson made several pit stops as the crew repaired the damage but those stops forced Benson to the back of the field. “We pretty much struggled after that happened,” he said. “We were just at the wrong spot at the wrong time.” Ryan Newman won the race holding off a charge by Jeremy Mayfield. The Valvoline team returns to action Sunday in Talladega.