Benson 37th At Daytona
Benson Looking Forward To The Draft After Qualifying #10 Valvoline Pontiac driver Johnny Benson and his teammates are glad Saturday’ s qualifying is over at Daytona International Speedway and they can move on to drafting practice which begins Monday. Benson posted the ninth quickest time in Friday practice, however he didn’t feel confident the car could repeat that performance on Saturday because other teams might be holding back and all cars would get a new restrictor plate Saturday morning. Benson was proved right. He wasn’t as fast as Friday, but he didn’t think he would end up being 37th of 53 cars making qualifying attempts. Immediately after his two-laps on the high-speed oval a radio reporter asked Benson if he had lost anything from practice to qualifying. “A little bit? That was a ton (about 1.2 MPH). We didn't even touch the car. We went through tech with no changes, put the (restrictor) plate on it and there you go.” Benson ruled out the warmer temperatures as a factor. “The Chevrolets still went two tenths faster than they were yesterday and we were four tenths slower, so I don't know. We'll just see what the Valvoline Pontiac does in the '125s' and go from there." Benson is expected to start 19th in the first of the twin 125s on Thursday. His finishing position in that race will determine his starting spot in Sunday’s Daytona 500. “Our cars have raced pretty well in the last two years so I’m confident we can get to the front,” said Benson whose 11th place points finish in 2001 makes him eligible for a starting spot in the Daytona 500 without making a second round qualifying attempt on Monday and no matter what happens in the twin 125s. “If this car races good we’ll forget today pretty fast. And, I think it will race fine.” Rookie Jimmie Johnson won the pole for the Daytona 500 and will be flanked by Kevin Harvick on the front row. Qualifying Results Pos. Driver Speed 1 Jimmie Johnson* 185.831 2 Kevin Harvick 185.770 3 Jeff Gordon 185.490 4 Robert Pressley 185.272 5 Ward Burton 184.426 6 Robby Gordon 184.361 7 Terry Labonte 184.263 8 Michael Waltrip 184.188 9 Bill Elliott 184.173 10 Jeff Green 183.988 11 Mike Wallace 183.838 12 Bobby Labonte 183.774 13 Dale Jarrett 183.710 14 Jerry Nadeau 183.699 15 Ricky Rudd 183.658 16 Jeremy Mayfield 183.651 17 Bobby Hamilton 183.632 18 Kenny Wallace 183.561 19 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 183.542 20 Tony Stewart 183.415 21 Brett Bodine 183.381 22 Dave Marcis 183.258 23 Ken Schrader 183.232 24 John Andretti 183.153 25 Sterling Marlin 183.150 26 Jeff Burton 183.131 27 Joe Nemechek 182.863 28 Casey Atwood 182.770 29 Geoffrey Bodine 182.733 30 Shawna Robinson 182.663 31 Hut Stricklin 182.511 32 Rusty Wallace 182.304 33 Mark Martin 182.285 34 Todd Bodine 182.204 35 Ryan Newman* 182.119 36 Dave Blaney 182.112 37 Johnny Benson 182.101 38 Greg Biffle 182.060 39 Elliott Sadler 181.840 40 Stacy Compton 181.741 41 Rick Mast 181.601 42 Buckshot Jones 181.488 43 Kurt Busch 181.473 44 Jimmy Spencer 181.155 45 Ricky Craven 181.035 46 Bobby Gerhart 180.487 47 Mike Skinner 180.169 48 Matt Kenseth 179.967 49 Hermie Sadler 178.585 50 Carl Long 176.418 51 Norm Benning - 52 Kyle Petty - 53 Kirk Shelmerdine How to Make the Field for the Daytona 500 • NASCAR Winston Cup timed qualifying will be held on February 9. Each team will run two laps with the best time of the two setting the qualifying time. The two fastest qualifiers set positions one and two and are the only guaranteed starters, filling the front row for the Daytona 500. • The Gatorade 125 Qualifying races held on February 14, will determine positions 3 through 30. The drivers who posted the odd-number rankings in the qualifying rounds will compete in the first race which will set the inside row for the Daytona 500. The even-number rankings from the timed-qualifying will compete in the second Gatorade 125 and set the outside row. The highest finisher of the first Gatorade 125, once the Bud Pole winner is removed from the equation, will start third in the Daytona 500, the next-highest finisher will start fifth and so on through 29th position. The highest finisher of the second Gatorade 125, once the second-place qualifier is removed form the equation, will start fourth in the Daytona 500, the second-highest finisher sixth and so on through 30th position. In the event of cancellation, the top 30 positions will be set according to the NASCAR Winston Cup Rule Book. • Starting positions 31 through 36 are determined by qualifying speeds set in one of two rounds of qualifying. The 30 cars in the field will be removed from the equation with the cars with the fastest official qualifying speeds filling the remaining six positions. • Starting positions 37 through 42: Provisionals assigned starting with the car owner ranked highest in the 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup car owner point standings who did not qualify for positions 1 through 36 and assigned in descending order until all provisional spots are filled. • Starting Position 43: Provisional assigned to any car owner who has the current or a past NASCAR Winston Cup Champion driver who participated as a driver in the 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup season, failed to qualify for one of the first 36 starting positions and did not receive a provisional starting spot from the above procedures. The most recent past champion driver not assigned a position will then receive this starting spot. If the 43rd position remains unused it will be assigned to the next eligible owner. Note: • The Daytona 500 pole position and second-starting position are the only positions guaranteed in first-round qualifying. These drivers are also guaranteed pole positions for each of the Gatorade 125 Qualifying races, the fastest qualifier gaining the pole for the first Gatorade 125 and the second fastest the pole for the second Gatorade 125. • A second round of qualifying is held prior to the start of the Gatorade 125s. Drivers who post faster times in the second round may not gain a better starting position in the Gatorade 125’s. Drivers who attempt second-round qualifying may attain a better time of record which may qualify them for the Daytona 500 in positions 31 through 36 as explained above. ### Drew Brown 1335 Torrence Circle Davidson, NC 28036 704-895-3651 H 704-906-7992 C drew_brown@mindspring.com