Benson 13th At Rockingham

#10 Pontiac driver Johnny Benson saved the best for last Sunday in
the Subway 400 at North Carolina Motor Speedway in Rockingham, North Carolina.

Benson, who started second, lagged back as far as 20th during the race but over
the last 50 laps mounted a late-race charge to climb up to 13th place. He could
have garnered a few more spots if there were extra laps on the 1.017-mile
track.

The 13th-place finish was very respectable but a little disappointing to a
driver and team who won the last Nascar Winston race at Rockingham. At least a
quick post-race inspection of his Valvoline Pontiac revealed what may have held
the team back during the 400-mile race.

"That was a pretty bad day for us,” Benson said. “We struggled most of the day.
But for whatever reason, the rear brakes never seated in. I don't understand
why. As a matter of fact, [Crew Chief] James [Ince] grabbed hold of the rotors
after the race and said, 'Man, I can just hang on to them,' while the front
pads are into the
backing plates. The rears never touched.”

Benson said the brake problem made it difficult to find the right setup.

"We spent the whole time trying to adjust the car to it and it was very
difficult to do,” he said. "All in all, we ended up OK, but definitely not
where we wanted to and not where we're capable of finishing here."

Dale Jarrett passed Kurt Busch on lap 384 of the 393-lap race then Busch
regained the lead on lap 389, but Jarrett led the final four laps to win the
race.

Benson used the final run to pass Jeff Gordon, Mike Skinner, Ryan Newman and
others before a wheel-to-wheel duel with Jeff Burton who held on to 12th when
the checkered flag fell.

The exciting ending a scary beginning to the day’s activities.

Four members of the Army Special Operations Command parachute team, part of
Sunday's prerace show, were injured in their landing attempts. Three jumpers
appeared to land cleanly inside the track. One landed on the track on the
frontstretch; three landed in or near the Winston Cup garage area; and one
landed outside Turn 1 of the track.

One jumper was taken to a local hospital for treatment of cuts and bruises. Two
others were taken by ambulance to another hospital for treatment of minor
injuries. They were listed in stable condition Sunday afternoon. Another
jumper, who landed in the garage area, suffered more serious injuries and was
airlifted to Charlotte for evaluation.
Benson expressed his concern after the race.

“I hope those guy who got hurt parachuting in before the race are OK,” Benson
said. “I really admire those military guys and their skills. Today was as windy
of a day as I have ever seen at a race track. But for them to get hurt doing
that today was tough. I’ve been hurt doing what I love in a race car and it isn
’t much fun. Lets just hope they get healed quick so they can jump again.''

Benson and his teammates return to action next weekend at Las Vegas Motor
Speedway.

Sunday's Subway 400 results

1. (88) Dale Jarrett, Ford, 393
2. (97) Kurt Busch, Ford, 393
3. (17) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 393
4. (32) Ricky Craven, Pontiac, 393
5. (42) Jamie McMurray, Dodge, 393
6. (2) Rusty Wallace, Dodge, 393
7. (6) Mark Martin, Ford, 393
8. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 393
9. (38) Elliott Sadler, Ford, 393
10. (77) Dave Blaney, Ford, 393
11. (21) Ricky Rudd, Ford, 393
12. (99) Jeff Burton, Ford, 392
13. (10) Johnny Benson, Pontiac, 392
14. (22) Ward Burton, Dodge, 392
15. (12) Ryan Newman, Dodge, 392
16. (18) Bobby Labonte, Chevrolet, 392
17. (24) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 392
18. (4) Mike Skinner, Pontiac, 392
19. (7) Jimmy Spencer, Dodge, 392
20. (20) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 392
21. (15) Michael Waltrip, Chevrolet, 392
22. (1) Steve Park, Chevrolet, 392
23. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 392
24. (25) Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, 392
25. (49) Ken Schrader, Dodge, 392
26. (29) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 391
27. (01) Jerry Nadeau, Pontiac, 391
28. (5) Terry Labonte, Chevrolet, 391
29. (31) Robby Gordon, Chevrolet, 391
30. (41) Casey Mears, Dodge, 390
31. (30) Jeff Green, Chevrolet, 390
32. (9) Bill Elliott, Dodge, 390
33. (8) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 390
34. (0) Jack Sprague, Pontiac, 390
35. (45) Kyle Petty, Dodge, 389
36. (14) Larry Foyt, Dodge, 388
37. (74) Tony Raines, Chevrolet, 387
38. (23) Kenny Wallace, Dodge, 386
39. (43) John Andretti, Dodge, 386
40. (40) Sterling Marlin, Dodge, 319
41. (19) Jeremy Mayfield, Dodge, 271
42. (54) Todd Bodine, Ford, 85
43. (37) Derrike Cope, Chevrolet, 34



Unofficial Winston Cup standings

1. Kurt Busch, 345
2. Dale Jarrett, 314
3. Jimmie Johnson, 312
4. Mark Martin, 306
5. Michael Waltrip, 291
6. Matt Kenseth, 278
7. Jeff Burton, 262
8. Ricky Craven, 255
9. Tony Stewart, 254
10. Kevin Harvick, 248
11. Rusty Wallace, 248
12. Ricky Rudd, 248
13. Jeff Gordon, 245
14. Elliott Sadler, 232
15. Dave Blaney, 230
16. Johnny Benson, 230
17. Robby Gordon, 226
18. Jamie McMurray, 225
19. Greg Biffle, 197
20. Joe Nemechek, 191
21. Kyle Petty, 187
22. Jeremy Mayfield, 182
23. Jack Sprague, 182
24. Steve Park, 176
25. Kenny Wallace, 164
26. Mike Skinner, 164
27. Jerry Nadeau, 164
28. Bobby Labonte, 160
29. Sterling Marlin, 160
30. Casey Mears, 160
31. Ward Burton, 158
32. Ryan Newman, 155
33. Terry Labonte, 155
34. Todd Bodine, 151
35. Mike Wallace, 138
36. Bill Elliott, 134
37. Ken Schrader, 128
38. Dale Earnhardt Jr., 124
39. Jimmy Spencer, 122
40. Jeff Green, 116
41. Tony Raines, 116
42. John Andretti, 107
43. Christian Fittipaldi, 58
44. Larry Foyt, 55
45. Derrike Cope, 34