Infineon NASCAR Results
Results. 1. (31) Robby Gordon, Chevrolet, 185 - 10 bonus points 2. (24) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 170 3. (29) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 165 4. (9) Bill Elliott, Dodge, 160 5. (12) Ryan Newman, Dodge, 155 6. (01) Boris Said, Pontiac, 155 - 5 bonus points 7. (1) Ron Fellows, Chevrolet, 151 - 5 bonus points 8. (2) Rusty Wallace, Dodge, 142 9. (18) Bobby Labonte, Chevrolet, 138 10. (19) Jeremy Mayfield, Dodge, 134 11. (8) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 130 12. (20) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 127 13. (15) Michael Waltrip, Chevrolet, 124 14. (17) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 121 15. (21) Ricky Rudd, Ford, 118 16. (22) Ward Burton, Dodge, 115 17. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 112 18. (40) Sterling Marlin, Dodge, 109 19. (6) Mark Martin, Ford, 106 20. (42) Jamie McMurray, Dodge, 103 21. (32) Ricky Craven, Pontiac, 100 22. (38) Elliott Sadler, Ford, 97 23. (54) Todd Bodine, Ford, 94 24. (4) Johnny Miller, Pontiac, 91 25. (5) Terry Labonte, Chevrolet, 88 26. (41) Casey Mears, Dodge, 85 27. (45) Kyle Petty, Dodge, 82 28. (97) Kurt Busch, Ford, 79 29. (23) Kenny Wallace, Dodge, 76 30. (10) Johnny Benson, Pontiac, 78 - 5 bonus points 31. (74) Tony Raines, Chevrolet, 70 32. (77) Dave Blaney, Ford, 67 33. (49) Ken Schrader, Dodge, 64 34. (09) Scott Pruett, Dodge, 61 35. (25) Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, 58 36. (7) Jimmy Spencer, Dodge, 55 37. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 52 38. (99) Jeff Burton, Ford, 49 39. (0) Jack Sprague, Pontiac, 46 40. (43) Christian Fittipaldi, Dodge, 43 41. (30) Steve Park, Chevrolet, 40 42. (88) Dale Jarrett, Ford, 37 43. (66) Hideo Fukuyama, Ford, 34 2003 Points 1. Matt Kenseth, 2396 2. Jeff Gordon, 2222 3. Dale Earnhardt Jr., 2220 4. Bobby Labonte, 2136 5. Michael Waltrip, 2024 6. Kurt Busch, 2012 7. Jimmie Johnson, 1965 8. Rusty Wallace, 1940 9. Kevin Harvick, 1901 10. Sterling Marlin, 1892 11. Tony Stewart, 1849 12. Mark Martin, 1846 13. Robby Gordon, 1834 14. Ricky Craven, 1797 15. Terry Labonte, 1750 16. Jeff Burton, 1737 17. Ryan Newman, 1736 18. Elliott Sadler, 1677 19. Bill Elliott, 1657 20. Joe Nemechek, 1639 21. Ward Burton, 1612 22. Jamie McMurray, 1596 23. Dave Blaney, 1534 24. Johnny Benson, 1528 25. Greg Biffle, 1527 26. Ricky Rudd, 1479 27. Jeremy Mayfield, 1447 28. Kenny Wallace, 1427 29. Dale Jarrett, 1419 30. Jimmy Spencer, 1360 31. Todd Bodine, 1355 32. Jeff Green, 1277 33. Steve Park, 1257 34. Casey Mears, 1209 35. Ken Schrader, 1172 36. Jack Sprague, 1171 37. Kyle Petty, 1148 38. John Andretti, 1137 39. Tony Raines, 1111 40. Mike Skinner, 1004 41. Jerry Nadeau, 844 42. Larry Foyt, 585 43. Mike Wallace, 551 44. Brett Bodine, 308 45. Derrike Cope, 258 Benson 30th at Infineon All in all it was about as exciting of a 30th-place finish as you are going to find in NASCAR Winston Cup racing. With just a little luck it would have been a whole lot better. #10 Pontiac driver Johnny Benson ran out of gas in the final lap ruining what could have been a top-15 finish on the road course at Infineon Raceway on Sunday before 120,000 road racing fans. But before the frustrating finish, Benson led 10 laps on the two-mile track and looked pretty good doing it. "Yeah we are pretty disappointed about running out of gas there at the end," said Benson after the race. "We knew we were taking a gamble by stretching that last run and we could have used another caution or two to help us make it. But it was worth the gamble. I'm not sure how much better we would have finished if we had played it safe. But the Valvoline Pontiac led some laps today and we gave it our best effort. Racing up front is a whole lot more fun and easier than racing in the back." Benson started Sunday's race in 25th and dropped back to about 30th in the early going complaining of a vibration somewhere in the gear or transmission. He even doubted it would last the entire race. But, by lap 51 he was in 33rd when Crew Chief James Ince started bringing Benson to pit road to top off the fuel tank and take on tires during just about every caution. Benson pitted on lap 64 for fuel then remained on the track when the rest of the field came for gas on lap 72. That put Benson in the lead with a little bit older tires than the rest of the field. "JB we can make it from here if we get several caution laps," Ince told the driver. "Its going to be awful close but its probably worth a gamble." Benson concurred and when the green flag flew the Valvoline Pontiac led the field through the twisty turns of the Sonoma, California race course. "Keep it straight and smooth and save fuel for me," Ince asked. Benson held off Rusty Wallace and led for 10 laps. "That was fun. The car ran a bit better in the lead and clean air," he said. Eventual race winner Robby Gordon snuck past Wallace then Benson as did several others who took advantage of new tires to pass the Valvoline Pontiac. Benson held on as the faster cars slipped by and the laps wound down. By lap 90 he was sixth and with 10 to go he was 17th battling for 15th. He seemed assured of a top-20 finish although he told Ince he was having brake problems. But then things went bad. "I think she just ran out," Benson announced as he was coming to take the white flag. Benson pitted for gas and returned to the track but in 30th place. Ince said the gamble came close to working. "All we needed was a lap and half and I think we would have been OK," he said. "We are here to run up front and win and that was our best chance of doing that today." Benson's 30th place finish moves him to 24th in the driver points. Robby Gordon held off Jeff Gordon in the closing laps to earn his first victory of the season. The Winston Cup Series will take a weekend off and return to action in Daytona on July 5.