NAASCAR Bristol Results- Point Standings and Benson Report

Race Results

Race results and points awarded
Results from Saturday night's Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway and Winston
Cup points awarded: 1. (97) Kurt Busch, Ford, 180 - 5 bonus points 2. (29)
Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 175 - 5 bonus points 3. (42) Jamie McMurray, Dodge,
165 4. (17) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 160 5. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 155 6.
(12) Ryan Newman, Dodge, 155 - 5 bonus points 7. (88) Dale Jarrett, Ford, 146
8. (32) Ricky Craven, Pontiac, 142 9. (8) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 138
10. (19) Jeremy Mayfield, Dodge, 134 11. (5) Terry Labonte, Chevrolet, 130 12.
(49) Ken Schrader, Dodge, 127 13. (22) Ward Burton, Dodge, 124 14. (10) Johnny
Benson, Pontiac, 121 15. (23) Kenny Wallace, Dodge, 118 16. (9) Bill Elliott,
Dodge, 115 17. (40) Sterling Marlin, Dodge, 117 - 5 bonus points 18. (01) Mike
Skinner, Pontiac, 114 - 5 bonus points 19. (25) Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, 106
20. (74) Tony Raines, Chevrolet, 103 21. (41) Casey Mears, Dodge, 100 22. (16)
Greg Biffle, Ford, 97 23. (20) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 94 24. (27) Scott
Wimmer, Dodge, 91 25. (4) Johnny Sauter, Pontiac, 88 26. (0) Jason Leffler,
Pontiac, 85 27. (18) Bobby Labonte, Chevrolet, 82 28. (24) Jeff Gordon,
Chevrolet, 89 - 10 bonus points 29. (30) Steve Park, Chevrolet, 76 30. (77)
Dave Blaney, Ford, 73 31. (7) Ted Musgrave, Dodge, 70 32. (99) Jeff Burton,
Ford, 67 33. (21) Ricky Rudd, Ford, 64 34. (45) Kyle Petty, Dodge, 61 35. (31)
Robby Gordon, Chevrolet, 58 36. (6) Mark Martin, Ford, 60 - 5 bonus points 37.
(54) Todd Bodine, Ford, 52 38. (38) Elliott Sadler, Ford, 49 39. (50) Larry
Foyt, Dodge, 46 40. (1) Jeff Green, Chevrolet, 48 - 5 bonus points 41. (43)
Christian Fittipaldi, Dodge, 40 42. (15) Michael Waltrip, Chevrolet, 37 43. (2)
Rusty Wallace, Dodge, 34 Average speed of race winner: 77.421 mph. Time of
race: 3 hours, 26 minutes, 32 seconds. Margin of victory: 0.818 seconds.
Caution flags: 20 for 119 laps. Lead changes: 11 among 8 drivers. Lap leaders:
J. Gordon 1-66; J. Green 67-82; J. Gordon 83-162; K. Harvick 163-187; M.
Skinner 188-192; J. Gordon 193-225; S. Marlin 226-261; M. Martin 262-310; R.
Newman 311-340; S. Marlin 341-365; K. Harvick 366-379; K. Busch 380-500.
Benson Survives Bristol To Finish 14th

When 31 of the 43 drivers are involved in some type of accident during a
500-lap race at Bristol, survival might be the most important skill for any
driver and team.

That was true for Johnny Benson.

But the #10 Pontiac driver and his Valvoline teammates did more than
just survive Saturday night. Benson averted several near accidents,
dramatically made up a lap and surged at the end of the race to finish 14th.

Not bad after starting the race in 32nd.

“From where we started (32nd) it was a good run for us,” Benson said. “The guys
kept making adjustments on the Pontiac to make it better and better.”

The pivotal point of Benson’s race began at lap 102 when a wreck in front of
him sent cars sliding all over the place. Benson suffered some front end
damaged colliding with a car in front of him then came to pit road for repairs.

The James Ince led crew fixed the Pontiac and returned him to the
race but only a few second ahead of race leader Jeff Gordon. Gordon eventually
slipped past Benson on lap 136.

But on lap 160 another accident forced Gordon to slow going into turn four.
Benson, just a few seconds behind, slammed the accelerator and the pair came
across the start finish line rubbing side-by-side with Benson making his lap up
by inches.

“Yeah, that was a big moment. I don’t think Jeff was going to give the lap back
so we had to go take it from him. It’s what you have to do out here. We did it
fair but it was pretty exciting.”

With Benson back on the lead lap, the Pontiac began its march to the
front using four-tire pit stops.

By lap 225 he was in 21st and by lap 279 he had moved up to 11th.

“We were getting a little better with each stop,” Benson said. “Our car was
better on long runs so I was frustrated with all the cautions, but this is
Bristol and there isn’t much you can do about that.”

At a lap 424 caution, Benson stayed on the track in tenth spot while nearly all
the cars behind him came in for new tires. When the race restarted some of
those cars with new rubber got around Benson dropping him to 14th. At the next
caution on lap 445 Benson got new tires falling back to 19th but in the final
laps he clawed his way back to 14th when the checkered flag fell.

Not a bad evening for Benson who has top-15 finishes at the last three oval
races.

“We feel like we’re starting to get back up on track, starting to learn
something for once. I’m real proud of these guys. I’ve managed to get us in
some holes this year and these guys have dug us out of it. I’m really proud of
them.”

Kurt Busch won Saturday night’s race with Kevin Harvick finishing second.

Benson and his teammates return to action Sunday in Darlington, S.C.


Updated Winston Cup standings
Unofficial Winston Cup standings after Saturday night's Sharpie 500 at Bristol
Motor Speedway:
1. Matt Kenseth, 3592
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr., 3241
3. Kevin Harvick, 3128
4. Jimmie Johnson, 3063
5. Jeff Gordon, 3060
6. Kurt Busch, 2990
7. Ryan Newman, 2971
8. Michael Waltrip, 2960
9. Bobby Labonte, 2907
10. Robby Gordon, 2835
11. Tony Stewart, 2809
12. Terry Labonte, 2755
13. Jeff Burton, 2709
14. Mark Martin, 2668
15. Rusty Wallace, 2602
16. Sterling Marlin, 2596
17. Bill Elliott, 2580
18. Ward Burton, 2470
19. Greg Biffle, 2466
20. Elliott Sadler, 2445
21. Ricky Craven, 2438
22. Jamie McMurray, 2414
23. Johnny Benson, 2373
24. Joe Nemechek, 2320
25. Dale Jarrett, 2309
26. Dave Blaney, 2252
27. Ricky Rudd, 2235
28. Jeremy Mayfield, 2201
29. Jimmy Spencer, 2132
30. Kenny Wallace, 2059
31. Steve Park, 2052
32. Todd Bodine, 2029
33. Jeff Green, 1867
34. Casey Mears, 1819
35. Tony Raines, 1709
36. Ken Schrader, 1700
37. Kyle Petty, 1688
38. John Andretti, 1381
39. Jack Sprague, 1284
40. Mike Skinner, 1278
41. Larry Foyt, 921
42. Jerry Nadeau, 844
43. Mike Wallace, 771
44. Christian Fittipaldi, 579
45. Derrike Cope, 503
46. Brett Bodine, 308
47. Johnny Sauter, 240
48. Scott Pruett, 236
49. Jason Leffler, 207
50. Boris Said, 201