Benson On Darlington Changes
Benson On Darlington Changes Sunday’s race marks the final Labor Day race weekend at Darlington Raceway. Next year’s race will be in November while the California Speedway hosts the Labor Day weekend race. The changes at historic Darlington might symbolize the shifting direction of the sport with an emphasis on bigger markets. That has created mixed feelings among drivers, teams and fans. #10 Valvoline Pontiac driver Johnny Benson grew up in Grand Rapids, Mich. watching the Darlington races on television. Like most he has mixed feelings about the changes. Benson has top 14 finishes in the last three oval races and would love to be the last driver to own a Labor Day weekend trophy from Darlington. Johnny Benson: On Final Labor Day Weekend Race: “Yeah it’s disappointing. I mean racing at Darlington on Labor Day was a tradition in our sport that I knew about even before I came down here to race. I hate it when we change tradition, but I understand the need for getting us out to California twice. I’m glad we are exposing our sport to new and more fans. But I also hope we always remember the people that got us to where we are today.” What Would Winning The Final Labor Day Weekend Race Mean? “Winning any race in this series is big these days. So, I’m not going to be picky. We will take a win any place and any time. But yeah, winning this weekend would put you in the history books. There are a lot of great drivers who have won this race over the years and to be the last guy to win the Labor Day race would be pretty cool.” Will Darlington Be Any Different Next Year In November? “The obvious answer I guess is the cooler weather. The cooler weather will help the track. That should be better for the drivers as far as grip on the race track. We might be a bit faster with the added grip. Look, they could run it on Christmas Day and Darlington will be the same old tough Darlington it’s always been.” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Valvoline Informed Sources - Story Ideas Attention Radio Broadcasters: Johnny Benson audio is now available. If you would like a MP3 file of Johnny Benson previewing an upcoming race or talking about a specific subject please email me and I will send you the audio file of Benson. If you would like weekly pictures of the #10 team and Benson please email me and I will give you the pass code so you can download pictures every Monday. Media only please. On Fire Monday through Saturday Jimmy Watts is a captain with the Charlotte Fire Department. On Sunday he goes over pit wall just inches away from 43 swarming cars to gas Johnny Benson’s #10 Valvoline Pontiac. Watts helped pull Benson out of his car at Talladega last year and is a good authority on firefighting techniques in racing. What's the owner doing at testing? At testing events, the car owner normally would be as ignored as a busboy at Hooters. Why are Valvoline representatives a key part of pre- and in-season testing for the No. 10 Valvoline Pontiac and No. 9 and 19 Dodge Dealers Intrepid R/Ts? That's because Valvoline uses the Nascar Winston Cup tests to try out its new qualifying oils, gear oils, radiator wetter that go into the engines of Johnny Benson, Bill Elliott and Jeremy Mayfield. The Business of Racing is Business: Half of the stories written about Nascar Winston Cup racing are business related these days. Jim Rocco - Senior Vice President at the Valvoline Company - is the listed car owners of Johnny Benson's #10 Valvoline Pontiac and an excellent interview for stories dealing with team owners, sponsorship or economics of racing. For Sale? Want to know how much it costs to be on a Winston Cup racer? Valvoline has a color graphic in jpg form that gives rough costs estimates of every spot on a Winston Cup car. Home Grown Racing Valvoline as well as Benson and his Crew Chief James Ince value local racers across the country. Benson races a pavement late model and Ince owns and races with his dirt team in the Midwest. Valvoline supports local racers by giving money through a competition called the Valvoline Cup open to all American racers. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Benson Darlington Record Race Year S F Spring 2003 22 25 Fall 2002 24 33 Spring 2002 27 34 Fall 2001 17 14 Spring 2001 4 7 Fall 2000 2 38 Spring 2000 29 24 Fall 1999 20 32 Spring 1999 2 18 Fall 1998 11 21 Spring 1998 21 8 Fall 1997 18 19 Spring 1997 36 10 Fall 1996 27 11 Spring 1996 38 24 Benson 2003 Record S F Daytona 40 19 Rockingham 2 13 Las Vegas 16 12 Atlanta 23 11 Darlington 22 25 Bristol 20 19 Texas 13 32 Talladega 17 41 Martinsville 28 32 California 32 36 Richmond 13 15 Charlotte 10 24 Dover 30 5 Pocono 25 24 Michigan 26 25 Infineon 25 30 Daytona 22 27 Chicago 36 18 Loudon 26 26 Pocono 29 20 Indianapolis 40 13 Watkins Glen 27 27 Michigan 35 10 Bristol 32 14 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE RACE: Mountain Dew Southern 500 Winston Cup Race #25 of 36 for the 2003 Winston Cup season Race: Sunday, August 31, 2003 in Darlington, SC TV: NBC - 1:00pm/et Pre-Race Show: NBC - 12:30pm/et - hosted by Bill Weber Scheduled Race Re-Air: a one-hour recap] of the race will air on Wednesday, September 3rd at 7:00pm/et and again on September 4th at 1:00am/et; a full three-hour race show will re-air at 12:00pm/et on Thursday, September 4th Announcers: Allen Bestwick, Benny Parsons, Wally Dallenbach Pit Reporters: Bill Weber, Matt Yocum, Marty Snider, Dave Burns War Wagon: Bill Weber and many guests Purse/Race Awards: was $4,074,660 in 2002 2002 Race Winner: Jeff Gordon, 118.617mph, started 3rd Track Race Record: Dale Earnhardt, Mar 1993, 139.958mph Event Race Record: Jeff Gordon, Sept 1998, 139.031mph Slowest Race Record: Fonty Flock, Sept 1952, 74.512mph Oldest Winner: Harry Gant, 51 years, 7 months, 22 days, Sept 1991 Youngest Winner: Terry Labonte, 23 years, 9 months, 16 days, Sept 1980 Most Laps Led: Johnny Mantz, Sept 1950, 351 laps Most Cautions: 15, March 1995 Most Caution Laps: 101, Sept 1974 Race Won from the Top 10: 88 of 100 [88%] Race Won from the Top 15: 95 of 100 [95%] Other Winning Starting Spots [5]: 23rd - 1; 31st -1; 37th - 2; 43rd - 1 Worst Starting Spot to Win: Johnny Mantz, Sept 1950, started 43rd [75 started, 3 abreast] Track/Race Length: 1.366 egg-shaped oval, 367 laps, 501.3 miles Pit Road Speed: 45mph ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Practice Practice: Friday, August 29th, 11:20am - 1:20pm/et; and Saturday, 10:30 - 11:15am/et Happy Hour Practice: Saturday, August 30th, 12:10 - 12:55pm/et on TV-Speed Channel Live. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Qualifying Qualifying Draw: Friday, August 29th, 10:20am/et First Round Qualifying: 2 laps for positions 1-36, Friday, August 29th at 3:05pm/et, TV-Speed Channel live, re-air on Friday, August 29th at 9:30pm/et and Saturday, August 30th at 2:30am/et. Race/Event Qualifying Record: Kenny Irwin Jr, September 1999, 170.970mph Track Qualifying Record: Ward Burton, Mar 1996, 173.797mph Last Year's Pole Sitter: none - rained out. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Track Specs: Banking: Turns 1/2 - 25 degrees, width 79 ft; Turns 3/4 - 23 degrees, width 62 ft; Front - 3 degrees, Back - 2 degrees. Frontstretch 1,229 ft long, 90 ft wide; Backstretch - 1,229 ft long, 90 ft wide Pit Road: Length: 2,025 feet, Width: 46 feet Track Repaved in late 1995 Grandstand Seating: 65,000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - 10 Valvoline Pontiac Team Television Information Pit Contact: James Ince or Drew Brown Owners: Valvoline (Jim Rocco)/MB2 Motorsports (Tom Beard, Nelson Bowers, Read Morton) Crew Chief/Car Chief: James Ince Engine Builder: Hendrick Motorsports Spotter (Race Day) Jay Guy Spotter (Practice Only) Russell Hoekwater Engine Tuner John Kendrach Over The Wall Pit Crew Front Tire Changer Rick (Fuzz) Burgdoff Front Tire Carrier Shane Cooke Rear Tire Changer Greg Burkhart Rear Tire Carrier Steve Genenbacher Gasman Jimmy Watts Tire Specialist Skippy Johnson Catch Can Steve Mann Jackman Brian Perry Other Crew Members Truck Driver: Jerry Hess Mechanic: David Baum Shocks: Mike Cluka Tires: Jeff (Skippy) Johnson Engineer: Tim Turner Computers & Gas Runner: John Hayes Scorer: Terry Lane Pit Stop Coach: Gary Smith PR Rep: Drew Brown