Benson On Dover, Hurricane
Dover Is Eye of Hurricane The last time Nascar Winston Cup Series visited Dover, Del. rain had altered racing during 8 of the 14 Nascar weekends that had been run in 2003. This weekend it appears not only rain, but Hurricane Isabel will dominate the pre-race discussion. The powerful hurricane is predicted to land near the Dover area forcing race teams to keep an eye on the weather and possibly alter travel plans or even race plans. Benson On Hurricane: “Sure we have been tracking the hurricane. We had the weather radar up on the truck at New Hampshire last weekend trying to figure out where it was going. We are concerned. On the one hand we don’t want it to come to the Carolinas because that’s where most of us live. On the other hand we don’t want it to go anywhere around Dover either. Right now that’s where they are saying it is going. Its a pretty powerful storm and could do a lot of damage so that's reason enough to hope it goes away. Plus, we have been on the road since February and our guys don’t want to have to make up a race on an off weekend after Miami. We did that a few years ago on Thanksgiving and we don’t want to have to do anything like that again. “I grew up in Michigan and we had to worry more about tornados and blizzards. I ’ve never been in a hurricane before and sure don’t want to start. Those things look pretty bad. The people around Charlotte I have talked to said you really don’t want any part of a hurricane and I’ll take their word for it.” I don’t know what NASCAR will do. I’m sure they will do the right thing though. I suspect they will be in touch with all the police and weather folks and come up with a plan. We might leave early for Dover. But who knows. We’ll be just like the race fans and watch television and the Internet.” Benson On Dover: “We want to run Dover. That’s one of my favorite tracks. We finished fifth there last race and have run well there in the past. I said last time I wish we raced every race at Dover. For a track its size, it’s amazing how important qualifying at Dover has become. Most of your race winners start up front. We look at it as the race starts on Friday. We’ve got to get a good lap in and get a good starting spot. It also helps in picking a pit. If we qualify well then we get to choose a pit before the other teams. I think the major key is to start out front, avoid trouble and race the last 100 miles.” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Informed Sources (Story Ideas For Media) More Than Just An Owner Valvoline is more than just a co owner of the #10 Valvoline Pontiac. It’s a partner in racing technology. At the Valvoline lab we have developed the following products that you see raced on race weekends: Qualifying oil. A special, ultra-low viscosity lubricant that increases horsepower on two-lap runs. New line of no-compromises, not-street-legal oils. There are three conventional grades, three synthetic. Increased zinc levels could harm catalytic converters so these oils are not for streetcars. Super Coolant: Water-based coolant withstands higher water temps. A NASCAR-proven cooling system additive that provides a 25% improvement over conventional glycol-based engine coolants. Valvoline Racing Super Coolant is a cooling system corrosion inhibitor concentrate race-tested by Johnny Benson's #10 and Evernham Racing's Nos. 9 & 19 Winston Cup teams. It is proven to provide a 25% improvement in heat transfer over conventional glycol-based engine coolants. Synthetic Gear Oil: Valvoline SynPower Gear Oil is a full synthetic, thermally stable, extreme-pressure gear lubricant designed to operate and protect in extreme-temperature conditions. It has been the "gold standard" for race teams for 10 years. Valvoline has also worked on shock oils, greases and other special oils for special cars. Valvoline made up special oils for NHRA Top Fuel racers, Pro Stock. Racers come to us with an "issue" (bearing wear, fuel contamination, blow-by, etc.); we try to solve with new products and procedures. Teams using some or all of these products include Valvoline Racing MB2, Evernham, Morgan-McClure, Ultra Racing (Winston Cup, NCTS). 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. High Quality Jpgs 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. 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’s Crew Chief James Ince, of Springfield, Mo., is celebrating a championship for his dirt late model car building company. Justin Wells of Crane Mo. won the IMCA Dirt Late Model championship in a chassis built by James Ince Motorsports. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Benson Dover Record Race Start Finish Spring 2003 30 5 Fall 2002 22 10 Spring 2002 DNS Injury Fall 2001 37 31 Spring 2001 4 41 Fall 2000 3 2 Spring 2000 34 15 Fall 999 24 18 Spring 1999 28 7 Fall 1998 25 15 Spring 1998 14 41 Fall 1997 29 28 Spring 1997 29 21 Fall 1996 30 24 Spring 1996 23 17 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - 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 Darlington 11 40 Richmond 9 9 Loudon 22 25 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - THE RACE: MBNA America 400 Winston Cup Race #28 of 36 for the 2003 Winston Cup season Race: Sunday, September 21, 2003 in Dover, DE TV: NBC - 1:00pm/et Pre-Race Show: TNT - 12:30pm/et - hosted by Bill Weber Scheduled Race Re-Air: One-hour recap on Wednesday, September 24th at 7:00pm/et and again on September 25th at 1:00am/et; and a full three-hour race show will re-air at 3:00pm/et on Thursday, September 25th Announcers: Allen Bestwick, Benny Parsons, Wally Dallenbach Pit Reporters: Bill Weber, Matt Yocum, Marty Snider, Dave Burns War Wagon: Bill Weber and many guests NASCAR on TV Purse/Race Awards: was $3,920,256 in 2002 2002 Race Winner: Jimmie Johnson, 120.805mph, started 19th Track Race Record: Mark Martin, Sept 1997, 132.719mph Track/Race Length: 1.0 concrete oval, 400 laps, 400 miles Slowest Race Record: David Pearson, June 1975, 100.820mph Oldest Winner: Harry Gant, 52 years, 4 months, 21 days, May 1992 Youngest Winner: Jeff Gordon, 24 years, 1 months, 13 days, Sept 1995 Most Laps Led [400 lap race]: Jeff Gordon, June 2001, 381 laps Most Cautions: 16 - September 1993 Fewest Cautions: 0 - June 1971 Most Caution Laps: 103, Sept 1993 Worst Starting Spot to Win: Kyle Petty, June 1996, started 37th Pit Road Speed: 35mph ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Practice Practice: Friday, September 19th, 11:05am - 1:00pm/et; and Saturday, September 20th, 9:30 - 10:15am/et Happy Hour Practice: Saturday, September 20th, 11:10 - 11:55am/et on TV-TNT tape delay at 12:00noon/et. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Qualifying Qualifying Draw: Friday, September 19th, 10:00am/et First Round Qualifying: 2 laps for positions 1-36, Friday, September 19th at 2:35pm/et, TV-TNT live Track/Event Qualifying Record: Rusty Wallace, Sept 1999, 159.946mph Last Year's Pole Sitter: Rusty Wallace, 156.822, finished 15th. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Track Specs: Superspeedway: 1.0-mile oval Banking: turns: 24 degrees; straights: 9 degrees Straights: Frontstretch - 1,076 feet; Backstretch - 1,076 feet Pit Stalls: 42 (1 shared) 15" wide x 28" long Attendance: ~140,000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - #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 ### Drew Brown drewbrown@bellsouth.net 704-650-0428 cell 704-895-3651 home