GM RACING NOTES & QUOTES--ATLANTA SUNDAY NOTE

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GM RACING WINSTON CUP NOTES & QUOTES; BASS PRO SHOPS/MBNA 500; ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY; OCT. 26, 2003; PAGE 1

 

Hampston, Ga., Oct. 26, 2003 - Johnny Benson, driver of the No. 10 Valvoline Pontiac Grand Prix, spoke today on several topics, including the circumstances of his replacement as driver by Busch Series driver Scott Riggs.

 

JOHNNY BENSON:

 

THE NEWS CAME THIS WEEK. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT THAT SCOTT RIGGS HAD BEEN HIRED?  "Well, they told me Thursday that I wouldn't be back with the 10 car, and that's fine. It was one of those deals where they wanted to make a change, and I think there are other changes going on there at the shop with some ownership program or something like that. I was a little surprised, but by the same token I'm looking forward to next year. I have another year left on my deal, but I'm still looking forward to next year and finding a good ride."

 

WHAT WERE THE CIRCUMSTANCES? "They pretty much just said they had somebody signed to come into the car and at that point in time they had to work on me getting out of the car. I think they had somebody signed when it came time to move me out. That's cool. That's how the business works. Hopefully I can find something that is going to be worthwhile. If not, I'm not sure what I'll do. Maybe I'll just hang out. I want to make sure I'm in something that's decent. I really kind of wish they had said something in June as opposed to now, but I can't control that."

 

YOU WON 30 RACES AGO. IS THIS A SURPRISE? "It is. We have 13 top-five finishes and a win for them in the last not too long here, so I guess part of it is a shock. But they need to run it how they see fit and I can't do anything about it. They decided they needed somebody else. I guess I didn't actually ask why, because I can't change it. We'll just deal with it."

 

ANYTHING IN THE FIRE AS YET? "I've only had seven days to work on it. I've talked to a couple of people, but there's either people already in the car or circumstances that have not allowed them to move forward on different things. There again, this is awful late for them too. It's not the best time of year to be doing this. I think we'll be fine in the future, and if not, I still have a year left on my deal and they're working that out right now. We'll go on from here."