NASCAR:Complete Phoenix Results and Standings Plus Benson 21st

Race Results
1. (8) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 180 - 5 bonus points

2. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 175 - 5 bonus points

3. (12) Ryan Newman, Dodge, 170 - 5 bonus points

4. (97) Kurt Busch, Ford, 170 - 10 bonus points

5. (15) Michael Waltrip, Chevrolet, 155

6. (17) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 150

7. (24) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 146

8. (99) Jeff Burton, Ford, 142

9. (22) Scott Wimmer, Dodge, 138

10. (6) Mark Martin, Ford, 134

11. (40) Sterling Marlin, Dodge, 130

12. (42) Jamie McMurray, Dodge, 127

13. (25) Brian Vickers, Chevrolet, 124

14. (9) Bill Elliott, Dodge, 121

15. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 118

16. (1) John Andretti, Chevrolet, 115

17. (21) Ricky Rudd, Ford, 112

18. (20) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 109

19. (74) Tony Raines, Chevrolet, 106

20. (38) Elliott Sadler, Ford, 103

21. (10) Johnny Benson, Pontiac, 100

22. (54) Todd Bodine, Ford, 97

23. (4) Kevin Lepage, Pontiac, 99 - 5 bonus points

24. (77) Dave Blaney, Ford, 91

26. (09) Mike Wallace, Dodge, 85

27. (49) Ken Schrader, Dodge, 82

28. (14) Larry Foyt, Dodge, 79

29. (88) Dale Jarrett, Ford, 76

30. (5) Terry Labonte, Chevrolet, 73

31. (01) Joe Nemechek, Pontiac, 70

32. (31) Robby Gordon, Chevrolet, 67

33. (2) Rusty Wallace, Dodge, 64

34. (29) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 61

35. (45) Kyle Petty, Dodge, 58

36. (18) Bobby Labonte, Chevrolet, 55

37. (43) Jeff Green, Dodge, 52

38. (32) Ricky Craven, Pontiac, 54 - 5 bonus points

39. (30) Steve Park, Chevrolet, 46

40. (7) Jimmy Spencer, Dodge, 43

41. (0) Ward Burton, Pontiac, 40

42. (41) Casey Mears, Dodge, 37

43. (19) Jeremy Mayfield, Dodge, 34



Standings

. Matt Kenseth, 4828

2. Dale Earnhardt Jr., 4600

3. Jimmie Johnson, 4587

4. Jeff Gordon, 4528

5. Ryan Newman, 4499

6. Kevin Harvick, 4477

7. Tony Stewart, 4260

8. Bobby Labonte, 4055

9. Kurt Busch, 3983

10. Bill Elliott, 3966

11. Terry Labonte, 3912

12. Michael Waltrip, 3842

13. Jeff Burton, 3842

14. Jamie McMurray, 3769

15. Rusty Wallace, 3757

16. Robby Gordon, 3680

17. Mark Martin, 3665

18. Greg Biffle, 3508

19. Sterling Marlin, 3477

20. Jeremy Mayfield, 3411

21. Ricky Rudd, 3408

22. Ward Burton, 3369

23. Elliott Sadler, 3325

24. Joe Nemechek, 3226

25. Dale Jarrett, 3224

26. Ricky Craven, 3212

27. Johnny Benson, 3207

28. Dave Blaney, 3033

29. Jimmy Spencer, 2976

30. Kenny Wallace, 2894

31. Steve Park, 2756

32. Todd Bodine, 2731

33. Jeff Green, 2507

34. Tony Raines, 2498

35. Casey Mears, 2492

36. Ken Schrader, 2396

37. Kyle Petty, 2347

38. John Andretti, 2269

39. Mike Skinner, 1914

40. Jack Sprague, 1284

41. Mike Wallace, 1189

42. Larry Foyt, 1034

43. Christian Fittipaldi, 857

44. Jerry Nadeau, 844

45. Derrike Cope, 788


#10 Pontiac driver Johnny Benson felt like he was part of a
three-hour traffic jam Sunday in Phoenix except it wasn't on the local
Interstate or highway.

The 43 NASCAR Winston Cup cars jammed into the flat one-mile oval made for a
lot of follow-the-leader, single-file racing for most of the day.
Unfortunately, Benson began the race in 35th and had a hard time working his
way up through the field.

"It was all about track position today," he said after the race. "We struggled
with having a car that we couldn't get to turn in the center. We weren't bad in
clean air but you aren't going to get a lot of clean air here back where we
were."

Benson bided his time picking cars off slowly and using each pit stop to bolt
on four tires.

On the pit stop sequencing Benson moved as high as 13th and as low as 24th but
spent most of the day around 20th.

He was 21st when the checkered flag fell.

"We probably got the finish we deserved today," Benson said. "I wish we could
have qualified better. If we could have got up front we might have been able to
stay there."

Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the race.

Benson and his teammates will race in Rockingham, N.C. next weekend where they
are the defending champions.

Drew Brown
drewbrown@bellsouth.net
704-650-0428 cell
704-895-3651 home