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NASCAR WCUP: Johnny Benson 19th In Daytona Qualifying

12 February 2000

Posted by Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

DAYTONA BEACH, FL--For the first hour of Bud Pole qualifying at Daytona on Saturday Johnny Benson and his Tyler Jet Motorsports teammates sat on top of the racing world. When it was over they weren't quite on top, but the young team was satisfied with the 19th place qualifying effort.

"It's time to go racing now," said Benson after his two-lap qualifying run. The Grand Rapids Mich. native was the first of the 57 cars to qualify on the 2.5-mile highbanked oval.

Yates Racing teammates Dale Jarrett and Ricky Rudd captured the front row for next Sunday's Daytona 500. Starting positions for the rest of the drivers in what will be a 43-car field will be determined on Thursday in twin qualifying races of 125 miles.

Benson will start about tenth in probably the first qualifying race. The top 15 finishers in each race are guaranteed a starting spot for the Daytona 500 while the rest of the field is determined by the qualifying times and provisionals.

Benson's day began well. After posting the twelfth quickest lap of 47.717 seconds in the Saturday morning practice, Benson turned in a 47.759-second lap on the second of his two qualifying laps.

"I thought we would do a lot better than that, but I think that will put us about 25th when this is all over," said Benson who appeared with host Ken Squier for three minutes on the CBS Television's coverage of qualifications.

Benson's time stood up as the fastest for the first 17 cars taking the green flag, but any chance for a pole ended when Dale Earnhardt claimed the top spot. Benson's time was bettered mostly Fords and a few other Pontiacs.

"Things were about the same as they were this morning. We were hoping we were going to pick up a tenth or two, but we didn't. We're just going to end up seeing where it's going to be. This car is going to race really good, though. We did a little drafting with it in testing and it's really good, so we're just looking forward to being here with Tyler Jet Motorsports.

"I don't know if qualifying first matters here. The wind is down, and it's not so bright, so it doesn't really matter if you go first or last. I think this afternoon the winds are going to pick up a little bit. I don't know if it helps you or hurts you."

Benson will not participate in Sunday's Bud Shootout, but will return to the track on Monday for drafting practice.

Benson's work won't be limited to just on track activities. Benson will appear on Squier's radio show at 8:45 p.m. on Wednesday and on PRN's racing show at 6 p.m. on Thursday.

Text provided by: Drew Brown

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