---

NASCAR WCUP: Benson & Crew Lucky And Good At Rockingham

23 October 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

ROCKINGHAM, NC: Sometimes its better to be lucky than good.

#10 Aaron's Pontiac driver Johnny Benson was both on Sunday as he drove to an 11th-place finish in the Pop Secret 400 NASCAR Winston Cup race at the North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham.

In the first half of the 400-lap race, Benson was lucky as cautions fell just as he was about to lose a lap to the leaders. In the second half of the race, after several lengthy pitstops to make major handling changes, Benson was one of the better cars on the race track.

"I'm not sure we deserved 11th place today," Benson said after the race. "But, me, James Ince, and our crew worked hard. We made a ton of changes today hoping to get the Aaron's Pontiac the way we wanted it. I don't think we ever hit on the right setup, but we were better later in the race than we were in the beginning of the race."

Benson began Sunday's race in 14th place and it didn't take long for he and Ince to realize it was going to be a long day if some major changes weren't made quickly to the car. Benson said the car was loose meaning it suffered from a severe oversteer as he navigated the 1.017-mile oval.

Adding to the handling problems was the fact that new tires lasted about 8 laps before they became quite slippery. Benson looked like a rodeo rider trying to stay on top of a bucking bronco.

"We can't continue like this," Benson radioed the crew as he raced in 26th position. "We have to make this better." As he and Ince talked about changes on the car, the leaders were less than a second from lapping the Aaron's Pontiac. Then, the part about it being more important to be lucky than good, came in to play.. Michael Waltrip suffered an engine malfunction and brought out the caution allowing Benson to remain on the lead lap.

"Hey JB do you feel lucky today," joked Ince when the caution came out just in time.

Once the race restarted Benson experienced more of the same problems and once again just as it appeared that he would fall down a lap to the leaders Robby Gordon bounced off the wall and brought out another timely caution.

Ince and crew made a few more changes and after the restart Benson worked his way up to 16th. But there was more frustration. During another round of pit stops at the lap 194 mark Benson ran over a wrench left out by Mark Martin's crew. Ince called Benson into the pits to make sure there wasn't a cut tire and since he would be at the back of the lead lap cars Benson and Ince started making whole sale changes to the chassis setup.

"It might push like a truck now but it least it is something different," surmised Ince.

The changes helped.

Benson began passing cars for the first time during the day and making some more handling changes during a session that saw five pit stops within 100 laps because of accidents. By lap 327 he had moved to 16th place.

On lap 323, a fire erupted in Matt Kenseth's pit area after the rookie driver made his stop. As firemen struggled to get it under control, NASCAR called for the yellow flag and closed pit road. After the fire was put out and the race resumed on lap 333 with Benson in ninth.

"We just struggled a bit there at the end slipping and sliding," Benson said. "We just wanted to bring the Aaron's Pontiac to the garage in one piece."

Dale Jarrett led the final 43 laps to win the race second ahead of Jeff Gordon. Ricky Rudd, still seeking his first win as a teammate to Jarrett at Yates, finished third. Jeff Burton, who led 116 laps, finished fourth, Rusty Wallace took fifth. Rounding out the top 10 were, in order, Steve Park, Tony Stewart, Ward Burton, Bobby Hamilton and Joe Nemechek.

Benson and his MB2 Motorsports teammates leave for Homestead on Monday for a two-day test session then return to action in two weeks in Phoenix.

Text Provided By Drew Brown

Editors Note: To view hundreds of hot racing photos and art, visit The Racing Photo Museum and the Visions of Speed Art Gallery.