NASCAR WCUP: Benson 25th In 'Tough' Brickyard Debut For Aarons Pontiac
6 August 2000
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway boasts a golf course in the infield, but in NASCAR Winston Cup racing there are no mulligans or any other type of second chance.Saturday afternoon after the Brickyard 400 Johnny Benson sure wishes he could have another crack at the 2.5-mile oval. It's not that his 25th place performance was something in which he should be ashamed. It's that he and his MB2 Motorsports teammates planned on a much more celebrated debut of the #10 Aaron's Pontiac.
"It was pretty much a fairly tough day today," said Benson who qualified 13th on Friday and hoped to show the same form on the historic track that he displayed on a similar flat track at Pocono two weeks ago. But it only took a few laps before Benson joined a chorus of other drivers in telling their teams their cars just wouldn't turn on the fast sweeping left-hand corners of Indianapolis.
It wasn't just the track that drivers fought to overcome. Tun peeked in and out of the clouds changing the track's characteristics plus the Aaron's Pontiac as well as other cars seemed to change their handling characteristics with each new set of tires.
"We started off tight, and then after one set of tire we got it was good," Benson said. "But it seems like from that point on every set we put on, the car changed drastically. I don't know why it did that."
Benson struggled to remain on the lead lap before finally falling down a lap to Rusty Wallace at the three-quarter mark. It appeared Benson would finish 20th but engine problems late in the race dropped him to 25th place.
Bobby Labonte passed Rusty Wallace late in the race to earn his first victory at Indianapolis.
"Sure this is disappointing because we had such high expectations," Benson said after the race. "But having a bad day, encountering as many problems as we did and still finishing in the top 25 is at least something we can hang our hat on. Don't get me wrong we were looking for a top five, but it isn't like we left here in last place."
In fact Benson moved from 16th to 15th in the driver points. Impressive considering he has raced in one less race than most of his competitors.
Benson and the Aaron's Pontiac return to action this weekend on the road course in Watkins Glen, New York.