When the news arrived
that Johnny would be driving at Martinsville - I had a
choice to make. It always rains in Martinsville during
the race weekend and it seems that drivers rather plow
through each other versus making a pass - not fun to
watch.
Since I missed out on
the Daytona race due the rain out and flight
commitments. I decided to monitor the weather channel
to see what the prospects of a dry race day would be.
I figured I could deal with a little bumping and banging
if the weather held up. Finally on Thursday night - the
window of opportunity for clear weather was on Saturday
during the truck race.
By waiting on the
weather - the opportunity to fly closed up. Good thing
I got that oil change earlier in the week! The Impala
was ready to roll. My mom decided to join me on the
adventure - which was a good thing, because I needed a
co-pilot. We left Grand Rapids early Friday morning
under sunny skies - I thought that was a good sign. We
made our way into Virginia before settling for the night
where I increased my Hilton points.
I had not mentioned it
to Johnny that we were making the trip - thought it
would be a good surprise. Our family friend, Bill (who
works on the #20 Home Depot car) broke the news on
Friday during practice that we were on our way. Johnny
did not believe it - since there is no way I would drive
that far!
The sun was shining
brightly on Saturday morning. Good sign of things to
come. My mom sent Johnny a text to alert him that he
may see some familiar faces in the grandstands. :)
We started on our way - the roads were winding.
Interesting driving in the mountains when you are used
to the flat lands in Michigan! Between West Virginia
and Virginia - a person could not sea sick!
We arrived at the
track and entered the grandstands around 11:00 a.m. The
Cup cars were practicing. We found Johnny's pit stall
and sat across from it. Sent Johnny a text and he
quickly located us and waved.
|
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|
Judy "Mama Benson"
sitting in the stands |
Not much action in the
Cup practice as they were doing single file runs.
I decided to head down towards the fence to snap a photo
of the #15 truck sponsored by Red Top Auction and
prepared by the Billy Ballew teams. The biggest
obstacle was the fence! On my way back, I ran into a
fan eating a red hot dog. Had to snap that photo - he
was nice enough to stop eating!
Time was ticking away
.... The CUP practices were over and the stage was
getting set for driver's introductions.
The crew chief on the
#15 is Kevin "Cowboy" Starland. What a coincidence
that is he from Michigan! Although Johnny did not do
any testing with the #15 Martinsville truck, he did
spend a day testing in Virginia in the #51 truck during
a Toyota test. This gave him an opportunity to work
with the team before the Martinsville race.
Qualifying was rained
out so the field was set by owner's points putting
Johnny in the 9th starting position. The field took the
green flag without incident. By lap 5, Johnny had
moved into 8th. The caution flew when the #21 spun.
Johnny then passed his team mate #51 on lap 11 and by
lap 19, he was in 6th after passing the #30.
The caution flew on
lap 26. Johnny radioed that he was tight off and the
right side tires were chattering. The race started the
field went back into single file mode. Johnny's average
speed was 91.192 mph. By lap 46, Johnny was 7th. The
tires continued to chatter. By lap 52, he slid back to
9th. On lap 57, #14 was in the pits under green flag
conditions due to a flat tire.
On lap 61, Johnny was
passing the #76 on the outside coming out of four when
they touched sending Johnny into a 360 spin. The green
flag remained out and Johnny went on his way only losing
7 spots. The caution soon flew after and Johnny pitted
for 4 tires and fuel. The #15 crew did an awesome job -
as Johnny returned to the track in 11th!! There were 18
trucks on the lead lap at this time.
The slower trucks were
playing havoc on this paper clip short track. The #89
pulled out in front of the entire field - it was time
for him to be black flagged. By lap 98, Johnny was
running 8th and the next lap in 7th. Another caution on
lap 112. Johnny radioed that it was a touch tight from
the last run and would like it to be freed up. They
discussed the track bar option. Over the next 30 laps,
Johnny jockeyed for position in 6th, then 7th, then
12th, then 9th, then 8th with 100 to go.
As I look back at my
notes, I can tell that things got a little more wild. I
finally gave up at the 200 lap mark. The double file
restarts were exciting and kept us on the edge of our
seats. Our friends, Bill and Jerald came up to sit with
us in the grandstands. Jerald had to pull on my sleeve
a couple time to remind me to sit down. :)
As the laps winded
down, I knew the bumping would increase. Driver's did
not want to use up the extra track to gain the positions
by actually making a "clean pass". I worried that
Johnny would lose his top 5 spot because of it.
With 30 laps to go, this came true for the #13 and
the #5 as the #33 drove in the back of the #13.
When the checkered
flag flew ... Johnny earned his 5th place finish. He
would have like to have finished better, but gave it all
he could.
My mom and I walked
back to the car and waited for Johnny and Debbie to show
up. (I know where Johnny parks). Talked to him for a
few minutes before we all piled into our cars and headed
in opposite directions. Yes, we were heading for the
long drive home to Michigan.
Made our way to
Beckley, West Virginia to settle in for the night. Went
to dinner at Outback where there was a whole lot of
whopping and hollering. Who would have ever thought
that we would be in West Virginia during their
basketball game against Kentucky. Timing is
everything.
Drove the rest of way
home in the rain. Took what my co-pilot thought was a
short cut - but I'm not so sure. Was glad to see the
flat lands in Michigan and my home where the Impala
could cool down. :) Would I do again? Absolutely -
watching a race in person is so much better than sitting
on the couch trying to spot that truck.
Until next time ....
