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AUGUST NEWS
Campbell Wins at Berlin Raceway
Johnny Finishes 2nd
After two weekends in a
row of rainy weather, the sun was finally shining on
Berlin Raceway and there was a spectacular crowd on
hand to witness some exciting racing. Taking home the
checkers were Dave Lake (Model Coverall Modified),
Steve Thompson (Burnips Equipment 4-Cylinder B),
Darrell Holtzlander (Burnips Equipment 4-Cylinder A),
Justin Ryan (Engine Pro Super Stock), Samantha Jansen
(Vintage Racing Organization of America) and Brian
Campbell (Premier Boyne Machine Super Lates).
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Brian Campbell
and his #20
Perfect Circle Racing late model
in Victory Lane
Photo by: Tom Devette |
Johnny and Chris
Anthony #55
battling for position
Photo By: Tom Devette |
The final race
of the night was the 100-lap Premier Boyne
Machine Super Lates. The #44 of Tim Steele
and #55 Chris Anthony led the field to the
green flag and it was Anthony who took off
with the lead. Steele, meanwhile, was busy
trying to hold off #12 Tim DeVos and #20
Brian Campbell.
Campbell was the first to clear Steele and
he had almost a full second to make up to
get to Anthony. DeVos and #21 Johnny
Benson also slipped past Steele and they
were well on their way to the front. By
lap 27, Anthony had almost a second and a
half lead over Campbell who was in defense
mode trying to hold off DeVos. Anthony
started putting cars a lap down on lap 30
just as DeVos drove around Campbell and
the leaders found themselves in heavy
traffic.
On lap 34, there was contact between #48
Seth Moody and #99 Ross Meeuwsen, after
being flat sideways, Meeuwsen save it, but
the yellow followed after dirt was kicked
up on the track. DeVos took the lead on
the restart and Benson also got by, this
dropped Anthony to third where he had to
hold off Campbell.
On lap 62, the leaders were back in
traffic, but they all maneuvered it
expertly. Steele and #22 Caleb Bisacky had
a great battle for fifth going on on lap
69 with Steele taking the position. With
17 laps to go, Campbell caught up to
Benson was racing him hard for second, by
the next time they came by, Campbell took
the position, but was unable to gain
anything on DeVos, whose lead was growing
by every lap.
With 7 laps to go, DeVos had put up to
fifth place one lap down, but with three
laps to go, he found himself pulling off
of the race track due to problems with his
car. This handed the lead to Campbell who
was in heavy traffic with Benson hot on
his heels. It was Campbell who scored the
win, Benson came in second and the rest of
the top ten were Anthony, #22 Josh Slade,
Steele, Moody, #6 Brandon Hermiller, #10
Josh Hobson, #101 Lauren Bush and #32 Gabe
Ensing.
Complete PR.
Photos From the Klash
By: Tom Devette
Johnny Wins - 75 Lap Boyne Super LateRace
Bozell Wins the Klash
The crowd was bigger
than usual and the competition more
fierce. But the end result to
Wednesday night's Kalamazoo Klash was a
familiar refrain.
Kalamazoo Speedway Late Model points
leader Phil Bozell hit another gear late
into the 150-lap race to cruise to a win
and a $10,000 prize in the annual Outlaw
Late Model race in front of a packed
home track.
"I knew the car was good, I just had to
get track position," said Bozell, of
Portage. "When they started double-file
restarts, this thing just flies on the
outside and I went down to the inside
and it was good there, too. Clean air is
a really big thing here with the new
bodies. If you get out front by
yourself, you can just fly."
And fly he did for the last 30 laps of
the race, leaving a star-studded field
in his dust as he took the checkered
flag on his first career Klash victory.
Steve Needles, 2009 Klash champion,
finished second followed by Johnny
Benson, JR Roahrig and top-qualifier
Trent Hellenga.
The Klash is split into two segments of
100 and 50 laps respectively. In the
first 100, Bozell was barely a blip on
the radar as Terry Senneker dominated
portions of the first stanza.
Even early into the
second segment, Bozell was scratching
to get to the front of the pack.
"I got a little worried there in the
first 100," Bozell said. "I was stuck
so far back there and I was trying to
get to the top six to give myself a
chance. My car is so good on long
runs. It doesn't slow as much as
everyone else's."
Bozell's father, four-time Klash
champion and Speedway legend Andy
Bozell, held the lead briefly in the
first segment, finally getting past
Senneker. However, the elder Bozell
blew his motor and was forced to park
his car for the rest of the night.
"We both had really good race cars and
I lost the motor, but it was pretty
neat to see Phil up front," Andy
Bozell said. "He just drove away from
them. His car was really good."
Grandville's Tom Thomas won the first
segment of the race, but spun out
early into the second, forcing a
caution. He was sent to the back,
where he fought to a seventh-place
finish. "Breaks just never seem
to fare well for me," Thomas said
smiling. "I would just rather keep the
race going, but it is what it is and
that's how the Klash has always been.
It was just really tight racing and I
was trying to get by a guy and ended
up spinning myself out so I wouldn't
wreck him."
In addition to
finishing third in the main event,
West Michigan's own NASCAR veteran
Johnny Benson picked up a victory in
the 75-lap Premier Boyne Machine Super
Late Model race held earlier in the
evening. He outlasted Ross Kenseth,
son of NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Matt
Kenseth, for his first Boyne Machine
victory in three attempts this year.
Grand Rapids' Alec Carll also pushed
Benson late.
The template body series is in its
inaugural season and runs all its
other races at Berlin Raceway in Grand
Rapids. "We had a really good,
clean race," Benson said of his win.
"We were side-by-side for quite a long
time and never touched. Hats off to
them for racing clean.
"...I've raced Ross (Kenseth) up there
in Berlin for the one race and I know
he's done well. It was really cool to
have him and guys like (former Whelen
Modified Tour champ) Ted Christopher
and all these other people up to this
race track for the first time."
The irony to Benson's night was that
the car Bozell used to beat him was a
Benson-made car, as were many in the
race. "It's fun, but not as fun
to watch one as it goes by you,"
Benson chuckled. "But those guys have
run very well, so congratulations to
them."
Contact Jayson Bussa at jbussa@kalamazoogazette.com
or 269-388-8400. Follow him on Twitter
at
twitter.com/jaysonbussa.
CHRIS PERLEY BACK BEHIND THE MILLER 11 FOR
A WATERFORD WIN
Johnny Finishes 8th
www.ismasupers.com
Waterford, CT – Vic Miller’s #11 had won
the previous two ISMA outings without
Chris Perley but Saturday night, the
Rowley Rocket was back in dominant form.
Perley took over the lead of the 50-lapper
after a devastating crash involving
checked-out race leader Eric Lewis and two
lap cars, brought out the red. Perley blew
by the 74 of Johnny Benson and the 78 of
Mark Sammut in one felled swoop coming off
turn four to lead lap 21 and the rest of
the way. A yellow on lap 43 shortened his
half-track plus lead, but five or six lap
cars sat between Perley and second place
runner Sammut, leaving not much chance for
a shootout to the finish. The win was
Perley’s third of the five races he’s run
this season and his fourth at the
Waterford Speedbowl since the 2005 ISMA
inaugural there. The race was a redeemer
of sorts for the now infamous May
Waterford event.
Complete PR
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Johnny and Chris Perley
Photo By: Jim Fenney |
Two for Two
for Liquid Lou in ISMA Competition
By:
Carol Haynes
August
6, 2011-Delaware, Ontario,
Canada…..“Liquid” Lou Cicconi proved
Saturday night at Delaware that he
really enjoyed driving the Vic Miller 11
by winning the second leg of the ISMA
series at the Canadian half-mile.
Cicconi tracked down an equally
awesome-running Johnny Benson Jr. in the
75-lapper and passed him on lap 30 but a
caution negated the pass and Benson
reclaimed the lead, which he would hold
until the late stages of the event. But,
Cicconi was right there watching for
another chance, which he got on lap 63.
Cicconi and Benson swapped the lead a
couple times in that one circuit until
Benson and his car finally gave way.
Cicconi flew through the remaining
twelve laps to take the win, while
Benson pulled suddenly into the pits. A
broken radius rod bolt was Benson’s
demise as Lou sped to his second
straight victory in the famed Miller
11. The double Delaware victory was
worth almost $10,000.
Cicconi Praises Benson and Benson Tells
What Went Wrong
In
victory lane Lou had nothing but praise
for his adversary Benson and his car
owner and temporary team. He described
his two passes of the North Carolina
driver. “I passed him once in lapped
traffic, and that wasn’t really a fair
pass. Then I passed him clean after
that before he broke. But, I’ll tell you
that Johnny Benson is a real smooth
driver. He’s really, really good, that’s
why he runs trucks, I’m sure. When you
follow a guy like that you know. I knew
that I was going to pass him so I stayed
with him on the restart. I was better
than him in the middle and I could enter
better. This is seriously awesome,
winning two in a row. This is a great
car and a great team. I hope Chris
talks to me after this weekend. He’ll
think I’m trying to steal his ride!”
Benson
was as disappointed with his loss as
Cicconi was elated by his win. “I feel
really bad. To start off and to have a
race car as dominant as that car was. We
had a problem earlier with the brake
caliper that broke. I think that had a
result of chasing it back to the radius
rod, which I think stretched the bolt.
It’s just something you never think of.
I think it was a tad loose from the
stretch. The harmonics sat there and
worked on it and worked on it until at
12 laps to go, it broke. Those are hard
to take. The car rocked. It was really
good. I really thank Brad and the guys
for a super opportunity. We’re getting
this little girl to run really good
though. It’s an old, old, old car.”
Benson Takes Command; Dodges Cars &
Cautions but Not Cicconi’s Challenge
Benson
was definitely in command as the laps
flew by, but Cicconi was watching and
waiting for some traffic or a yellow. On
lap 30, Benson was just passing Brandon
Bellinger in the Lane 9 when Cicconi
jumped at the chance to dive under
Benson to take the lead. Several
incidents happened at this juncture
involving Jeff Locke, then Craig Rayvals
and Mike Lichty, which negated the pass.
On the
restart Benson was back in the lead and
now it was cat and mouse as the 74
pulled away from the 11. Sammut, Witkum,
and Seitz led Timmy Jedrzejek, Rob
Summers and Russ Wood around the half
mile for many laps.
With
twenty to go, a final yellow found
Sammut, whose team had put together a
badly wrecked car from Sandusky during
the week, brushed with the Rich Reid 92
while attempting to pass the slower car.
Mark was sent to the pits for a quick
repair but out of his potential third
place finish, a heartbreaker for sure.
He restarted at the tail of the field.
But,
this final yellow, also put Cicconi
right on Benson’s back bumper and the
shootout looked to be an exciting one as
the two quickly made it apparent they
were each looking for the win. On lap
63, Cicconi got his chance and took it,
but Benson ride back alongside to nose
ahead. Cicconi then nosed back by the 74
to lead the next lap. There would be no
more chances for Benson to get Cicconi
back, however, as he exited the race
with his broken car.
Cicconi was cruising when he took the
checkered 11 laps later. Eddie Witkum
Jr., Seitz, Timmy Jedrzejek and Rob
Summers were nose to tail a distance
back for the top five.
Complete PR
Delaware Results
FRIDAY'S TOP 5 RESULTS - Delaware 35: 1.
Lou Cicconi (11), 2. Jeff Locke (37), 3.
Mark Sammut (78), 4. Johnny Benson
Jr. (74), 5. Rob Summers (35)
SATURDAY'S TOP 5 RESULTS - ISMA Delaware
75: 1. Lou Cicconi Jr. (11), 2. Eddie
Witkum Jr. (97), 3. Ben Seitz (17), 4.
Timmy Jedrzejek (32), 5. Rob Summers
(35). (Johnny was leading with 12
laps to go - mechanical failure)
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Autograph Session
at Delaware Speedway |
Benson
Idle But Stays Busy
By Jim Cressman The London Free Press
Like most things these
days, money talks — and it talks big in
NASCAR. At the moment, 2008 Camping
World Truck Series champion Johnny Benson
Jr. is without a $4.5-million sponsorship
program to catch a ride and he sits on the
sidelines. But that doesn’t mean his
talents are going to waste.
Benson, who also won
the NASCAR Nationwide title in 1995, is
busy driving in the touring International
Super Modified Association touring series
that’s making its annual stop at Delaware
Speedway this weekend.
They ran a 35-lap
feature Friday night and have a 75-lap
feature Saturday night. And when
Benson isn’t racing, he still finds
himself at a track somewhere as a driving
coach.
He worked earlier in
the Nationwide season with Danica Patrick
as she makes the transition from IndyCar
to NASCAR Sprint Cup. And he’s also
mentoring 19-year-old Johanna Long of
Pensacola, Fla., as she runs fulltime in
the Camping World Truck Series after seven
races last year.
Benson said he enjoyed
his time with Patrick, who’s back on the
IndyCar circuit for now. “She did a
good job listening and to work with her
was a pretty neat deal,” Benson said. “But
she could probably use somebody fulltime
to get through this year and next year. I
think that would be very beneficial for
her. It’s beneficial for anybody.
It’s beneficial for me to listen to
people, even with the years I’ve got and
the two championships. It’s always good to
have some guidance.”
Benson said there’s an
incredible amount of media attention on
Patrick — the first female driver of note
since Janet Guthrie was in the World 600
stock car race in 1976 and the
Indianapolis 500 a year later — but
Patrick just wants to be known as a race
car driver.
“She wants to be a
competitor and to be seen no different
than that. Being the focus of the media
does have it’s positives and obviously she
does use the female side to her benefit,
which is great for her and for the sport,
but that focus does have some negatives as
well. I just hope she does it for years
and years to come and hopefully others
with her talent come along.”
His mentoring paid off
quickly as Patrick was fourth in the
Nationwide race at Las Vegas, the highest
finish ever for a female in NASCAR
history. Because of the IndyCar
schedule, Benson won’t see Patrick again
until later in the NASCAR season.
“She needs to concentrate on IndyCar now
because that’s her main job,” Benson said.
“Hopefully I can help her some more.
There’s more areas we can still work on.”
Benson is very high on
Long, who began driving a late model at
age 14 and last year won the Snowball
Derby for late models at her home track,
Five Flags, becoming only the second
female champion in the 43-year history of
that race. Long, on the track at
Pocono Saturday, sits 23rd in truck points
and has $116,857 in winnings this year.
“I think she’s doing a
fabulous job and she only needs some
experience,” Benson said. “Danica has a
lot more experience in a stock car. They
don’t have the eyes on Johanna as much,
but I think when she starts running good
and gets some good finishes, the eyes will
be on her, too.”
Benson has always been
low key and it’s a reason he’s always
popular with the fans. He won’t brag about
it, but last year he worked with another
young driver — Trevor Bayne, the
20-year-old who won NASCAR’s most
prestigious event, the Daytona 500, last
February.
In the meantime, Benson
is trying to put something together to
make a return to the trucks in 2012.
“I’m working on some stuff, but whether it
happens or not, it’s all sponsor-driven
right now,” he said. “And even though it
takes $4.5 million, the trucks are doing
it so low-budget compared to the
Nationwide and Cup stuff.
“I’d love to be able to
go run for another championship in the
truck series. I miss the competition. I
don’t have that many years left in me on
the NASCAR side. If we can find someone,
we’ll go run. But until then, we’ll
continue to play (in the super modifieds).”
Benson Leads Daredevils' Return
By JIM CRESSMAN, The London
Free Press
A legion of racing fans will
“remember the roar” Friday and Saturday
nights as the earth-shaking winged super
modifieds invade Delaware Speedway.
This is the sixth
consecutive year the U.S.-based
International Super Modified Association has
come to the famed track, which was literally
built for this type of car when it expanded
from its original quarter-mile to today’s
half-mile banked oval in 1969 by
co-promoters Ross Cockwell of Listowel and
Jack Greedy of Toronto.
They closed the track for
six weeks. Greedy, who was still driving a
super modified, owned a construction company
and pulled 27 workers from a project on the
QEW near Toronto and brought them to
Delaware to complete the project.
When the track re-opened
on Aug. 22, there were 7,641 people sitting
on the hill for the racing. Greedy and
Cockwell had found the quarter-mile was just
too small for the speeds these brutes can
reach. And even on the half-mile they’re
restricted to 130 m.p.h. on the
straightaways.
The super mods ruled
Delaware from the 1960s and well into the
’70s, but then were shunted aside on the
weekly program by the super late models.
ISMA then made a once-a
year appearance until the mid-80s, and it
wasn’t until 2006 that these 850-horespower,
methanol-burning machines would return.
Now you can’t keep them or the fans away.
This weekend marks the
return to Delaware for 1995 NASCAR Busch
(now Nationwide) Series and 2008 Craftsman
(now Camping World) Truck Series champion
Johnny Benson Jr., a native of Grand Rapids,
Mich., who also drove in the Winston (now
Sprint) Cup Series for 10 years.
The 48-year-old was
hugely popular when here in 2008, but was
forced to miss the last two years after a
fiery crash in his super mod in 2009 at
Berlin Raceway in Berlin, Mich.
Benson, who like so many
others is drawn to the super modifieds for
their speed and power, now even owns a
track. But he’s a relative newcomer after
his father, John Benson Sr., drove a super
modified for years. “They’re a blast
to drive,” Benson has said, adding it’s like
capturing lightning in a bottle.
They’re billed as the
world’s most powerful short-track cars, and
for good reason as they’ve been clocked at
170 m.p.h. on the five-eighths-mile tracks,
said ISMA veteran Mark Sammut of London.
“Nobody really knows how fast we can go
because we eventually run out of
straightaway,” he said. “We basically can go
as fast as the track will let us.”
A number of years ago the
super mods were at Phoenix when the IndyCars
where there and the supers were clocked at
190 m.p.h. It’s little wonder these
drivers are often called daredevils.
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