Benson Texas Preview

#10 Valvoline Pontiac driver Johnny Benson tested the new pavement at the
ultra-fast Texas Motor Speedway last week and describes the 1.5-mile trioval in
two words – “very fast.”

Benson knows the racetrack is going to be as tough as his 42 competitors in
Sunday’s NASCAR Winston Cup race. The new pavement will make passing difficult as well as increase the average speed giving little room for error. In testing there on March 26 & 27 Benson’s new Pontiac hit the wall so the Valvoline team will have to bring a back-up car this weekend. The back-up car tested very well after the wreck so equalling or improving on last year's third-place finish is a possibility.

Benson hopes the track isn’t the only place he is fast this weekend. He'll show
the world his pitching arm Saturday night when he throws out the first pitch at
the Texas Rangers baseball game. Benson will not only throw out the first
pitch, but the Valvoline Pontiac will carry a major league baseball paint
scheme throughout the weekend

Benson On Texas:

“Well, I don’t think Texas is going to be as big, horrible and scary as
everyone is afraid it will be but it is fast - very fast. It’s fast because it’
s so smooth. It was fast to start with and now that it’s repaved it will be
even faster. After running a couple of years down there we had just got it to
where we can run side-by-side and then they changed the track. I know they
changed it for more reasons than us, but I think our racing would be better on
the old surface.

“It’s going to be a great racetrack once it gets a second groove, but we aren’t
going to have that second groove worked in which is where we could pass. That
will take a year or two. I was told that some guys tire testing down there
could drive a lap without lifting. I couldn’t quite do that. It was close but
we couldn’t do that.”

Will It Change Strategy?:

“It will put a premium on qualifying and of course it will put a premium on
having a good handling race car. Texas is now a momentum race track. If you get screwed up a little bit in the corner, a guy could be five or six car lengths
behind you and be able to get you down the straight -away. If you have equal
cars then it’s going to be real hard to pass because there isn’t a second
groove.”

Nervous About Throwing Out First Pitch?

“No. I threw out the first pitch at a Grand Rapids White Caps game some time
back. I think some of my crew guys are going to the game Saturday night to
cheer me on or heckle me. Guess it depends if I can get the ball across the
plate or if I bounce it in the dirt.”



THE RACE: Samsung/RadioShack 500
Winston Cup Race #7 of 36 for the 2002 Winston Cup season

Race: Sunday, April 7, 2002 in Fort Worth, TX

TV: Fox - 2:00pm/et

Time Note: The Fort Worth area is in the Central Time Zone, times listed here
are Eastern. Also Daylight Savings Time begins on Sunday, April 7 at 2:00am, turn those clocks ahead

Race re-air: Speed Channel on Wednesday, April 10th, 8:00pm/et

Pre-Race Show: 1:30pm/et, with hosts Chris Myers and Jeff Hammond

Announcers: Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds

Pit Reporters: Dick Berggren, Matt Yocum, Steve Byrnes and ?

Hollywood Hotel: Chris Myers and Jeff Hammond

Posted Awards/Purse: $5,497,422 (was $5,048,203 in 2001)

2001 Race Winner: Dale Jarrett, 141.804mph, started 3rd

Track Race Record: Terry Labonte, March 1999, 144.276mph

Track/Race Length: 1.5-mile quad oval, 334 laps, 501 miles

Pit Road Speed: 45mph

Practice
Practice: Friday, Apr 5th, 12:20 -2:20pm/et; and Saturday, Apr 6th, 10:30 -
11:15am/et.

Happy Hour Practice: Saturday, Apr 6th, 12:15 - 1:00pm/et on TV-FX tape
delayed at 1:00pm/et.

Qualifying
Qualifying Draw: Friday, April 5th, 11:20am/et

First Round Qualifying: 2 laps for positions 1-36, Friday, April 5th at 4:05pm/et, TV-FSN 4:00pm/et and live via PRN Radio.
(NASCAR Online will have live lap-by-lap coverage of Winston Cup qualifying
via the web (NOTE: this is now a paid subscription service).

Second-Round Qualifying: there is no longer a 2nd round of qualifying (since
the 2001 season)

Track/Event Qualifying Record: Terry Labonte, April 2000, 192.137mph

March 2001 Pole Sitter: #8-Dale Earnhardt Jr, 190.678, finished 8th.

Track Specs:
Degree of Banking: Turns: 24 degrees
Straightaways: Banking: 5 degrees;
Straights: Frontstraight - 2250 feet; Backstraight - 1330 feet
Track Homepage: Texas Motor Speedway

Pole Winners at Texas

2001 Dale Earnhardt Jr, #8 Chevy, 190.678mph, finished 8th
2000 Terry Labonte, #5 Chevy, 192.137mph, finished 8th
1999 Kenny Irwin Jr, #28 Ford, 190.154mph, finished 15th
1998 Jeremy Mayfield, #12 Ford, 185.906mph, finished 23rd
1997 none, rained out

Race Winners at Texas

2001 Dale Jarrett, #88 Ford, 141.804mph, started 3rd
2000 Dale Earnhardt Jr, #8 Chevy, 131.152mph, started 4th
1999 Terry Labonte, #5 Chevy, 144.276mph, started 4th
1998 Mark Martin, #6 Ford, 136.771mph, started 7th
1997 Jeff Burton, #99 Ford, 125.111mph, started 5th

#10 Valvoline Pontiac Team Television Information

Pit Contact: James Ince or Drew Brown
Owner: Valvoline/MB2 Motorsports (Tom Beard, Nelson Bowers, Read Morton)
Crew Chief: James Ince
Car Chief: Gary Putnam
Engine Builder: Hendrick Motorsports
Spotter Brian Dantine
Engine Tuner: Ondre Rexford

Over The Wall Pit Crew
Gas Man: Jimmy Watts
Front Tire Changer: Ricky Thomas
Catch Can: Steve Mann
Windshield: Russ Hoekwater
Jackman: Tim Boatwright
Front Tire Carrier: Shane Cooke
Rear Tire Changer: Joe Piette
Rear Tire Carrier: Steve Genenbacher

Other Crew Members
Truck Driver: Jerry Hess
Shock Specialist: Mike Cluka
Tires: Kyle Petty
Engineer: Tim Turner
Computers: John Hayes
Scorer: Terry Lane
PR Rep: Drew Brown

Other Information:

All wind tunnel testing is performed in Ottawa, Canada and Detroit.

Team tested this car at Texas March 26 & 27.

Performance Information:

Benson Finishes at Texas
Year S F
2001 17 3
2000 26 42
1999 24 11
1998 27 5
1997 13 28


Big Brothers Big Sisters Of America:

Benson is racing this week for the BBBS of Henry County, Inc., New Castle, IN
Chapter of Big Brothers Big Sisters Of America. Each week Valvoline donates
money to the national Big Brothers and Big Sisters of America organization as
well as an individual local chapter based on Benson's on-track performance.
Valvoline matches Benson's performance by donating $5,000 for a win, $2,500 for a pole, $1,000 for a top ten 10 finish, $500 for a top 20 finish and $20 for
each lap led. The 3-year program has raised over $750,000.