Benson California Preview

#10 Valvoline Pontiac driver Johnny Benson knows his trip to California this week is going to be much more fun than his trip down the pit lane after
the big wreck at Talladega last Sunday. Benson’s Valvoline Pontiac survived the wreck but burst into flames on pit road. After a little bit of difficulty getting through the window with his HANS, rescue workers and crewmembers from other teams pulled Benson from the flaming car.

Benson is adamant HANS has improved driver safety and won’t waver in his plan to wear a HANS every time he gets behind the wheel of any racecar. But, Benson strongly agrees with NASCAR in its work to make the windows bigger to aid drivers in exiting their cars during emergencies.

Before Benson gets to race in Fontana he’s making a stop at the Jim Henson
Company in Los Angeles on Thursday where he will take part in unveiling the
Fozzy Bear paint scheme Benson will race in Joliet, Ill on July 14. The paint
scheme celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Muppet show.

Benson On Sunday’s Accident:

"It’s great that we have these safety devices. And I think you saw Sunday just
how good they work in the wreck protecting drivers. In my case with the
fire it was very difficult to get out of the car as quickly as I needed to get out.
Having the safety device is a huge plus. Don’t get me wrong, I’m their biggest
supporter and will keep wearing my device. But I sure support NASCAR’s plan to make these windows more user friendly for us. I don’t know if making the
window bigger is the only answer. We just need to make them easier to get out of as well.

"I’m lucky what happened to me happened on pit road. There was some quick
thinking on the part of the safety workers and guys from other crews. They
helped me a bunch. I’m fine but that was scary."

Benson On Fozzy Bear Paint Scheme:

"Do you realize about half the field Sunday weren’t born when the Muppet Show
started 25 years ago? That’s unbelievable. Fozzy is pretty cool. My kids think
he is neat. If we win with him then he’s going to be all over our house and a
permanent member of our Valvoline team. We had James Dean paint scheme last August at Indianapolis now at Chicago we will have Fozzy. We are trying to
keep fans of all ages happy."

Benson On California Strategy:

"I always look forward going out there. We think we can run very well. We
won a Winston West race there in 2000. As for Winston Cup we’d love to win at
Fontana. That would be a cool place to get a first victory. Any place would,
but California with all its glitz and glamour would probably treat a first
time winner pretty good.

"The California race seems to never have a lot of cautions. I guess it is kind
of like Michigan. The fans should see about the same kind of race. I’m sure
fuel mileage will be important. At places like California and Michigan you
start thinking about fuel mileage during happy hour on Saturday. You have to
make sure the car is good horsepower wise, but you also have to have fuel
mileage. One without the other doesn’t do you much good during the race. I
don’t think a driver will drive any differently. You might try to save fuel during
the race. If you are racing with a pack you don’t want to be the front guy. If
you are behind in the draft you can save a little fuel. But fuel mileage all
depends on when the cautions fall as well. You go into the race thinking fuel
mileage and all of a sudden a yellow comes out late in the race and wipes out
that strategy."

Key To Fontana:

"You have to have a fast car and play the cautions right."

Benson On California Strategy:

"Besides being about 5,000 miles difference. The banking is a lot less at
California. Plus, California isn’t a two groove race track just yet which I think is because of the banking."

Do You Enjoy Racing At Fontana:

"You have to like the fans out there. I’m not looking forward to the plane ride out there but it will good to race in front of some new faces. They want to see racing on the West Coast and they don’t get to see too much of us so that’s always kind of neat about going to Fontana.


Race Information:

THE RACE: NAPA Auto Parts 500
Winston Cup Race #10 of 36 for the 2002 Winston Cup season·
Race: Sunday, April 28, 2002 in Fontana, CA

NOTE: California Speedway is located in the Pacific Time Zone, all times
listed here are in Eastern Time Zone (3 hours ahead)
· TV: Fox - 3:00pm/et
· Race re-air: Speed Channel on Wednesday, May 1st, 8:00pm/et
· Pre-Race Show: 2:30pm/et, with hosts Chris Myers and Jeff Hammond
· NASCAR on TV
· Announcers: Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds
· Pit Reporters: Dick Berggren, Matt Yocum and Steve Byrnes
· Hollywood Hotel: Chris Myers and Jeff Hammond
· Posted Awards/Purse: $4,419,924 (First Place - $162,100) (was $3,965,703 in 2001)
· Entry List Link at: Jayski - NAPA Auto Parts 500


· 2001 Race Winner: Rusty Wallace, 143.118mph, started 19th
· Track Race Record: Jeff Gordon, June 1997, 155.012mph
· Track/Race Length: 2.0 mile D-shaped oval, 250 laps, 500 miles
· Pit Road Speed: 45mph

Practice
· Practice: Friday, Apr 26th, 2:20 -4:20pm/et; and Saturday, Apr 27th, 11:30 - 12:00noon/et.
· Happy Hour Practice: Saturday, Apr 27th, 3:15 - 4:00pm/et on TV-FX at 3:00pm/et.

Qualifying
· Qualifying Draw: Friday, April 26th, 1:20pm/et
· First Round Qualifying: 2 laps for positions 1-36, Friday, April 26th at 6:05pm/et, TV-FX tape delay at 8:00pm/et and live via MRN Radio(link
below) and via NASCAR.com's Racecast (paid).
· Second-Round Qualifying: there is no longer a 2nd round of qualifying (since the 2001 season)
· Track/Event Qualifying Record: Mike Skinner, April 2000, 186.061mph
· Last Year's Pole Sitter: Bobby Labonte, 182.635mph, finished 22nd

Track Specs:
Superspeedway: 2.0-mile oval 75 feet wide with a 15 foot apron
Banking: turns: 14 degrees; frontstretch 11 degrees; backstretch 3 degrees
Front Stretch: 3,100feet
Back Stretch: 2,500feet
Pit Road: 2,200 feet long with 44 individual pit stalls
Grandstand Seats: 92,000
Approx: 1,800 Infield RV spaces

PAST RACE/POLE WINNERS at California
Pole Winners

2001 Bobby Labonte, #18 Pontiac, 182.635mph, finished 22nd
2000 Mike Skinner, #31 Chevy, 186.061mph, finished 7th
1999 none, rained out
1998 Jeff Gordon, #24 Chevy, 181.772mph, finished 4th
1997 Joe Nemechek, #42 Chevy, 183.015mph, finished 18th
(1997 Greg Sacks, #40 Chevy was the fastest but in 2nd round 183.753mph)

Race Winners

2001 Rusty Wallace, #2 Ford, 143.118mph, started 19th
2000 Jeremy Mayfield, #12 Ford, 149.378mph, started 24th
1999 Jeff Gordon, #24 Chevy, 150.276mph, started 5th
1998 Mark Martin, #6 Ford, 140.220mph, started 3rd
1997 Jeff Gordon, #24 Chevy, 155.012mph, started 3rd




#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: Mike Cluka
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.

Benson Career At California

Year    S  F
2001    8 11
2000  14 23
1999  24 43
1998    5  8
1997   3 13

Big Brothers Big Sisters Of America:

Benson is racing this week for the Santa Cruz County, Santa Cruz, CA
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.