Valvoline Team Overcomes Adversity
Joe Nemechek Drives To 12th Place Finish At Richmond

Most of the #10 Valvoline Pontiac team breathed a sigh of relief late Sunday
afternoon when the checkered flag fell at Richmond International Raceway. The
red, white, and blue car piloted by Joe Nemechek crossed the finish line in 12th place capping what was probably one of toughest weekends in team history.

"I've never been so glad to leave a racetrack in my whole life,” said Crew
Chief James Ince moments after the race.
.
Nemechek’s respectable finish came only two days after the Valvoline team saw its primary driver Johnny Benson suffer a broken rib and a possible concussion in a massive impact with the fourth turn when rookie Brian Vickers turned Benson less than 25 laps into a Busch Series race.

On a weekend where it would have been easy to pack up the team hauler and go home cursing its fortune, the Valvoline team demonstrated the tenacity of a
championship team.

“What we did with Joe today was unbelievable and more impressive than winning a race,” said Ince. “We took a driver who had no practice in this car and managed to walk out of here 12th and ahead of a lot of others. This weekend was tough on everyone physically and emotionally but we didn’t give up and Joe didn’t give up on us.”

The weekend had started with such high hopes.

On Thursday, Benson was quickest in Busch Series practice in a car crewed by Ted Marsh Racing as well as many members of the Valvoline team. On Friday Benson qualified the Valvoline Pontiac in 16th but turned the fastest practice times in two practice sessions held after qualifying.

“That might have been the best practices we have had,” Benson said when asked about his chances for Saturday night’s Winston Cup race. “We think we have an awesome car and if we can just be patient and avoid all the trouble we will be fine.”

He never got the chance.

A few hours late he was in a Richmond Hospital undergoing a variety of tests,
wincing from the broken rib on the bottom right side of his body and enduring
the pain from the impact.

When it was apparent there would be no race for Benson Saturday night Nemechek was called at his home in Charlotte and agreed to fly up to Richmond Saturday morning. Upon his arrival the team worked to fit Nemechek into Benson’s seat and go over the race setup.

“I just hope we can keep the pace Johnny set on Friday,” Nemechek said Saturday afternoon. “These guys have been through a lot the last 24 hours. Our goal is get them out of here tonight with a decent finish and give time for Johnny to get well and get back in his car.”

Nemechek took the first few laps of Saturday’s night’s race to get acclimated
to his new car but soon started slicing through the field. The only thing that
stopped Nemechek was Mother Nature when torrential rains let loose about lap 65 of the 400-lap race postponing the race until Sunday.

“I see why Johnny wanted to race this car so bad,” laughed Nemechek after
climbing from the Valvoline Pontiac Saturday night. “I was being pretty
cautious initially but man that thing was hauling once we got going. I hope it
stays that way tomorrow.”

Sunday’s skies were much brighter than Saturday’s. The rain left but Benson
arrived at the track with his family for moral support as well as lending a
helping hand to Ince on the team’s pit box.

“I just wanted to come to the track,” Benson said. “I wanted to help in any way
I could and I wanted to see everyone. I thanked Joe for what he was doing for
us and told him to go win the race.”

Soon after the noon restart on Sunday it appeared Nemechek was going to have a difficult time staying on the lead lap let alone winning. He drifted toward the
back of the field giving up many of the spots he gained Saturday night.

“We just got a bit too loose there,” he said. “I was thinking this was going to
be a really long day, but as the track changed we got better and better and
started passing many of those cars that had just passed us.”

Nemechek slowly crept up through the field and ran about 15th throughout the
caution filled race narrowly avoiding at lest two multi-car wrecks by just
inches.

“There were a few times I thought this is going to be the end of our day,”
Nemechek said. “But we slipped through and kept going.”

Nemechek climbed as high as 10th late in the race but cars with new tires snuck by in the final laps and the Florida native finished 12th. Capping off an
interesting experience for all.

“That was a lot of fun today,” he said. “I wish it could have been under
different circumstances but I think we accomplished what we set out to do and
that’s get these guys a good finish. It was a lot of fun.”

Ince said it was more than fun.

“We owe him a big thank you. He helped our spirits today and it’s hard to put a
price on that. Having him in the car and Johnny helping on the pit box knowing
and seeing that he is going to be Ok was the best thing in the world for us.”

Tony Stewart won Sunday’s race after passing Ryan Newman late in the race.

The Valvoline team gets to enjoy an off weekend before racing at Charlotte. No
determination has been made regarding Benson’s driving status at the Winston in two weeks and the 600 the following week.


Additional Quotes:

JOE NEMECHEK, NO. 10 VALVOLINE PONTIAC GRAND PRIX:

ARE YOU SATISFIED WITH THAT RUN?
"Yes and no. I brought it home without tearing it up and all the fenders are on it, but I lost three spots there at the end, which I probably shouldn't have lost. We made an adjustment there at the end and that was really the first adjustment we made all day long. And, man, it was a pretty big change and I'm not used to that. That one little change is normally not that big of a deal. But, it was pretty sensitive on this race car.

"I learned something and got a good finish. I'm just happy to help out Johnny Benson and this whole Valvoline Pontiac team."

YOUR CAR WAS REALLY GOOD LAST NIGHT...DID IT STAY THAT WAY TODAY?
"Starting out, the track definitely changed and I don't think we were as
good today as I thought we were last night. Last night I thought we were
going to have an awesome, dominant race car. Today it just seemed like we
had a hard time getting a hold of the racetrack. Everybody was just kind of
squirming around.

"But for me just hopping in the car, it's a good finish."

WAS IT A NICE SURPRISE TO GET TO SPEND THE WEEKEND THIS WAY?
"Oh yeah, it's cool. Johnny [Benson] probably could have won the race with that car. I'm just happy to finish 12th. The team does a good job.

"It's neat to come into different organizations and kind of see how
they work compared to all the other places I've been. They've got a good
thing going here."



JAMES INCE, CREW CHIEF, NO. 10 VALVOLINE PONTIAC GRAND PRIX:

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT YOUR WEEKEND OVERALL?
"I've never been so glad to leave a racetrack in my whole life. Joe Nemechek did a great job for us today in the Valvoline Pontiac and we've got to be satisfied. The guy never ran a lap in that race car and finished 12th. We were probably better than that; I know Joe was better than that. We just had some trouble with
our pit stops today. That is something we can work on. But, for a guy to
walk in, not knowing he was going to race this weekend and get out of here
with a top 15 finish - you can't complain about that.”

Race Results

Fin Driver
1 Tony Stewart
2 Ryan Newman *
3 Jeff Burton
4 Mark Martin
5 Jeremy Mayfield
6 Matt Kenseth
7 Jeff Gordon
8 Steve Grissom
9 Ricky Craven
10 Jimmy Spencer
11 Sterling Marlin
12 Joe Nemechek
13 Jeff Green
14 Bill Elliott
15 Ken Schrader
16 Hut Stricklin
17 Bobby Hamilton
18 Hermie Sadler
19 Brett Bodine
20 John Andretti
21 Elliott Sadler
22 Casey Atwood
23 Kyle Petty
24 Michael Waltrip
25 Rusty Wallace
26 Stacy Compton
27 Kurt Busch
28 Mike Skinner
29 Dave Blaney
30 Ward Burton
31 Jimmie Johnson *
32 Bobby Labonte
33 Terry Labonte
34 Steve Park
35 Rick Mast
36 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
37 Robby Gordon
38 Dale Jarrett
39 Ricky Rudd
40 Kevin Harvick
41 Jerry Nadeau
42 Frank Kimmel
43 Randy Renfrow

2002 Driver Standings

1 Sterling Marlin Leader
2 Matt Kenseth -132
3 Kurt Busch -191
4 Mark Martin -193
5 Rusty Wallace -203
6 Jeff Gordon -216
7 Jimmie Johnson* -223
8 Tony Stewart -251
9 Jeff Burton -302
10 Ricky Rudd -315
11 Bill Elliott -346
12 Dale Earnhardt Jr. -357
13 Ryan Newman* -439
14 Ward Burton -447
15 Dale Jarrett -468
16 Ricky Craven -481
17 Terry Labonte -492
18 Michael Waltrip -498
19 Jeremy Mayfield -515
20 Jimmy Spencer -516
21 Dave Blaney -520
22 Bobby Labonte -559
23 Kyle Petty -561
24 Jeff Green -562
25 Elliott Sadler -620
26 Bobby Hamilton -683
27 Mike Skinner -696
28 Jerry Nadeau -721
29 Robby Gordon -761
30 Johnny Benson -764
31 Kevin Harvick -773
32 Brett Bodine -788
33 Ken Schrader -807
34 Hut Stricklin -815
35 John Andretti -825
36 Stacy Compton -850
37 Casey Atwood -872
38 Joe Nemechek -983
39 Rick Mast -1069
40 Buckshot Jones -1086
41 Steve Park -1090
42 Kenny Wallace -1092
43 Shawna Robinson* -1327
44 Steve Grissom -1351
45 Geoffrey Bodine -1353
46 Hermie Sadler -1393
47 Todd Bodine -1427
48 Frank Kimmel -1443
49 Mike Wallace -1459
50 Greg Biffle -1521